Canvas & memory chunks
A canvas is an infinite surface where notes live as blocks — not rows in a list, not files in a folder. Position is meaningful: related thoughts sit near each other, and Smritsavant reinforces that structure by reading what you write.
Every block is a memory chunk. Within seconds of writing, it’s embedded — turned into a vector that captures its meaning — entirely on your machine, using a multilingual model that covers 50+ languages. Chunks with similar meaning get linked automatically; links render as edges on the canvas and in the Cortex view.
Memory types
Each chunk has a memory type that controls how it clusters and how long it matters:
| Type | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Core | Long-lived knowledge. Anchors clusters in the Cortex. |
| Groups | Named collections you create. Each group gets a stable color used identically across canvas, Cortex, Brain, Chronicle, and Recent. |
| Temporary | Scratch thoughts that stay out of the way. |
Cycle a note’s memory type with M in focus mode, or click the memory chip on the note. (On Windows and Linux, read ⌘ as Ctrl.)
Working the canvas
- Create: double-click empty canvas, or ⌘⇧N quick capture from anywhere.
- Focus: double-click a block to edit it in place; ⌘⇧E expands to the full editor.
- Merge: drag one block onto another to merge their content.
- Link manually: press L, click the source note, then the target. Manual links live alongside the automatic semantic ones. Click any edge to inspect or sever it.
- Navigate: pan and zoom freely; ⌘0 resets zoom. Your view position is remembered per canvas.
Canvases stay fast at size — rendering virtualizes above 120 blocks.
Suggested links
Smritsavant surfaces pairs of notes that look related but aren’t linked yet — both within a canvas and across canvases. Each suggestion can be promoted to a real edge, dismissed (it won’t return), or visited first. Suggestions are computed locally from the same embeddings as everything else.
Multiple canvases
Use canvases the way you’d use notebooks: one per project, per course, per area of life. Switch from the top bar. Search and chat operate per canvas, and cross-canvas link suggestions keep separate canvases from becoming silos. Each canvas exports independently — see Import & export.