Graph View Guide
Master the art of visual navigation in your darukavana vault
Related: Master MOC • Navigation guides and structure
🎯 What is Graph View?
The graph view in Obsidian shows your notes as nodes and links as connections, creating a visual map of your knowledge. This helps you:
- Discover unexpected connections
- Identify knowledge clusters
- Find orphaned notes
- Visualize the structure of your thinking
🔍 How to Access Graph View
- Local Graph: Right-click any note → “Open local graph”
- Global Graph: Command palette → “Graph view: Open” or use hotkey
- Sidebar: Add graph view to left/right sidebar for persistent access
⚙️ Essential Settings
Filters
- Tags: Show/hide specific tags (#ai, research, daily-note)
- File Types: Focus on markdown files, exclude images
- Path: Show only specific folders (e.g., only research/ or startups/)
Groups
Color-code different types of content:
Research: #research, #ai, #mechanistic-interpretability
Projects: #projects, #startups, #vayuputra
Personal: #journal, #daily-note, #personal
Learning: #learning, #ai, #dsa
Creative: #writing, #poetry, #music
Forces
- Link Force: How strongly connected notes attract
- Repel Force: How much unconnected notes push apart
- Link Distance: Length of connection lines
- Center Force: Pull toward center
🎨 Visual Interpretation
Node Sizes
- Large nodes: Highly connected notes (usually MOCs or index files)
- Medium nodes: Well-connected content notes
- Small nodes: Less connected or newer notes
Connection Patterns
- Dense clusters: Related topics or projects
- Bridge nodes: Important connectors between different areas
- Isolated nodes: Orphaned content that needs more connections
Color Coding
- Default: Regular notes
- Orange: Files with unresolved links
- Purple: Attachments and images
- Custom: Based on your group settings
🧭 Navigation Techniques
Effective Browsing
- Start with major hubs: Look for large nodes like MOC, index, tracker
- Follow clusters: Explore dense connection areas
- Check orphans: Visit isolated nodes to add connections
- Use search: Combined with graph view for targeted exploration
Advanced Techniques
- Hover preview: See note content without opening
- Multi-select: Select multiple nodes to see their connections
- Zoom patterns: Pull back for overview, zoom in for details
- Time navigation: Some plugins show temporal connections
🎯 Common Use Cases
Knowledge Discovery
AI Learning → Research Papers → Practical Projects ↑ ↑ ↑ Daily Notes ← Insights ← Implementation
Project Mapping
- See how projects connect to people, resources, and goals
- Identify missing links between related work
- Track project evolution over time
Content Audit
- Find notes with too few connections
- Identify over-connected hub files that might need splitting
- Discover content gaps in knowledge areas
📊 Graph Patterns to Recognize
Healthy Vault Indicators
- Balanced clusters: Not too dense, not too sparse
- Multiple hubs: Various index files and MOCs
- Cross-connections: Links between different domains
- Growing edges: New connections forming regularly
Warning Signs
- Isolated islands: Unconnected knowledge clusters
- Single hub dominance: One mega-node connecting everything
- Linear chains: Long sequences without loops
- Dead ends: Many one-way connections
🛠️ Optimization Strategies
Regular Maintenance
- Weekly: Check for new orphan nodes
- Monthly: Review cluster health and connections
- Quarterly: Major structural reorganization
- Yearly: Archive old connections, promote important ones
Best Practices
- Create hub notes for major topics
- Use descriptive link text for better visualization
- Balance connection density
- Regular pruning of obsolete connections
- Intentional linking based on actual relationships
🌟 Advanced Features
Plugins to Enhance Graph View
- Neo4j Graph View: More advanced graph visualization
- Graph Analysis: Calculate centrality and other metrics
- Force Graph: 3D graph visualization
- Journey: Create guided tours through connected notes
Integration with Other Tools
- Export graph data for external analysis
- Use graph patterns to inform folder structure
- Generate connection reports
- Create graph-based presentations
💡 Practical Tips
For Different Note Types
- MOCs: Should be highly connected hubs
- Daily notes: Connect to projects and people
- Research notes: Link to sources and applications
- Project notes: Connect to timeline and resources
Customization Ideas
/* Custom CSS for graph view */
.graph-view.color-fill {
/* Daily notes in blue */
--color-tag-daily-note: #3b82f6;
/* Projects in green */
--color-tag-projects: #10b981;
/* Research in purple */
--color-tag-research: #8b5cf6;
}🎓 Learning Exercise
Weekly Graph Review
- Open global graph view
- Identify the 3 most connected nodes
- Find 3 orphan nodes
- Create 1 new cross-domain connection
- Color-code one new category
Monthly Connection Challenge
- Connect each orphan note to main network
- Create at least 3 bi-directional links
- Establish one new hub node for growing area
- Review and optimize cluster density
🔮 Future Possibilities
AI-Enhanced Navigation
- Suggest connections based on content
- Automatic cluster detection
- Semantic similarity mapping
- Dynamic layout optimization
Advanced Visualization
- Timeline overlays on graph
- Strength indicators for connections
- Path highlighting for workflows
- Interactive filtering and querying
Last updated: {{date}} - Keep exploring the graph to discover new patterns
📚 Resources for Learning More
- Obsidian Graph View Documentation
- Nick Milo’s LYT Graph Usage
- Community forums for advanced techniques
- Plugin documentation for graph enhancements