diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 1dc0b8eee..a112133a0 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -74,6 +74,25 @@
           # filter out unnecessary paths
           filter = ignorePaths;
         };
+
+      helix-cogs = craneLibStable.buildPackage (commonArgs // {
+        pname = "helix-cogs";
+        version = "0.1.0";
+        cargoArtifacts = craneLibStable.buildDepsOnly commonArgs;
+
+        buildPhase = ''
+          export HOME=$PWD/build_home  # code-gen will write files relative to $HOME
+          cargoBuildLog=$(mktemp cargoBuildLogXXXX.json)
+          cargo run --package xtask -- code-gen --message-format json-render-diagnostics >"$cargoBuildLog"
+        '';
+
+        postInstall = ''
+          mkdir -p $out/cogs
+          cp -r build_home/.config/helix/* "$out/cogs"
+        '';
+
+      });
+
       makeOverridableHelix = old: config: let
         grammars = pkgs.callPackage ./grammars.nix config;
         runtimeDir = pkgs.runCommand "helix-runtime" {} ''
@@ -146,6 +165,7 @@
             '';
           });
         helix = makeOverridableHelix self.packages.${system}.helix-unwrapped {};
+        helix-cogs = helix-cogs;
         default = self.packages.${system}.helix;
       };
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands/engine/steel.rs b/helix-term/src/commands/engine/steel.rs
index 2bf6b7055..8b7c1cbf0 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands/engine/steel.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands/engine/steel.rs
@@ -871,7 +871,10 @@ fn load_editor_api(engine: &mut Engine, generate_sources: bool) {
         let mut target_directory = helix_runtime_search_path();
 
         if !target_directory.exists() {
-            std::fs::create_dir(&target_directory).unwrap();
+            std::fs::create_dir_all(&target_directory).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
+                panic!("Failed to create directory {:?}: {}", target_directory, err)
+            });
+            eprintln!("Created directory: {:?}", target_directory);
         }
 
         target_directory.push("editor.scm");