--- description: "Four ways to create a concept node in Jotaid — typing [[, marking a selection as a node, creating one by hand, and letting Smart Node scan the whole project." --- # 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](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/graph) and the [co-occurrence matrix](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/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](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/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 1. Open Smart Node from the left pane's **+** menu; the start screen says how many notes this run will analyse 2. Optionally write a line of **extra guidance** first — "methodology only, no personal names" 3. Start the scan; the results page lists what it found, with the run's facts under the title ("8 nodes found for you") 4. **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](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/pricing) and your own API key ([AI Setup](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/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](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/tags). ## Next Steps - [Managing Nodes](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/manage-nodes) — Renaming, merging, enriching - [Node Types](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/node-types) — What Core / Bridge / Emerging mean - [Backlinks](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/backlinks) — The structure links form