MindMeld is a web-based mind mapping tool that allows users to create, organize, and connect notes in a flexible, freeform manner.
I'm writing a book. My co-author, Andrew, and I are currently about 80,000 words (or 400 pages) of content into the manuscript, and ahead of one of our weekly calls I decided that I wanted to sketch out the current structure visually. If I had a white board, it would be full of post-its, but in the absence of that, I needed a digital tool to do it.
I know what you're thinking. Miro, Lucidchart, Diagrams.net, even Figma or Google Slides already exist. But I wanted something simple - just some notes on a canvas. I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted it to do too, but simplicity was absolutely the goal. Just notes, and a canvas. Mindmeld is what happened when I decided to write my own app, with the help of ChatGPT and Claude.
MindMeld is intentionally simple with only very basic functionality, running entirely in a browser. You can't use it with other users in real time, and there's no online storage of your maps. They need to be exported and imported as JSON files.
To get started, double-click anywhere on the canvas to create a new note. You can then move notes by clicking and dragging them, and connect notes by dragging from one ghost connector to another note.
Since the data is exported as JSON, you can try entering the exported data into a large language model (LLM) like Claude, GPT, or Gemini. These models can take your maps and create prose from them. It can take your maps and create prose from them, (eg, "create me a book summary from this JSON...") or, even create JSON in the correct format from an existing book ("convert the major themes of this book into JSON in this format...") [see the readme for more details]
You can use this explanation in a prompt to an LLM to help it parse your clipboard or exported JSON files.
The JSON defines a diagram with two main components: "notes" (n) and "connections" (c).
Notes (n):
Connections (c):
This structure maps relationships between notes on a canvas, with notes positioned by coordinates and connected by defined relationships.
No data is stored anywhere except in your browser. There are no cookies, and no information is sent to a server. This ensures your data remains private and secure while you work on your mind maps. Rememember you have to export your work to save it.
You can download the Mindmeld files from Github and run MindMeld from your own server or even locally on your own laptop. This provides you with complete control over your mind mapping environment and allows for offline usage.
The application code is provided with no warranty whatsoever. It's a demonstration of an app that can be created purely with generative AI tools. While it is fully functional, it is intended to showcase what can be achieved with AI and may not have the robustness of a commercial product. Use it at your own risk.