📖 Concepts¶

The core mental model of Visualli. The Specification page covers the exact JSONL format; this page explains what the pieces are and why they exist.

The Infinite Canvas¶

Visualli treats information as living on an infinite 2D canvas. Content is not forced into a rigid tree — positions are free-form, but hierarchical relationships between layers and nodes are always preserved.

Layers and Levels¶

Layers¶

The fundamental unit of organization is the Layer. A layer is a self-contained collection of nodes, connections, and containers:

• Self-contained. Everything a layer needs to render its content lives inside it.
• Independent. Layers can be loaded, shown, or hidden individually — enabling "detail on demand": show the summary first, fetch deeper layers only as the user zooms or expands.
• Hierarchical. A layer can be a child of another layer, attached to a specific node in the parent layer.

Levels¶

Multiple layers can sit at the same Level. Think of a level as a "floor" in a building:

• Depth. Level 0 is the root summary, Level 1 is the next drill-down, and so on.
• Grouping. Several independent layers can share one level; the user switches between them (like apartments on one floor), but only one is visible at a time.
• Navigation. Users progress from lower levels (overview) to higher levels (detail).

How Layers and Levels relate¶

graph TD
    %% LEVEL 0: THE FOUNDATION
    subgraph L0 [**LEVEL 0**]
        direction LR
        subgraph LA [Layer A]
            direction LR
            A1((N)) 
            A2((N))
        end
    end

    %% LEVEL 1: LAYER B ON LEFT, LAYER C ON RIGHT
    subgraph L1 [**LEVEL 1**]
        direction LR
        subgraph LB [Layer B]
            direction LR
            B1((N)) --> B2((N)) --> B3((N))
        end
        subgraph LC [Layer C]
            direction LR
            C1((N)) --> C2((N))
        end
    end

    %% LEVEL 2: LAYER D -> LAYER E -> LAYER F
    subgraph L2 [**LEVEL 2**]
        direction LR
        subgraph LD [Layer D]
            direction LR
            D1((N)) --> D2((N)) --> D3((N)) --> D4((N))
        end
        subgraph LE [Layer E]
            direction LR
            E1((N))
        end
        subgraph LF [Layer F]
            direction LR
            F1((N)) --> F2((N))
        end
    end

    %% CONNECTIONS
    A1 -.-> LB
    A2 -.-> LC

    B1 -.-> LD
    B2 -.-> LE
    B3 -.-> LF

    %% STYLING
    style L0 stroke-dasharray: 5 5
    style L1 stroke-dasharray: 5 5
    style L2 stroke-dasharray: 5 5

Key Entities¶

These are the building blocks. See the Specification page for exact JSONL fields and validation rules.