Self-host Helical Insight
v7.0.0Open-source BI with AI analytics, pixel-perfect reports
- Stars
- 1 105
- Ports
- 8080 (Tomcat application server (internal)), 8000 (Instant BI Python service)
- Requires
- PostgreSQL
hiee/helicalinsight
What is Helical Insight?
Helical Insight is an open-source business intelligence platform that combines three generations of analytics: AI-powered conversational analytics (Instant BI) with bring-your-own-LLM support, pixel-perfect paginated reporting similar to Crystal Reports or SSRS, and interactive dashboards with drill-down and drill-through capabilities. It targets organizations needing a complete BI and reporting platform that can be embedded into applications, supports multi-tenancy with row-level security, and offers extensive white-labeling. The platform connects to virtually any data source via JDBC, native connectors, REST APIs, and custom integrations, supporting databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, Snowflake, BigQuery, and many more. It is deployed via Docker Compose (with images on Docker Hub under hiee/helicalinsight) or natively on Windows/Linux with Tomcat 11 and Java 25. The Community Edition includes every feature of the Enterprise Edition at no cost; commercial support and branding are the only distinctions. Licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Should you self-host Helical Insight?
Helical Insight scores 58/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #10 of 15 in Business Intelligence. It has 1 105 GitHub stars.
It shipped 1 stable release in the past year. The latest, v7.0.0, came out on 30 July 2026.
Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is AGPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in JavaScript.
Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Superset (88/100, 75 342 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Helical Insight vs Superset side by side.
Features
- AI-powered conversational analytics
- Custom workflows (HWF)
- Dynamic data source switching
- Embedded Analytics
- High performance with caching and clustering
- Interactive dashboards
- Localization
- Multiple Export Formats
- Multi-tenancy
- Pixel-perfect paginated reporting
- Report scheduling and bursting
- REST API
- Row-level Security
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- White-labeling
Helical Insight README
FAQ
Is the source code available?
Yes. The source code is available and can be downloaded from GitHub.
Can I switch between Community and Enterprise without migration?
Yes. You can switch between Community Edition and Enterprise Edition without requiring a migration.
Is Community Edition a trial?
No. There is no time limit, no feature restrictions, and no forced upgrade. It is the complete product designed for production use and available completely free forever.
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