Installation

One-Command Install

The fastest way to install HELIX Mission Control:

curl -fsSL https://helixnode.tech/install.sh | bash

The installer will prompt you for:

• Domain name — your server's domain (or IP address)
• Admin email — for SSL certificates and your first login
• Admin password — password for the admin account
• AI model provider — which AI provider to use (Moonshot, OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, or custom)
• AI model API key — your API key for the selected provider

What the Installer Does

1. Pre-flight checks — verifies Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, 2GB+ RAM, 10GB+ disk, and port availability
2. System updates — installs required packages (curl, git, jq, etc.)
3. Docker setup — installs Docker Engine and Docker Compose if not present
4. Creates helix user — dedicated system user for running services
5. Clones repository — downloads HELIX Mission Control to /home/helix/helix-mission-control
6. Environment config — generates .env with your settings, auto-generates secrets (JWT, DB password, gateway token)
7. Builds containers — builds and starts all Docker services (PostgreSQL, Redis, Gateway, Backend, Frontend)
8. Database migration — runs Alembic migrations and seeds initial data
9. SSL setup — configures Caddy reverse proxy with automatic Let's Encrypt SSL (if domain provided)
10. Systemd service — creates helix-mission-control service for auto-start on boot
11. Backup scheduling — sets up daily automated backups

Install Options

# With domain and SSL
curl -fsSL https://helixnode.tech/install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --domain helix.mycompany.com \
  --email admin@mycompany.com

# HTTP only (no SSL)
curl -fsSL https://helixnode.tech/install.sh | bash -s -- --skip-ssl

# Use external reverse proxy (skip Caddy)
curl -fsSL https://helixnode.tech/install.sh | bash -s -- --skip-proxy

# Custom install directory
curl -fsSL https://helixnode.tech/install.sh | bash -s -- \
  --install-dir /opt/helix

All Options

Flag	Description	Default
--domain <domain>	Domain for SSL	Prompted
--email <email>	Email for Let's Encrypt	Prompted
--skip-ssl	HTTP only, no SSL	false
--skip-proxy	Skip Caddy proxy	false
--branch <branch>	Git branch to install	main
--install-dir <path>	Installation path	/home/helix/helix-mission-control

Manual Installation

If you prefer to set up manually:

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/helixnode/helix-mission-control.git
cd helix-mission-control

# 2. Copy and configure environment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Edit with your settings

# 3. Build and start services
docker compose up -d --build

# 4. Run database migrations
docker compose exec backend alembic upgrade head

# 5. Access the dashboard
# Open http://localhost:3000 (or your domain)

Post-Install

After installation completes:

1. Access the dashboard at https://your-domain.com (or http://your-ip:3000)
2. Log in with the admin email and password you configured
3. Enter your license key in Settings > Billing (or start with the free trial)
4. Run the onboarding wizard to configure your organization

The installer creates a systemd service, so HELIX starts automatically on boot:

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status helix-mission-control

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u helix-mission-control -f

Updating

To update to the latest version:

cd /home/helix/helix-mission-control
bash scripts/update.sh

This pulls the latest code, rebuilds containers, and runs any new migrations.

Uninstalling

To completely remove HELIX:

cd /home/helix/helix-mission-control
bash scripts/uninstall.sh

WARNING

This removes all containers, volumes (including the database), and configuration. Make a backup first if you want to keep your data.