The graph view
Altretta's graph view renders your vault in 3D — it is the star-map. There is no separate flat 2D graph: the same immersive starfield is what you navigate up close and at whole-vault scale. Nodes are notes (and, optionally, code symbols), edges are the links between them, and two toggles change what the graph shows and how it's arranged.
Unlike Obsidian, which has a flat 2D graph and nothing more, Altretta has one graph rendered as a navigable 3D constellation. "Local" and "global" aren't different graphs — they're just how much of that one graph you're looking at.
Local or global — one graph, two scales
The local graph shows the neighborhood around the note you're currently reading — the notes it links to, the notes that link back, and their immediate connections. It's the fastest way to see the context of one idea and hop to what's related without leaving your train of thought.
The global graph shows your entire vault at once. Clusters reveal the areas you've developed deeply; isolated nodes reveal orphan notes with no connections yet. It's a map of your whole knowledge base — useful for spotting structure, gaps, and themes.
Two toggles: what it shows, how it's arranged
The graph has two independent controls.
Content — Notes / Code / All. Choose what populates the graph:
- Notes — your notes and the links between them, the classic knowledge graph.
- Code — the code symbol map: functions, types, and their cross-file relationships from any code you've ingested.
- All — notes and code fused into one graph, so a design note can sit next to the symbols it describes.
Layout — Constellation or Layers. Choose how nodes are positioned:
- Constellation — a free-floating starfield where position emerges from how nodes connect (the classic star-map look).
- Layers — nodes nested by folder, so the graph's structure follows your file tree.
Reading the graph
- Nodes are notes (or code symbols). Denser clusters are topics you've written about and linked heavily.
- Edges are links between notes — the same connections that power backlinks.
- Filter and explore to focus on part of the vault, then select a node to open it or re-center the view around it.
Orphan nodes — notes with no links in or out — are a signal. They're often ideas worth connecting to the rest of your thinking; unlinked mentions are a quick way to wire them in.
The same engine powers this docs site
The constellation you can explore at the docs map is this exact visualization, running over Altretta's own documentation. What you fly through in the app is drawn from the real semantic graph underneath your vault — the difference between a picture of your links and a database of them.
Related
The graph
Back to the overview of backlinks, the graph view, and the semantic graph.
The 3D star-map ✦
A deeper look at the starfield rendering — bloom, nebula, and star sprites.
Code symbols
The code symbol map you can fold into the graph with the Code / All toggle.
Backlinks & unlinked mentions
The list-based view of the same connections, per note.
The docs constellation
Try the same 3D graph live over this documentation.
Glossary
Nodes, edges, constellation, layers, semantic graph — defined.