Make mind maps from an outline

mindmap Product Strategy

Research
  User Interviews
    Surveys description: Quarterly NPS survey
    Focus Groups
  Competitor Analysis
    Feature Matrix
    Pricing Review
Development
  MVP Features
    Auth System
      description: Handle login, signup, OAuth flows
    Dashboard
  Nice-to-haves collapsed: true
    Dark Mode
    Export PDF
Go-to-Market
  Launch Plan
    Blog Post
    Demo Video description: 2-min product walkthrough

Overview

Mind maps visualize hierarchical information radiating from a central concept. Each branch represents a subtopic, with deeper nesting for finer detail. Mind maps are useful for brainstorming, project planning, knowledge organization, and breaking down complex topics.

Interactive features: Click nodes to navigate to their source line. Collapse and expand subtrees by clicking nodes with children. Toggle tag group coloring and depth-based coloring via the legend controls.

Syntax

mindmap Title

Node
  Child Node
    Grandchild
  Another Child

The first line declares the chart type. The title becomes the root node. Indentation establishes the parent-child hierarchy.

Nodes

Every non-blank, non-directive line is a node. Nesting is set by indentation:

mindmap Root
  Level 1a
    Level 2a
    Level 2b
  Level 1b

Node Colors

Append a color name (lowercase) at the end of the label:

Important Topic red
  Sub-topic blue

Descriptions

Nodes can have descriptions shown as secondary text. Two forms:

// Same-line form
Surveys description: Quarterly NPS survey

// Indented form (before children)
Auth System
  description: Handle login, signup, and OAuth flows
  Login Page

Collapse Default

Set a node’s default collapsed state with metadata:

Nice-to-haves collapsed: true
  Dark Mode
  Export PDF

Collapsed nodes show a drill-bar indicating hidden children. Click to expand.

Multi-Root

Omit the title to create multiple independent root trees:

mindmap

Q1 Goals
  Ship MVP
  Hire designers
Q2 Goals
  Launch marketing
  Expand team

The diagram title is inferred from the first root’s label.

Tag Groups

Tag groups define color-coded categories. They appear before content and follow the standard tag syntax:

mindmap Root

tag Priority as p
  High red
  Medium yellow
  Low green

  Task A p: High
  Task B p: Low

The alias (p) provides a shorthand for metadata keys
The first declared tag group is active by default and colors nodes by their tag value — active-tag is only needed to pick a different group
Click a tag group name in the legend to activate or deactivate it

Options

Option	Effect
`active-tag GroupName`	Choose which group colors nodes (first declared is active by default; `none` suppresses coloring)

With a single tag group there’s nothing to set — it’s active automatically. active-tag only matters once you declare two or more groups and want one other than the first to drive the colors. Place it on its own line before content:

mindmap Root

tag Priority as p
  High red
  Low green

tag Department as d
  Engineering blue
  Design purple

active-tag Department   // override the default (Priority, declared first)

  Task A p: High, d: Engineering

Complete Example

mindmap Product Strategy blue

tag Priority as p
  High red
  Medium yellow
  Low green

tag Department as d
  Engineering blue
  Design purple
  Marketing orange

Research d: Marketing
  User Interviews p: High
    Surveys description: Quarterly NPS survey
    Focus Groups
  Competitor Analysis d: Engineering
    Feature Matrix
    Pricing Review
Development p: High, d: Engineering
  MVP Features
    Auth System
      description: Handle login, signup, OAuth flows
    Dashboard
  Nice-to-haves p: Low, collapsed: true
    Dark Mode
    Export PDF
Go-to-Market d: Marketing
  Launch Plan
    Blog Post
    Demo Video description: 2-min product walkthrough