Shape
Shape is where you decide what kinds of things your graph holds and how they connect. It’s a canvas of cards, one per node type, joined by lines, one per connection a relationship type makes.
Switch to it with ⌘S or the mode switch in the top bar. A new project opens here, with the hint Draw the shape of your graph: double-click anywhere to add your first node type, or use Build with AI to describe it or show a picture.
The canvas
| Do this | To |
|---|---|
| Double-click empty canvas | add a node type: an “Untitled” card in the next free colour, ready to name |
| Click a card | select it (the inspector shows its details) |
| Drag a card’s header, or the grip at its left | move it |
| Drag the gold handle on a card’s right edge | start a relationship: onto another card, back onto the same card (a self-loop), or onto empty canvas to create a new connected type |
| Click a line’s name | select that one connection |
| Double-click a line’s name | rename the relationship |
| Right-click a line’s name | change its direction, rename it, delete the connection |
| Click empty canvas | deselect; bring back the inspector panel if it was hidden |
| Drag empty canvas, or scroll | pan; pinch or ⌘-scroll zooms |
| Delete | delete the selected type, relationship or connection (asks first if data would go) |
| Esc | deselect; close an open composer |
The zoom control’s fit frames every card.
A type card
A card has a coloured header with a drag grip and the type’s name; one row per property with a kind glyph, the name, and a kind button on the right; and Add property at the foot. Hover a row for an × that deletes the property. The gold connector handle appears on hover and while the card is selected.
A new card’s first property is called name and is made the title: what each node of this type is called on the canvas. You can rename it, pick another property as the title, or have none.
While you name a new card, chips under it offer Or use an existing type: if you type the name of a type that already exists, or click one of the chips, the new card goes away and any relationships you had already drawn to it move over to the existing type.
The inspector
With nothing selected the panel shows an overview: what Shape is for, a list of how-tos, and the five property kinds with their glyphs. Select a type to see its name, colour, Visual Priority and properties; select a connection or relationship to see what it connects and its properties. The panel can be hidden with its ×; a click on the canvas brings it back. See Node types and Relationships.
Saved, and Not saved yet
The capsule in the top bar reads Saved when the database has exactly what the canvas shows. It reads Not saved yet, in red, while the shape has a problem that stops its edits going in: a type or property with no name, two properties with the same name, two types whose names resolve to the same identifier, a property called id (which every type has built in), or a relationship that connects nothing. Hover the capsule to read the issues. Fix them and the edits apply at once. The empty shape is fine: deleting the last type removes it from the database too.
Deleting a type, a connection or a property that holds data deletes that data from your graph, after asking. The undo history is cleared after such a change, because undo cannot bring the data back. See How the database follows the shape.
Build with Claude
The Build with Claude button in the top bar opens a conversation that adds to the shape from a description, a link, a document or a picture. It only ever adds, and each turn can be undone. See Build the shape with AI.