Research & Writing
Vault
Jalaran Vault is a Zettelkasten second brain where atomic notes link to each other with double-bracket backlinks and the resulting connections render as an interactive concept graph.
Who Vault is for
For people who take a lot of notes and get little back from them, because notes filed in folders are notes you never reopen. The Zettelkasten method exists to fix precisely that, and Vault is that method with the graph made visible.
What Vault does
Write one idea per note and connect notes with double-bracket links; those links resolve into a backlink graph you can explore visually. The value is emergent rather than designed — the connection you did not plan is the one worth having, and it only becomes visible once the graph is dense enough to surprise you. AI can suggest links you have missed, and notes created by Graph arrive here already cross-linked rather than as orphans you then have to connect by hand.
- Atomic notes with double-bracket linking and automatic backlinks
- Interactive concept graph of emergent connections
- AI suggestions for links you have missed
- Receives already-linked notes from Graph
How Vault works
Write atomic notes
One idea per note. The discipline feels fussy for a week and is what makes the whole thing work.
Link with double brackets
Reference another note by title; the link resolves and creates a backlink on the other side automatically.
Explore the graph
An interactive concept map of what you have actually connected — which is rarely what you assumed.
Let it suggest connections
AI proposes links between notes you never related, which is where the method starts earning its keep.
What Vault does not do
Vault takes discipline before it repays it — a Zettelkasten with thirty notes is worse than a folder, and the graph only becomes useful somewhere past a few hundred. There is no Obsidian or Roam import and no folder hierarchy, which is deliberate: hierarchy is the thing the method replaces. It holds your own thinking, so material from books belongs in Stacks and PDFs belong in Lens.
Common questions
How many notes before this is useful?
More than you would like. The value is emergent — a small vault is worse than a folder, and the graph starts genuinely surprising you somewhere in the hundreds. It is a method that repays patience, and it is fair to say so up front.
Can I import my Obsidian vault?
No. There is no importer, so notes start here. Graph can help by extracting entities from pasted text and turning them into linked notes in bulk.
Why are there no folders?
Because hierarchy is what the Zettelkasten method replaces. An idea belongs in several places at once, which links express and folders cannot.
Explore the workspace
Jalaran is one workspace of 85 modules. Browse the rest of the arsenal: