---
title: Install heph (and isolate dev)
modified: 2026-06-04
tags:
  - how-to
---

# Install heph (and isolate dev)

How to install `heph`/`hephd` from the forge and run the `heph.nvim` plugin,
**isolated** from in-repo development so the two never share data. No prebuilt
binaries yet — everything builds from source (works on macOS/arm64,
linux/arm64, linux/amd64).

## 1. Install the binaries from the forge

Build and install `heph` + `hephd` to `~/.cargo/bin` (on `PATH`) from the latest
release tag:

```bash
cargo install --locked \
  --git ssh://forgejo@forge.ops.eblu.me:2222/eblume/hephaestus.git \
  --tag v1.0.0 \
  heph hephd
```

Bump `--tag` to upgrade to a newer release; to track unreleased work instead,
swap `--tag vX.Y.Z` for `--branch main`. This needs forge SSH access (an
unlocked 1Password / ssh-agent key).

`heph --version` / `hephd --version` report `X.Y.Z (<git-sha>)` for a tagged
install and `0.0.0 (<git-sha>)` for a branch/dev install — the release version
is baked into the tag's manifest (`main` itself stays `0.0.0`), and the short
SHA is captured at build time so any build is traceable to its commit.

The **installed** daemon owns the default paths — socket
`$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/heph/hephd.sock`, DB `$XDG_DATA_HOME/heph/heph.db` — i.e. your
real data.

## 2. The Neovim plugin

The plugin lives in its own forge repo,
[eblume/hephaestus.nvim](ssh://forgejo@forge.ops.eblu.me:2222/eblume/hephaestus.nvim.git),
with the plugin at the repo root — so lazy.nvim loads it from a bare git URL.
Point lazy at the forge over SSH:

```lua
-- lazy.nvim spec
{
  url = "ssh://forgejo@forge.ops.eblu.me:2222/eblume/hephaestus.nvim.git",
  config = function()
    require("heph").setup({}) -- connect-only: talks to the daemon you started
  end,
}
```

The plugin is **connect-only** — it talks to a `hephd` you run as a service, it
does not start one itself. Start the daemon once:

```bash
heph daemon start    # launchd agent (macOS) / systemd user service (Linux)
```

See [[run-the-daemon]] for `start`/`stop`/`restart`/`status`. Update the plugin
with `:Lazy update` (and after a `cargo install` upgrade of the binaries, `heph
daemon restart` to pick up the new `hephd`).

## 3. Isolate development

In-repo development must not touch the installed store. Run the dev daemon on
separate paths and point a dev Neovim at it:

```bash
mise run dev   # runs the working-tree hephd on .dev/hephd.sock + .dev/heph.db
```

```bash
# dev Neovim — the plugin reads these envs and targets the dev daemon
HEPH_SOCKET="$PWD/.dev/hephd.sock" HEPH_DB="$PWD/.dev/heph.db" nvim
```

The installed plugin (no envs) talks to the installed daemon; the dev Neovim
talks to the dev daemon. They never share a socket or DB. `.dev/` is gitignored.

## Related

- [[heph-nvim]] — the plugin surface and its managed-daemon lifecycle
- [[v1-prototype-tech-spec]] — §3.1 runtime modes; the daemon's exclusive DB lock