Project Setup

Initialize HelixMind for project-local memory: the AI remembers this specific project across sessions.

Initialization

cd your-project
helixmind init

Creates the .helixmind/ directory:

your-project/
├── .helixmind/
│   ├── context.md    # Custom AI instructions
│   └── spiral.db     # Project memory database
├── src/
└── ...

context.md: Custom Instructions

Included in every conversation. Tell HelixMind about your project:

# Project: E-Commerce Platform

## Tech Stack
- Next.js 15 with App Router
- PostgreSQL + Prisma ORM
- Stripe for payments

## Conventions
- TypeScript strict mode
- Functional components with hooks
- Use zod for input validation

## Important
- Never modify migration files directly
- All prices are in cents (integer)

Feeding Your Codebase

After init, feed important files into the spiral:

helixmind feed README.md ARCHITECTURE.md     # Key files
helixmind feed src/                           # Entire directory
helixmind feed --deep src/core/               # Deep analysis

What to Feed

Priority	Files	Why
High	README, ARCHITECTURE.md	Project overview
High	Key config files	Framework setup
Medium	Core business logic	Domain understanding
Low	Test files	Test patterns
Skip	node_modules, dist	Generated code

.gitignore

# HelixMind local memory
.helixmind/

Consider committing .helixmind/context.md for shared team instructions.

Project Detection

When you start hx:

1. Looks for .helixmind/ in the current directory
2. If found → project-local memory
3. If not → global memory (~/.helixmind/)
4. Auto-detects tech stack (package.json, tsconfig, etc.)
5. Reads .helixmind/context.md for custom instructions

Multiple Projects

Each project has isolated memory. To share knowledge:

cd project-a && helixmind export           # Export
cd project-b && helixmind import *.zip     # Import