Clusters groups the cards into broad families and finer topics, names each one, and writes them as notes. Because topics are notes that link to their sources, Graph view shows the clusters.

Before you start

The collection is indexed.

Steps

1. Run Clusters: Find topics in a collection… and pick the collection. Or select Find topics… in the collection's dialog.
2. Optionally add seeds: subjects you want a topic for whatever the clustering finds. One per line, as Name = what to search for.
3. Read what a run would do. No model has been called.
4. Select Dry run to see the clusters' sizes and each seed's hits. This spends only the seeds' embeddings.
5. Select Find topics. Naming the topics runs as a job, with its cost.
6. Read the list of notes it would write, then select Write.

Clustering runs inside Obsidian: a few seconds for hundreds of cards, under a minute for four thousand, a few minutes for ten thousand.

What you get

Under Clusters/Topics/<collection>/:

• a folder per family, with the family's note linking its topics;
• a note per topic: its description, and every card with its quote, linking the book's note or the source note;
• a Seeded folder with a note per seed.

Graph view gets a colour group per family, beside your own groups.

A topic note you have edited since Clusters wrote it is kept as it is on the next run.

See a topic in the graph

Open a topic, family or seed note and run Clusters: Open local graph on this topic. The local graph opens pinned to that note, in the collection's colours. Graph views already open show new colour groups once reopened.

Related

• Draft a write-up
• Undo a run