Building a graph

The canvas is the centre of Nesso. Concepts are nodes and typed relations are edges. The Inspector is the right-hand panel where you enrich whatever you’ve got selected.

Adding concepts

Double-click empty canvas to add a concept at the pointer.
N adds a concept at the viewport centre.
Right-click empty canvas and choose Add concept here to add one at the cursor.
New concepts open in edit mode. Type the label and press Enter to commit, Esc to cancel.
Double-click a concept to rename it inline.

An empty graph shows a centered “Your first concept” hint, but the double-click still works through it.

Drawing relations

Drag from a node’s right edge (out handle) to another node’s left edge (in handle). On release, a relation picker opens, grouped by category. Pick the relation type and the edge is created.

The connection line previews with the same quadratic geometry the final edge uses.
Edge type can be changed any time from the Inspector when an edge is selected.

See the relation types reference for the full list, semantic meaning, and type properties. Per-type line style and glyph come from @nesso-how/vocab-learning. Edge encoding density is under Display options below.

Selecting and editing

Click a node or edge to select it. The Inspector reflects the selection.
Hold ⌘ / Ctrl and click to toggle additional items into the selection.
Drag on empty canvas to marquee-select multiple items.
⌘A / Ctrl+A selects every concept and relation in the graph.
Right-click a concept, relation, or empty canvas for a context menu of the relevant actions (copy/cut/duplicate/delete a concept; flip / delete a relation; paste / add concept / center·fit on the canvas). To change a relation’s type, select the edge and pick a new type in the Inspector.
Del or Backspace deletes the selection (one relation, one concept, or every concept in a marquee). Edges attached to a deleted concept go with it. Delete is also on the right-click menu and the Inspector’s action toolbar.
⌘C / Ctrl+C copies the selection. Copying concepts also copies relations between them; copying a relation includes its two endpoints. ⌘X / Ctrl+X cuts: it copies the selection and removes it in one step. ⌘V / Ctrl+V pastes the clipboard with a small offset (right-click Paste drops it at the cursor instead). ⌘D / Ctrl+D duplicates the selection in place without touching the clipboard. These also live on the right-click menu and the Inspector toolbar.
Arrow keys nudge a selected concept, and Shift + arrows move it in larger steps.
⌘Z / Ctrl+Z undoes structural edits; ⌘⇧Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes. History has 50 steps and resets when you switch or import a graph.

The Inspector

The Inspector docks on the right, full height between the top bar and the status bar. Its header has a collapse control that shrinks it to a slim rail (keeping the selection plus a vertical action toolbar) and a close control. A docked bottom action toolbar offers copy / cut / duplicate / delete for a concept, or flip / delete for a relation.

When a concept is selected it shows, top to bottom:

Image + title: the title edits inline (Enter commits, Esc reverts). The image button opens Commons search (see below).
Memory (collapsible): the FSRS schedule, read-only: when due, stability (in days), last self-rating, review count (with lapses), and time since the last review.
Definition, Examples, Notes: see below.
Relations (collapsible): outgoing and incoming edges, each connected concept shown with the relation glyph in a chip and the type on the right (incoming dimmed). Click a row to jump to that concept. Change a relation’s type by selecting the edge.

When an edge is selected, the Inspector shows the relation as a chip with its category colour and a dropdown of every relation type. Picking a new type updates the edge in place. The graph keeps its endpoints and identity.

Notes fields

Three free-text fields that travel with the concept and feed both the AI mentor and Review:

Definition: a one-sentence-ish explanation in your own words.
Examples: one per line. Press Shift+Enter or use the Add button to add a new line; press Backspace in an empty example to remove that line (unless it’s the only one).
Notes: anything else: caveats, sources, mnemonics.

In Review, definition and examples appear when you Reveal a card so you can check your recall. The AI mentor uses the same fields in its graph snapshot and focal-neighbour context when a concept is selected.

Concept image

Press the picture icon to open the Wikimedia Commons search. The query auto-fills from the concept title and runs immediately. Pick any result to attach a 200-px thumbnail to the concept. The image shows in the Inspector, on reveal in Review mode, and is included as context for the AI mentor.

The image link and Commons description URL are persisted with the graph, so attribution is preserved on export.

Sidebar → Display controls how the active graph is rendered: heatmap overlay, edge encoding density, curve style, and auto flip. Choices are saved with the graph in IndexedDB (and included in JSON export). New graphs start from the app defaults until you change them.

When Display → Curve is set to Arc, Auto flip (on by default) bends relations toward the side that avoids overlapping nodes, flipping when the target is above the source on the right, or below on the left, and updates live while you drag concepts. Flip curve in the Inspector is Off | Auto | On while auto flip is on: Auto follows layout, Off / On pin a manual bend on that edge. With auto flip off for that graph, the control is Off | On only.