helrig Helrig — a Helix/HX preset editor for the browser, desktop and Android

[maveric77]

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Update (Oct 15, 2026): Helrig for Android is now on Google Play. Edit your Helix or HX live from an Android phone or tablet over USB. Details in the latest reply below.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.helrig
 

 

 

 

Hey fellow Helix/HX folks — long-time user here. Been gigging with a Helix since 2015, then switched to an HX Stomp later for portability. Wanted to share something I've been building.

 

I kept wanting a preset editor I could open on whatever was in front of me — laptop, iPad, phone, whatever — without installing anything or having the unit plugged in. Couldn't quite find that anywhere, so I built it myself. Figured some of you might find it useful too.

 

Helrig (helrig.com) — free, runs entirely in your browser:

 

• Drag in a .hlx from any of them — Helix Floor, LT or Rack, HX Stomp, Stomp XL, HX Effects, even Helix Native — or pull presets straight out of a .hxb backup or .hls setlist. Start from blank or load a sample to poke around
• Full signal chain and parameter editing, snapshots included
• Search blocks by their Line 6 name or by the gear they're modeled after — tube screamer, Fender reverb, JCM-800, whatever you actually think in
• Auto-detects the device on import and matches the DSP budget/footswitch layout automatically
• DSP budget enforcement like HX Edit — won't let you overbuild past what the device can actually run
• Hover a path's DSP icon to see the cost of every block on it, or open the full usage report for the chain — honestly my favorite feature; it's saved me from guessing more times than I'd like to admit
• Convert a preset between devices, and it tells you exactly what it had to change to fit — rather than quietly mangling it
• Undo and redo with a named history — "Add Deluxe Comp", not forty rows of "Edit"
• Share a preset with a link if you want to; the rest of your library stays private and you can revoke it any time
• Nothing gets uploaded — the file stays in your browser the whole time, no account needed
• There's an optional account that adds a cloud library — setlists, labels, version history — if you want presets synced across machines. Entirely optional; the editor is identical without it.

 

Direct USB sync to the hardware is in progress but not live yet — right now it's file-in, file-out.

 

Unofficial/independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Line 6 or Yamaha — just a fan-built tool made with a lot of respect for what they've built with Helix/HX, still the best guitar gear after almost 11 years.

 

Rough edges still get fixed fast — if something looks wrong or a block/parameter shows up unlabeled, tell me and I'll dig into it. Feature requests welcome too, including "I wish HX Edit did X" type stuff — that's usually where the good ideas come from.

 

 

[bbehrens]

Hey! Just saw this. This is wonderful. I have something similar but it exports to excel as I have a LOT of helix files and wanted to just be able to scan my directories. But they are not as detailed as yours. It looks like you have exposed EVRY Helix setting.

 

I just wanted to let you know that this is really handy for me since my Helix recently died (terminal firmware update that Line 6 has, so far, no good fix for). I have a Stadium now but I have to fire up my DAW (Reaper) in order to see my presets (since HX Edit will not run without detecting the Helix).

 

This handles the Split paths and Everything.

 

I hope that You put something similar together for the Stadium since it is very similar in file structure already.

 

Great Job. I hope that I don't have to pay for this anytime soon!

[maveric77]

Thanks @bbehrens — glad the split-path view is useful, and noted on Stadium. Can't promise a timeline yet, but it's genuinely helpful to hear what people are actually stuck on, so it's on my radar.

 

For anyone following the thread: I just put together a "Getting Started" video — opening an existing preset, editing blocks and parameters, building a new one from scratch, and exporting it back out. You might even spot a feature you've requested already in action:

 

https://youtu.be/UWT3zn5y-pM

 

Big thank you to everyone who's tried this out so far.

[stapani]

Great stuff, thanks! Can you make this work for Pod Go files?

[maveric77]

Quick update for anyone who lands on this — a fair bit has changed since I posted it, so I've refreshed the top post too.

 

Biggest one: it handles the whole family now, not just Helix and the Stomps.

 

HX Effects, Helix Rack, Helix LT, and presets made in Helix Native all open and edit properly. Rack and Stomp XL are flagged beta in the app — I built those from preset files rather than having the unit on my desk, so everything behaves the same, I just can't honestly say I've proven it against real hardware yet.

 

It converts between them now. Point a Helix preset at an HX Stomp and it tells you exactly what it had to change — amp and cab gone if you're heading to HX Effects, snapshots past whatever the target holds (named, so you know which ones went), footswitch assignments with no switch to land on. If it still
doesn't fit it stops and tells you how many blocks to pull rather than picking for you. That bit mattered to me — only you know which ones the sound actually depends on.

 

You can pull presets straight out of a .hxb backup or a .hls setlist now, so you don't have to export them one at a time first.

 

Sharing: post a link to a preset and anyone can open the chain, load it in the editor, or grab the .hlx. Rest of your library stays private, and you can kill the link whenever.

 

Undo and redo got a proper named history — "Add Deluxe Comp", not forty rows of "Edit".

 

And there's an optional account now that adds a cloud library — setlists, labels, search by the gear inside a preset, version history, a trash you can undo from. Emphasis on optional; the editor is identical signed out and still uploads nothing.

 

USB is still in progress, still file-in, file-out for now. Rough edges and "I wish HX Edit did X" requests still very welcome — that's still where the
good ideas come from.
 

[Hypnonaut89]

This is amazing! Thank you for sharing!

[maveric77]

Update: Helrig 1.1.6, plus a desktop beta update

Helrig 1.1.6 is out, and the desktop apps (Mac, Windows, Linux — direct USB) are now in beta as well.

 

Beta so far: 1,667 live edits sent to real pedals, 93 presets read back, and 32 connections in the first two and a half days, with one pedal lock-up (recovered with a power cycle) and 11 issue reports that already turned into 46 fixes across 9 builds.

 

Big thanks to everyone testing it — full release is a few weeks out.

 

On the web app, 1.1.6 adds full Command Center support — you can see and edit every MIDI, footswitch, EXP pedal, and Variax assignment on a preset, laid out to match your device's own Command Center. Also new: copy/paste for blocks, deleting and copying snapshots, editing every snapshot's value for a parameter from one row instead of switching back and forth, and Variax settings can now go on any controller.

 

* Helrig is unofficial and not affiliated with Line 6 or Yamaha ("Line 6," "Helix," and "HX" are trademarks of their respective owners).

[maveric77]

Update: Helrig for Android is out

Quick update for anyone following this thread: Helrig for Android is now on Google Play.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.helrig

 

With your Helix or HX connected over USB to an Android phone or tablet, you can:

• open the preset the pedal is playing and edit it live
• read your setlists off the pedal
• save presets to any slot (Helrig keeps the old slot content first, so you can put it back)
• manage the IRs on the pedal
• open, edit and convert presets between Helix and HX, with or without a pedal

Needs Android 7.0+ with USB OTG and a cable or adapter. Setup and cables: https://helrig.com/helix-editor-mobile

What’s free and what isn’t:

• Free: the app, and opening, editing and converting presets. No account needed.
• Connecting to the pedal over USB needs Helrig Connect, a one-time license inside the same app (not a second app, not a subscription). One license covers the Android and desktop apps.
• Helrig Pro (yearly) includes Connect plus the cloud library.

Supported: Helix Floor, LT and Rack, HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL and HX Effects. Not Helix Stadium (yet).
iPad: the code is ready and waiting on a USB permission from Apple. No date.

As always, bug reports and questions are welcome here.

 

Helrig is an unofficial, independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Line 6 or Yamaha.

[mdmayfield]

This is very exciting! I've been wanting an editor for Linux almost since I got the Helix in 2015. I'll have to try this out - HX Edit has been almost the ONLY reason I've kept Windows devices and VMs around lately.