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:
| 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:
- macOS — right-click the app → Open (once), or run
xattr -cr /Applications/HeliosGen.app.
- Windows — SmartScreen: More info → Run anyway.
🚀 First run
- Launch HeliosGen.
- Open Settings → API Keys and paste your kie.ai API key.
- 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
🔄 Workflow Generation
🧠 Native JSON Prompt Preview
💬 AI Prompt Improvement Assistant
✨ HeliosGen
HeliosGen is a free & open source visual AI workflow builder for image and video generation.
Build reusable AI pipelines with:
- infinite node-based workflows,
- multi-model generation,
- reference images,
- automation chains,
- all running 100% locally on your machine.
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:
- no monthly reset,
- no lost credits,
- no subscription lock-in,
- and full ownership of your usage.
You only pay for what you generate.
🚀 Features
- Infinite node-based canvas
- AI image & video generation
- Drag-and-connect workflow system
- Multi-model pipelines
- Reference image support
- Parallel & sequential pipeline execution
- Real-time generation history
- 100% local — your data never leaves your machine
- Bring your own kie.ai key
- Modern responsive UI
⚡ Supported Models
Images
- GPT Image 2 (OpenAI)
- Nano Banana / Nano Banana 2 / Nano Banana 2 Lite / Nano Banana Pro (Google)
- Seedream 5.0 Lite / Pro (Seedream)
- Z-Image (Z-AI)
- Grok Imagine (X)
Videos
- Veo 3.1 Lite / Fast / Quality, Gemini Omni Video (Google)
- Kling 3.0, Kling 3.0 Turbo, Motion Control 2.6 / 3.0 (Kling)
- Seedance 2.0 / Fast / Mini (Bytedance)
- Grok Imagine, Grok Imagine 1.5 preview (X)
- HappyHorse (Alibaba)
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:
- A ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Team/Enterprise account with Codex access
codex CLI installed on your machineuv (Python package manager)
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:
- run
codex login in a terminal (opens a browser to sign in), or
- open the app → Settings → API Keys → Codex CLI → Connect Codex, which walks you through a device-code login — visit the printed URL and enter the code, no terminal needed.
⚠️ 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.
Platform-specific system deps:
- macOS — Xcode Command Line Tools:
xcode-select --install
- Windows — Microsoft C++ Build Tools
(Desktop development with C++) and WebView2
(preinstalled on Windows 11)
- Linux —
webkit2gtk-4.1, librsvg2, build-essential, curl, wget,
file, libssl-dev, libayatana-appindicator3-dev (Debian/Ubuntu package
names; see the Tauri prerequisites page for other distros)
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:
- Open an issue
- Submit a pull request
- Share feedback or feature requests
All contributions are appreciated.
📄 License
MIT License
Built for creators building the future of AI workflows.
HeliosGen 是一款免费的开源自托管桌面应用，可以在无限大的节点画布上搭建 AI 图像和视频生成流程，定位为 Higgsfield、OpenArt 和 Freepik 的免费替代品。