mdmind is a local-first thinking tool for structured maps in plain text.
It gives you two interfaces over the same file:
mdm: a CLI for viewing, searching, validating, exporting, and copying examplesmdmind: a full-screen TUI for navigating, filtering, editing, and reshaping maps
Large idea trees stay calm, searchable, and safe to edit with a keyboard.
License: Apache-2.0
Why mdmind
mdmind is good for:
- product and feature planning
- research and writing maps
- prompt libraries
- project breakdowns
- backlog shaping
- keyboard-first personal planning
It is not trying to be:
- a rich document editor
- a team wiki
- a freeform diagram canvas
What A Map Looks Like
Maps are plain-text tree files with lightweight inline structure:
#tag for grouping and workflow markers@key:value for structured metadata[id:path/to/node] for stable deep links[[target/id]] or [[rel:kind->target/id]] for cross-branch references| detail text for longer notes attached to a node
Example:
- Onboarding Research #project @status:active [id:onboarding]
| Turn scattered notes, interviews, and generated research into a decision map.
- Core Question #question [id:onboarding/question]
- Where do new users lose momentum first?
- Evidence #source [id:onboarding/evidence] [[rel:informs->onboarding/decision]]
- Interview notes mention setup vocabulary friction
- Support tickets cluster around first-map examples
- Decision #decision @owner:jason [id:onboarding/decision]
- Ship a guided starter map before adding more settings
- Follow-ups #todo @status:active [id:onboarding/follow-ups] [[onboarding/evidence]]
- Review five more sessions
- Draft release note
These files stay readable in normal Markdown tools. mdmind adds structure and navigation on top of that plain-text shape.
Install
For public installs, GitHub Releases are the source of truth.
brew tap dudash/tap
brew install mdmind
- Linux: install from the release tarball
- Windows: install from the release zip
For local development from this repo:
cargo install --path .
That installs both:
More install and release detail lives in docs/manual/INSTALL_AND_RELEASE.md.
Release notes live in CHANGELOG.md and can be read locally with
mdm changelog.
To check GitHub Releases for a newer build when you have network access, run
mdm version --check.
For Codex, Claude, or other agent clients, see plugins/mdmind/README.md.
Quick Start
Create a map from a starter template:
mdm init roadmap.md --template product
For local task decomposition and agent handoff:
mdm init TODO.md --template todo
Inside mdmind, press t / T to add a TODO child or sibling and Space to toggle a focused [ ] / [x] task. Search with task:open, task:blocked, or task:done when you want checkbox-aware filters.
Open the TUI:
mdmind roadmap.md
Inspect a map from the CLI:
mdm view roadmap.md
mdm find roadmap.md "#todo"
mdm links roadmap.md
Copy bundled example maps onto your machine:
mdm examples list
mdm examples copy all
Core Ideas
- one plain-text map format, two interfaces
- local-first files with small sidecars for session state, views, checkpoints, navigation memory, and UI settings
- focused views for working inside large maps without losing structure
- built-in search, browse, saved views, ids, relations, and detail notes
- safe editing with undo, redo, checkpoints, and autosave/manual save modes
Read Next
If you are new:
