explaingit

vladignatyev/brain-map-skill

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

32PythonAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

Turns a folder of Markdown notes into one interactive HTML graph you can open in any browser, no server needed.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((brain-map-skill))
    What it does
      Notes to graph
      Interactive HTML
      Self-contained file
    Tech stack
      Python
      HTML
      Optional networkx
    Use cases
      Visualize Obsidian vault
      Explore gbrain export
      AI assistant skill
    Audience
      Note takers
      Vibe coders
      AI tool users

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Turn an Obsidian vault into a visual map of how your notes connect.

USE CASE 2

Explore a gbrain export as an interactive graph in the browser.

USE CASE 3

Watch your note collection grow over time with the timeline scrubber.

USE CASE 4

Add the builder as a skill so Claude Code or Cursor can generate a knowledge map on request.

What is it built with?

PythonHTMLJavaScriptnetworkxnumpyscipy

How does it compare?

vladignatyev/brain-map-skillautolearnmem/automembilly-ellis/exr-imageio-poc
Stars323232
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasyhardmoderate
Complexity2/55/53/5
Audiencevibe coderresearcherresearcher

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

brain-map-skill is a Python tool that takes a folder of Markdown notes and converts them into a single interactive HTML file showing all those notes as a visual graph. The graph draws each note as a dot and connects dots to each other based on links between notes. It works with Obsidian vaults (a popular note-taking app that stores notes as plain text Markdown files) and with exports from a tool called gbrain. The output HTML file is completely self-contained and opens in any browser with no server, no account, and no internet connection required. The repo ships with a prebuilt demo containing 992 fictional notes organized into three themes (work, study, and life) so you can open it immediately and see how it works before touching your own notes. The demo lets you scrub a timeline to watch the note collection grow month by month, filter by theme, search for specific notes, and click any node to see its connections and details. When building a map from your own notes, the script reads the folder structure to determine themes (top-level folders become color-coded groups), reads note tags and subfolders to assign shapes to different note types, and follows wiki-style links between notes to draw connections. Notes with many incoming links appear larger. If your notes have creation date information in their YAML header, the timeline feature works automatically. If not, the script falls back to file timestamps. The tool runs with nothing installed beyond standard Python, though installing optional packages (networkx, numpy, scipy) switches the layout calculation from the browser to Python, which makes large maps with a thousand or more nodes load faster and look cleaner. The script detects which approach to use automatically. It can also be installed as a skill file for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor, allowing those tools to call the builder directly when asked to generate a knowledge map. The project is MIT licensed.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Install brain-map-skill and generate an interactive map from my Obsidian vault folder.
Prompt 2
Explain how brain-map-skill decides which shape and color to give each note.
Prompt 3
Show me how to install networkx so brain-map-skill can lay out a map with a thousand notes.
Prompt 4
Set up brain-map-skill as a Claude Code skill so I can ask for a knowledge map by name.

Frequently asked questions

What is brain-map-skill?

Turns a folder of Markdown notes into one interactive HTML graph you can open in any browser, no server needed.

What language is brain-map-skill written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, HTML, JavaScript.

What license does brain-map-skill use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is brain-map-skill to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is brain-map-skill for?

Mainly vibe coder.

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