HeliosGen README

The project's README from github.com/SegFault42/HeliosGen. As one markdown file: README.md.

HeliosGen

Build AI image & video pipelines visually.
Chain prompts, models, reference images, and automations on an infinite canvas.

⬇️ Download

HeliosGen is a desktop app. Grab the latest build for your OS from the releases page — no account, no server, no cloud setup:

👉 Download from the Releases page

OS File
macOS (Apple Silicon) HeliosGen_<version>_aarch64.dmg
Windows 🙋 looking for a contributor to build & submit — see below
Linux 🙋 looking for a contributor to build & submit — see below

Only the builds actually attached to the latest release are available. macOS is published today. Tauri can't cross-compile, so Windows and Linux builds need someone on those platforms — if you can run npm run desktop:build on Windows or Linux (see the Build from source section below), please open a PR or attach the artifacts to an issue and we'll add them to the release.

The app is not code-signed yet:

🚀 First run

  1. Launch HeliosGen.
  2. Open Settings → API Keys and paste your kie.ai API key.
  3. Start generating.

Everything stays on your machine. Generations, uploads, folders, workflows and settings live in a local database; media is saved to a local folder:

OS Data location
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/cash.sdd.helios.desktop/
Windows %APPDATA%\cash.sdd.helios.desktop\
Linux ~/.local/share/cash.sdd.helios.desktop/

Delete that folder to reset the app.

📸 Screenshots

✨ Simple Image & Video Generation

Image generation example

🔄 Workflow Generation

Workflow generation example

🧠 Native JSON Prompt Preview

JSON prompt preview

💬 AI Prompt Improvement Assistant

Prompt assistant interface

✨ HeliosGen

HeliosGen is a free & open source visual AI workflow builder for image and video generation.

Build reusable AI pipelines with:

No subscriptions.
No disappearing credits.
No vendor lock-in.
No cloud, no accounts — just a local app and your own kie.ai key.

💳 Credits

HeliosGen now works with kie.ai.

All credits are purchased directly on your own account and never expire.

That means:

You only pay for what you generate.

🚀 Features

⚡ Supported Models

Images

Videos

More models are coming.

🏗️ Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Desktop shell Tauri 2 (Rust)
App Next.js + React + TypeScript (bundled Node sidecar)
Database SQLite (local)
Storage Local disk
AI Backend kie.ai

🤖 Codex CLI (optional — alternate GPT Image 2 backend)

Instead of routing GPT Image 2 through kie.ai credits, HeliosGen can generate through your own ChatGPT Codex subscription via codex-imagegen-cli. The desktop app picks up codex from your PATH automatically; if it's missing, the feature just shows NOT CONFIGURED and everything else keeps working.

Requirements:

1. Install the Codex CLI

# macOS
brew install codex

# or, cross-platform
npm install -g @openai/codex

2. Install codex-imagegen-cli

git clone https://github.com/jdmnk/codex-imagegen-cli.git
cd codex-imagegen-cli
uv sync --dev
uv tool install -e .

This installs the codex-imagegen binary — make sure it's on your PATH.

3. Log in

Either:

⚠️ Starting a new login (either way) immediately invalidates any existing session on that machine — the CLI clears old credentials the moment a login attempt begins, whether or not it's ever completed. Only start one when the status badge below shows NOT CONFIGURED.

4. Enable it for GPT Image 2

In Settings → Image Models, set GPT Image 2's provider toggle to Codex CLI. The status badge in Settings → API Keys shows READY once both the CLI and login are in place.

🛠️ Build from source

Prefer to build it yourself, or need a platform that isn't on the releases page yet? The whole app builds from this repo.

Tauri does not cross-compile — build on the OS you want to target. Run npm run desktop:build on a Mac for the macOS build, on Windows for Windows, on Linux for Linux.

Want to help ship Windows / Linux builds? Build on that OS and send the artifacts (PR or issue attachment) — they'll be added to the next release, with credit.

Prerequisites (one-time, all platforms)

Tool Notes
Node 22+ The bundled server uses node:sqlite. nvm use 22.
Rust curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
Tauri system deps See https://v2.tauri.app/start/prerequisites/

Platform-specific system deps:

Build

git clone https://github.com/SegFault42/HeliosGen
cd HeliosGen
npm install
npm run desktop:build

Artifacts land in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/:

OS Output
macOS macos/HeliosGen.app, dmg/HeliosGen_<ver>_<arch>.dmg
Windows msi/HeliosGen_<ver>_x64_en-US.msi, nsis/HeliosGen_<ver>_x64-setup.exe
Linux deb/, rpm/, appimage/HeliosGen_<ver>_amd64.AppImage

The macOS build is unsigned — on first launch Gatekeeper blocks it. Right-click → Open, or xattr -cr "src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/HeliosGen.app".

Develop (hot reload)

npm run desktop:dev

Runs next dev and tauri dev together. The first run compiles the Rust shell (~1–2 min).

See DESKTOP.md for architecture, data locations, and signing & notarization.

🤝 Contributions

Contributions are welcome.

If you find a bug, have an idea, or want to improve HeliosGen:

All contributions are appreciated.

📄 License

MIT License

Built for creators building the future of AI workflows.

HeliosGen (SegFault42/HeliosGen)

Searching Database…

3.1K ·GitHub
HeliosGen
What is this?HeliosGen is a free, self-hosted desktop app for building AI image and video generation pipelines on an infinite node-based canvas, pitched as a free alternative to Higgsfield, OpenArt and Freepik.
Is this a cloud service or does it run entirely on my own machine?It's a native desktop app (Tauri shell with a Next.js/React UI) that runs 100% locally — workflows, media, uploads and settings live in a local SQLite database and folder, never in the cloud.
How do I get it running?Grab the macOS (Apple Silicon) .dmg from the Releases page, open it (right-click → Open or `xattr -cr` since it's unsigned), then go to Settings → API Keys and paste your kie.ai key to start generating. No account or server setup is needed.
Do I need a kie.ai account to generate anything?Yes — HeliosGen ships with no built-in AI backend; you bring your own kie.ai API key and buy credits directly on kie.ai, which never expire or get reset monthly.
Is the app ready to use on Windows or Linux right now?Not yet — only the macOS build is currently attached to the Releases page since Tauri can't cross-compile; Windows and Linux builds are waiting on a contributor to build and submit them, or you can build from source yourself.
What AI models does HeliosGen support?For images: GPT Image 2, Nano Banana / Nano Banana 2 / Pro, Seedream 5.0, Z-Image and Grok Imagine. For video: Veo 3.1, Gemini Omni Video, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Grok Imagine and HappyHorse, with more being added.
Can I avoid paying kie.ai credits for image generation?For GPT Image 2 specifically, yes — you can route generation through your own ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Team Codex subscription via the codex-imagegen-cli instead of kie.ai credits; if Codex isn't installed, the app just marks that option NOT CONFIGURED and everything else keeps working.
What happens to my data if I stop using the app?Just delete the local app-support folder (e.g. ~/Library/Application Support/cash.sdd.helios.desktop/ on macOS) — it holds the entire database, media and settings, so removing it fully resets the app.
What are similar projects?artcraft-services, spacedrive, os, laya, ohmygame, open-design, openless, NextChat
Which topics is it in?byok, tauri, video-generation, image-generation, nextjs, sqlite, generative-ai, local-first, desktop, rust, react, free
Creator
SegFault42
Size
9.5 MB
Stars
3.1K
Updated
CommitSep 17Release1.2.1Sep 09
Age
6mo
Commits · 90 Days