Find unexpected connections
The article you saved in March turns out to relate to the thesis you started in May. The mind map surfaces the link automatically based on shared concepts. You did not have to remember the March save existed.
Explore
Your library becomes a living mind map. Follow threads, zoom into clusters, and rediscover what you forgot you saved.
How it works
When to use it
The article you saved in March turns out to relate to the thesis you started in May. The mind map surfaces the link automatically based on shared concepts. You did not have to remember the March save existed.
You step away from a project for three weeks. The Sunday you sit back down, opening the map shows you the cluster you left, what connects to what, and what you were thinking. The page is back faster than re-reading the notes would have done.
You have twenty research notes and need to turn them into a chapter. The map shows you which notes cluster together and which sit alone. The clusters become your section structure. The lonely notes become the parts that need more material.
Screenshot a slice of the map and drop it in a doc or a Slack message. It says more about how you got to a conclusion than any bullet list would. Useful for collaborators, supervisors, or your future self.
How the map is built
Most mind-map tools (Obsidian, Roam) require you to type [[brackets]] every time you want a link. Mindly's map is built from AI-detected semantic relationships, so the graph fills in even for items you saved without thinking about how they connect.
Notes, links, PDFs, voice memos, screenshots, files — every kind of save becomes a node. The graph is not text-only. A voice memo and a PDF can share an edge if they discuss the same topic.
Tap a node and the surrounding graph rearranges to show what is connected to it. The focus mode hides distant clusters so you can study one thread without losing the rest.
A slider lets you scrub through the history of your library. Watch the graph grow as you save items over weeks or months. Useful for seeing how an idea evolved, or what was true about your thinking last quarter.
Why it matters
Lists hide structure. Folders hide context. A mind map shows both, simultaneously. The folder you would have put a note in is one of many possible homes; the mind map shows all of them at once, weighted by relevance. You can still browse linearly if you want, and Mindly supports that. But the moment you need to find something whose category you no longer remember, or notice a pattern across saves you did not realize were related, the map is the only view that actually works. The folder model assumes you remember the correct filename. The graph model assumes you remember a single related concept. Real memory works the second way.
Common questions
A visual graph of every item in your Mindly library, where each saved note, link, file, or voice memo is a node, and edges connect items that share concepts. Unlike a folder tree or a tag list, the mind map shows multiple relationships at once and lets you navigate by meaning instead of by name.
Automatic. Mindly uses AI to detect semantic relationships between every save and forms edges between related items in seconds. You can also manually create or remove edges if you want, but the default graph fills in without any effort.
Yes. Click any node and the graph reflows to focus on that node's neighbourhood. Distant clusters fade out so you can study one thread without distraction. Pinch or scroll to zoom out for the wider view.
Yes. Mindly reads PDFs and transcribes voice memos so they become searchable text under the hood. A PDF, a voice note, and a typed note can all sit as connected nodes in the same map if they relate to the same topic.
Similar in spirit, different in execution. Obsidian's graph is built from manual [[wiki-links]] you typed. Mindly's graph is built from AI-detected connections, so it works even when you save items without explicitly linking them.
Yes. Screenshot any view of the map for static sharing. Pro users can also export the underlying graph data as JSON for use in other tools.
Also in Mindly
Related reading
Get started
Download Mindly, save a week of ideas, then open the map. The clusters tell you what you’re actually working on.