Creating Nodes
A node is a concept in Jotaid: something you keep thinking about. It is not merely a link anchor — it has a body of its own, where you can write the definition, your understanding, and where it borders on neighbouring ideas.
Nodes are the raw material for the knowledge graph and the co-occurrence matrix: both see nodes only — not tags, not plain links.
Three Ways by Hand
| Way | How | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| As you write | Type [[ in the body; autocomplete appears, pick one or just type a new name | You realise mid-sentence that this is a concept |
| Mark as Node | Select existing text → the editor menu's Mark as Node, which wraps it in [[ ]] | Rereading an old note and noticing a word was central all along |
| By hand | The + at the top of the node list → Manual Node | Establishing the concept first, filling it in later |
The first two share one property: write it even if the node does not exist yet — it comes into being as you type, with no need to create it somewhere else first.
The autocomplete details (the macOS popover, the iOS bar above the keyboard) are in Insert Links.
Smart Node
When you cannot tell which concepts deserve to be nodes, let the AI read through: Smart Node scans the current project's notes, proposes concepts worth promoting, and lists the notes referencing each.
What a Scan Looks Like
- Open Smart Node from the left pane's + menu; the start screen says how many notes this run will analyse
- Optionally write a line of extra guidance first — "methodology only, no personal names"
- Start the scan; the results page lists what it found, with the run's facts under the title ("8 nodes found for you")
- Pick only the ones useful to you — tick them and apply; unticked proposals are never created
Re-scanning
If the results disappoint, Re-scan opens a drawer holding three things:
- What the last run covered ("Last scan covered 14 of 17 notes (changed only)")
- An Analyze all notes checkbox — off by default, and reset every time the drawer opens
- Another box for extra guidance
By default only changed notes are analysed, so re-scanning does not burn the same calls twice. Tick "analyze all notes" when you want the whole project looked at afresh.
The dot on the +
Jotaid watches for candidate concepts as you write. When enough have accumulated to be worth a look, a small dot appears on the left pane's + — a nudge that there are new node suggestions, not a count of chores.
Smart Node needs Pro and your own API key (AI Setup).
Nodes vs Tags
One question settles it: will you ever want to open it and see what else relates to it?
Yes — a node. No, you just want to classify the note — a tag.
Next Steps
- Managing Nodes — Renaming, merging, enriching
- Node Types — What Core / Bridge / Emerging mean
- Backlinks — The structure links form