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description: "Jotaid's knowledge graph: how to read nodes and edges, 2D versus 3D, the info panel, and the insight line that will warn you about an echo chamber."
---
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# Knowledge Graph

Switch to **Node view** with nothing selected and the main area is the whole graph: your network of concepts.

- **A dot** = one [node](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/create-nodes)
- **A line** = two nodes **appearing in the same note**
- Brighter line = they co-occur more often

> **The graph draws co-occurrence, not link direction**
>
> A line does not mean "A links to B"; it means "A and B have been discussed together". So the graph reads as **proximity between concepts**, not as citation paths between notes.

## Two Renderings

**Settings → Appearance → Node Graph** switches between:

- **2D** — a flat layout, best for reading the overall structure and its groupings
- **3D** — a rotatable globe, easier to tell layers apart once there are many nodes

## Interaction

| Action | macOS | iOS |
|--------|-------|-----|
| See a node's details | Hover and the panel appears | Tap; it rises from the bottom |
| Keep the panel | **Click** the node to pin it | The panel is a sheet already |
| Rearrange the layout | Drag nodes | Drag nodes |
| Zoom / pan | Trackpad gestures | Pinch / drag |

While you dwell on or pin a node it becomes a **slowly rotating sphere**, with bands of light travelling out from it along each edge to its neighbours — marking which node is currently the centre in a dense network. The direction is always outward.

## What the Info Panel Holds

| Section | Content |
|---------|---------|
| Overview | Reference count, neighbour count, [type badge](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/node-types) |
| Co-occurring nodes | Nodes it often appears with, each with a connection strength |
| **Similar nodes** | Nodes close in meaning **that have never co-occurred** — loads once the panel is pinned |
| Links | Notes citing it, clickable |

The similar-nodes section deliberately **shows no number**: the strengths above are facts about links you made, while closeness in meaning is only the model's judgement, and the two should not look alike. It needs [semantic relations](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/semantic-relations) to be available.

## Network Insight

The overview panel summarises the whole network — how many nodes and links it holds, how densely connected and how tightly grouped it is, and how the badges are distributed — and adds one line of **insight** beneath. Only the single most pertinent observation is shown:

| When | What it says |
|------|--------------|
| Tightly grouped, with no bridge nodes at all | **Echo-chamber risk** — clustered and sealed off |
| Several bridge nodes | Key entry points for expanding your boundaries |
| Several nodes newly active | Your focus may be shifting |
| Some nodes connected to nothing | Suggests connecting one to existing concepts |
| Plenty of nodes but few links between them | Associations still undiscovered |

If none apply, **nothing is shown** — a healthy graph does not need commentary.

This line appears on the **overview** panel only, never on a single node's panel: every other panel answers "how is this node doing", and only the overview speaks about the network as a whole.

## The Graph Sees the Current Project

The graph, the co-occurrence matrix and the network summary all cover the **currently selected project**. This is why archived notes should not be moved into an "archive project" — it would take them out of your graph. See [PARA](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/para).

## Next Steps

- [Co-occurrence Matrix](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/matrix) — The same relationships as a grid
- [Link Predictions](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/predictions) — The lines still missing
- [Node Types](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/node-types) — What the badges mean