The Canvas
Navigate, arrange, and organize your infinite thinking space.
Pan, zoom, and navigate
The canvas is an infinite space. Click and drag the background to pan. Scroll or pinch to zoom in and out. The grid in the background helps you orient yourself as you move around.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Scroll / Pinch | Zoom in or out |
| Click + Drag background | Pan the canvas |
| F | Fit all content in view |
| Cmd/Ctrl + / Cmd/Ctrl - | Zoom in / out |
Selecting nodes
Click a node to select it. Hold Shift and click to add more nodes to your selection. Drag a rectangle on the background to box-select multiple nodes. Use Cmd+A (Ctrl+A on Windows) to select everything.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Click | Select a node |
| Shift + Click | Add to selection |
| Drag background | Box select |
| Cmd/Ctrl + A | Select all |
Creating thoughts
Double-click (or double-tap on mobile) any empty space on the canvas to create a new thought. When zoomed out, a lightweight inline title input appears right at the current zoom level — no need to zoom in first. When zoomed in, the full editor opens. You can also press Cmd+N or use the command bar (Cmd+K) and type a name.
Level of detail
Nodes adapt their appearance based on zoom level. When zoomed in (above 70%), you see the full card with rich content, editor, and backlinks. Zooming out switches to compact view (title and snippet), then dot-with-label, and finally a minimal colored dot at the furthest zoom. This keeps the canvas readable at every scale. You can edit node titles inline at any zoom level — press Enter or double-click a node without needing to zoom in.
Arrange modes
The canvas toolbar or command bar (Cmd+K, type >) lets you switch between layout modes: Manual, Outline, Grid, Force, Tree (vertical and horizontal), Radial, Cluster, Timeline, and Gravity. You can sort nodes by title, type, created date, updated date, or connection count, and group them by type or cluster. These settings are saved per-garden, so each workspace remembers its layout.
Nested canvases (sub-gardens)
Every thought can become its own canvas. Drill into any thought to enter a focused sub-garden where you can add child thoughts, make connections, and organize ideas independently. The breadcrumb bar at the top shows your current depth (e.g. Home > Research > Topic) and lets you navigate back up to any level. On smaller screens, intermediate breadcrumbs collapse behind a '...' menu.
Expand and collapse
Nodes connected by edges can be collapsed to hide their downstream children. Click the chevron arrow on the right side of any parent node to toggle its children. This works at every zoom level. Collapsed nodes smoothly fade out and the layout re-arranges automatically. Use Cmd+K search to find a collapsed node — its ancestors expand automatically to reveal it.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Cmd/Ctrl + Left or Up | Collapse selected node |
| Cmd/Ctrl + Right or Down | Expand selected node |
| Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Left or Up | Collapse all |
| Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Right or Down | Expand all |
Viewport fitting
Press F to fit all visible content into your viewport. If you have nodes selected, it fits just the selection. The fit accounts for any open sidebar or panel, so content is always centered in the visible area.
Context menus
Right-click (or long-press on mobile) on nodes, edges, or the canvas background to access context-sensitive actions. Node context menus let you edit, delete, duplicate, nest, and connect. Edge context menus let you flip direction, insert a node on the edge, or delete. Canvas context menus let you create new thoughts, paste, or change layout.