Mind map and concept map diagrams

Mind maps and concept maps both show a central topic with branching sub-ideas. A mind map has colourful, organic branches and suits a brainstorm. A concept map has boxed concepts joined by labeled relationships and suits a domain model. They share one grammar. The keyword (mindmap or conceptmap) picks the look.

Mind map

Use a mind map for brainstorms, personas, and shaping ideas: a central topic with coloured branches fanning out into rounded, branch-tinted chips.

mindmap
  root((Empathy Map))
    Think and feel
      Thoughts
      Emotions
    See
      Reactions
      Environment
    Say and do
      Actions
      Habits
    Hear
      Comments
      Opinions

The first keyword is mindmap. The first content line is the root, drawn as a centred pill. Indentation builds the hierarchy. A more-indented line is a child of the nearest shallower line above it. Top-level branches split left and right. Each gets its own colour, inherited by its children, and the connecting curves and rounded chips share the branch colour.

Pinning a branch

Branches balance left and right by leaf count automatically. Force one to a side with a side <id> left / side <id> right directive in a vizzy fence, naming the top-level branch by id:

side Hear left

Mind maps are built around the tree. When relationships between concepts are the point, use a concept map instead.

Concept map

Use a concept map for domain models, design docs, and showing how parts fit together: boxed concepts with labeled, dashed relationships between them, laid out radially.

conceptmap
  root((Authentication))
    Identity
      OAuth providers
      Passkeys
    Sessions
      Access token
      Refresh token
  OAuth providers --|issues|--> Access token
  Refresh token --|mints|--> Access token

The first keyword is conceptmap. The hierarchy works exactly like a mind map (root plus nested branches), but it renders as boxes with straight spokes instead of organic branches.

Link lines add labeled cross-links. A line containing a link operator is a relationship between two named nodes. It is drawn dashed and is not part of the indentation. All of these work:

• A --- B (plain, unlabeled)
• A --> B
• A -->|relates to| B
• A -- relates to --> B
• A --|relates to|--> B

Cross-link endpoints reference existing nodes by id. An endpoint that names nothing known becomes a floating node on the outer ring.

Node shapes follow the flowchart vocabulary. The root is a ((circle)), and branches default to rounded. Use (rounded) or [rect] to override.