The InterBrain is an innovative knowledge gardening system that aims to revolutionize the way we collectively relate to our ideas and stories. It transcends the traditional "Second Brain" paradigm, popularized by PKM tools like Obsidian, shifting to a dynamic, relational approach to organizing knowledge as opposed to static, top-down categorization.
The InterBrain is work-in-progress software with basic functionality now installable as an Obsidian plugin. You can download and install the plugin to start building your liminal web using the existing features, while other capabilities are still in development and the full vision has yet to be comprehensively implemented.
⚡️ Current Status: 7 Foundation Epics Complete, Epic 8 In Progress Epics 1-7 are complete (plugin infrastructure, 3D visualization, DreamNode management, liminal web, semantic search, dreamweaving, conversational copilot). Epic 8 (Coherence Beacon System) is currently in development with automatic relationship discovery, bidirectional tracking, and Radicle network integration.
🔬 Previous Exploration: Earlier exploration work including screenshots and recordings can be found at InterBrain-Prototype. This repository contains the conceptual foundation and visual demonstrations that inform the current development approach.
🌱 Beyond the Plugin: The InterBrain is designed as the foundation for DreamOS — a decentralized, AI-agent-powered operating system for collective sensemaking and human-computer symbiosis.
💡 Development Roadmap:
- ✅ Epics 1-7: Complete foundation (plugin infrastructure, 3D visualization, DreamNode management, liminal web, semantic search, dreamweaving, conversational copilot)
- 🚧 Epic 8: Coherence Beacon System (in progress)
- 🪐 DreamOS system (future evolution)
Current development progress is tracked through GitHub Issues and Project Board. For detailed achievement history, see CHANGELOG.md.
InterBrain is currently in private beta. We're gathering feedback from early users before public release.
What this means:
- Core functionality works reliably across platforms
- You may encounter rough edges - please report issues!
- Your feedback directly shapes the product
InterBrain runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. See Platform Support Documentation for full details.
| Feature | macOS | Linux | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create & edit DreamNodes | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| DreamSong canvas playback | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Submodule import (dreamweaving) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Semantic search (Ollama) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GitHub publishing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| P2P collaboration (Radicle) | ✅ | ✅ | 🔜 |
Windows P2P Note: Radicle's git-remote-rad and radicle-node are not yet available on Windows. Once Radicle ships these components, InterBrain will automatically enable full P2P collaboration. See Platform Support for details on expressing interest to the Radicle team.
macOS / Linux:
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/main/install.sh)Windows:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/main/install.ps1 | iexThe install script will automatically install and configure all dependencies:
- Obsidian (if not already installed)
- Git (required for DreamNode versioning)
- Ollama (for semantic search with local AI)
- Radicle (for peer-to-peer sharing - macOS/Linux)
- InterBrain plugin and vault setup
💡 Tip: If the install script encounters issues, you can safely re-run it. It's designed to be idempotent and may resolve transient problems on subsequent runs.
After successful installation, you'll see the InterBrain DreamNode itself in your DreamSpace. If you don't see it, press Cmd+R to refresh the plugin - this should reveal it and automatically select it.
💡 Tip: If you ever run into issues with the InterBrain, try pressing Cmd+R to refresh the plugin. This often resolves display or interaction problems.
1. Add the people you care about: Think of 1-3 people you care about (who you'd like to have frequent video calls with is a good rule of thumb). Find image files representing them and name them appropriately:
Alice.pngBob.pngCharlie.png
Drag and drop these image files into the DreamSpace next to the InterBrain DreamNode. This automatically creates Dreamer nodes for these peers.
2. Add shared ideas: Click on any person to select them. Now think of ideas, stories, or projects that connect you to them. Find image files representing these ideas, name them appropriately, and drag and drop them next to the selected person.
This automatically creates the initial relationships in your Liminal Web - connecting you to people through the ideas you share.
3. Explore and grow: Continue this simple pattern - drag and drop image files to add people and ideas, click to navigate relationships. Your personal knowledge network emerges organically through these connections.
Security & Development Status: InterBrain is work-in-progress software under active development. All code is built transparently in public on GitHub where you can review the complete source code and development history. Users should exercise their own judgment when installing development software. As we approach a stable release, security, stability, and comprehensive testing will receive focused attention in line with production software standards.
The fundamental unit of Project Liminality is the "Dream Node," which is implemented as a Git repository. Dream Nodes can embody two primary concepts:
- Dreams: Abstract ideas, concepts, or any form of knowledge.
- Dreamers: Representations of people or peers.
This dual nature allows for a flexible and interconnected knowledge structure.
Each Dream Node consists of two main components:
- Dream Talk: A concise, symbolic representation of the idea (like a thumbnail).
- Dream Song: A more elaborate explanation or exploration of the idea, containing multiple references to other Dream Talks.
Project Liminality structures knowledge based on social relationships and interactions, creating an "InterBrain." This approach allows users to organize information along the lines of their actual relational fields, transcending static, top-down categorization. Thus uniting the multiplicity of Second Brains into a singular, interconnected InterBrain structure.
Creating a new DreamNode is as easy as dragging and dropping a visual representation (DreamTalk) onto the interface. This will automatically create a new DreamNode with the same name as the file, containing the file. Using the Command-N keyboard shortcut you can also create an empty DreamNode with your name of choice.
By linking the ideas you hold to the people you share them with, DreamNodes self-organize into your unique "Liminal Web."
This allows you to navigate your knowledge in an intuitive and organic fashion, transcending the need for contrived categorization or hierarchical management.
Finding relevant DreamNodes is made easy and intuitive through semantic search - no need to worry about typos or remembering the exact name of any given idea! Just enter a search query that is close enough in meaning to what you're looking for and it will magically be revealed. (This existing feature is the basis for a yet-to-be-implemented realtime conversational copilot that always has the most relevant knowledge at hand for sharing during free-flowing conversation.)
Just like individual software modules can be combined into more sophisticated projects using git repositories, DreamNodes can be woven together into larger wholes. Using the Obsidian canvas, DreamTalk symbols can be woven together with text into DreamSongs. The resulting DreamSong can in turn again be distilled into a single DreamTalk symbol. This reciprocal and recursive many-to-one mapping between DreamSong and DreamTalk allows for the emergence of a vertical holarchy of DreamNodes. A universal pattern for performing the Hegelean Dialectic of ideas in the digital!
Every time any Dreamer weaves together DreamNodes into larger wholes, the Coherence Beacon is triggered. This mechanism automatically identifies the subset of peers with whom they share any of the input DreamNodes and offers them the higher order DreamNode (including all input DreamNodes they may or may not already hold). By accepting the invitation they extend the signal to all of their peers and so on. This way only coherent ideas spread based on how much they resonate with the network, solving the virality problem. Freedom of speech bound by meritocratic reach!
Since DreamNodes are based on git repositories, prominent AI pair-programming solutions like aider or cursor, being optimized for git, integrate seamlessly with the system. And just like the InterBrain generalizes git repos from computer code to all of knowledge, the same can be done out of the box with AI pair-programmers, using them as universal magical co-creators! With ever more powerful, local, multi-modal models on the horizon and deeper integrations through frameworks like Model Context Protocol (MCP) truly the sky is the limit in terms of what can be achieved collectively through the InterBrain!
An AI-powered conversation mode where you can invoke DreamNodes by name during natural dialogue. Type a message, and the copilot responds with context from your knowledge graph. Mention a DreamNode by name (e.g., "tell me about MyIdea") and it gets pulled into the conversation context.
The foundation for a future realtime transcription system that will filter relevant DreamNodes during live conversations - making knowledge readily available without interrupting the flow.
A vision for the future: every time an idea is shared during a conversation, the relevant audio clip is automatically added to the DreamNode. Each DreamNode remembers the path it travels in a unique set of conversation clips - its Songline.
Songlines would provide an organic, decentralized replacement for static definitions - community-generated data representing knowledge in the most effortless yet high-bandwidth way. With local multi-modal LLMs and infinite context windows, Songlines could become a game changer for leveraging collective wisdom.
Foundation exists via realtime-transcription feature; full Songline capture is future work.
Easily open any given DreamNode in your favorite git client of your choice.
Share your DreamNodes with the world via GitHub Pages. With one action, publish a DreamNode to GitHub - the system creates a repository, generates an interactive viewer bundle, and deploys it to GitHub Pages. Recipients can view the DreamTalk and DreamSong in their browser, and easily clone it into their own InterBrain.
Complements the peer-to-peer Radicle sharing for cases where you want public, web-accessible sharing.
The content within a DreamNode is visually accessible on the backside using the beautiful circle packing algorithm of D3. Instantly access files and folders directly from the InterBrain.
The InterBrain system transforms how we share and organize knowledge, creating an organic ecosystem where ideas and initiatives can flourish together.
- Real-time knowledge access: Conversational copilots filter relevant dream nodes based on discussion topics
- Enriched show notes: Share actual knowledge units rather than just superficial references
- Depth in knowledge transfer: Audience receives not just references but entire repositories of contextual information
- Emergent collective intelligence: Investigators can effortlessly combine evidence and knowledge
- Coherence Beacon in action: Automatically invites collaborators who hold relevant knowledge
- Scaling potential: Enables millions of citizen journalists to work together on complex cases
- Dissolving artificial boundaries: Between disciplines and between education and life itself
- Living classroom: Every conversation becomes an educational opportunity
- Emergent curriculum: Knowledge expands organically based on contextual relevance
- Symbolic teaching: Complex ideas transmitted through symbols backed by detailed dream nodes
- Source and product travel together: Creative works remain connected to their source files
- Open source everything: Any digital creation becomes remixable and extensible
- Infinite collaboration: Weave different creations together through dream weaving
- Context creation: Shift from "content creators" to "context creators" with living, evolving works
- Signal amplification: Filter out noise in competing narratives
- Perspective integration: Combine viewpoints to approach deeper truth
- Social resonance filter: Collective intuition helps identify coherent syntheses
- Propaganda immunity: System design makes manipulation difficult while healing divisive narratives
- Dream nodes for all initiatives: Any project can be represented as a dream node while maintaining independence
- Cross-pollination: Knowledge flows freely between initiatives while respecting autonomy
- Resonance-based connections: Projects naturally find their complementary partners
- No central authority: Collaboration emerges organically based on relevance and resonance
- Knowledge transfer across communities: Solutions developed in one place effortlessly reach others
- Contextual distribution: Learning finds exactly where it's needed based on relevance
- Social relationship propagation: Knowledge travels through trusted connections
- Emergent collective problem-solving: Communities evolve together rather than in isolation
- Project merging and spawning: Smaller initiatives can unify or new ones can form from combinations
- Solutions combine into higher-order solutions: Building blocks of knowledge stack meaningfully
- Universal pattern recognition: Similar challenges across different domains find common solutions
- Network of conversations: All collaboration is rooted in human connection and meaning
InterBrain addresses the echo chamber problem through a unique holographic approach that emphasizes connection over separation. Unlike traditional social media that amplifies differences and enables ideological bubbles, InterBrain's design makes separation literally invisible while highlighting what connects people.
The Holographic Principle: Stories contain people, and people hold stories - they contain each other in a holographic structure where each part contains the whole. This means you can "zoom in" from any relationship to discover the entire network of connections.
How It Works:
- Focus on Connection: The system only shows you what you share with others, never what separates you
- Filter Bubble Dissolution: When someone shares a monolithic idea (like "communism"), the system automatically breaks it into constituent sub-modules, creating multiple touchpoints for connection beyond the ideology
- Contextual Perspective: Ideas exist alongside grandma's recipes and childhood comics, naturally right-sizing ideological concepts
- Dream Weaving: You can "unweave" large concepts into smaller components, then re-weave them with different elements, creating bridges between seemingly opposed viewpoints
The Result: Instead of filter bubbles, you get an interconnected mycelium network where people constantly discover new relationships and deeper connections. Ideologies become "just one more thought form" among many, losing their disproportionate influence on human relationships.
Social Resonance: The Coherence Beacon system ensures that only genuinely coherent ideas spread, based on authentic resonance rather than viral manipulation. The network effect becomes heart-based rather than algorithm-driven.
Relational vs. Hierarchical: Unlike traditional PKM tools that organize information in static categories, InterBrain organizes knowledge along the lines of your actual social relationships and interactions.
Git-Native Architecture: Every piece of knowledge is a git repository, enabling true version control, collaboration, and decentralized distribution of ideas.
3D Spatial Interface: Ideas exist in a 3D cosmos that reflects their relationships, moving beyond flat file structures to intuitive spatial navigation.
Social Propagation: Knowledge spreads through authentic social connections rather than algorithmic recommendation, creating trust-based rather than engagement-based distribution.
Version Control for Thoughts: Ideas evolve over time - git tracks this evolution naturally while preserving the complete history of how your thinking developed.
True Collaboration: Multiple people can contribute to the same idea while maintaining clear attribution and merge capabilities.
Decentralized Architecture: No central server dependency - your knowledge remains yours while being shareable with your network.
AI Integration: Git-optimized AI tools (like Aider) work seamlessly with DreamNodes, turning AI assistants into universal co-creators for any type of knowledge.
Future-Proofing: As the system evolves toward DreamOS, the git foundation enables unprecedented composability between different applications and knowledge domains.
Interested in contributing or understanding the technical architecture?
- AI Development Guide: See CLAUDE.md for AI-first development patterns
- Core Architecture: See src/core/README.md for infrastructure and services
- Feature Catalog: See src/features/README.md for vertical slice architecture
- Contributing: See CONTRIBUTING.md
Project Liminality is released under the GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE.
Much of the philosophical foundation for this project has been created in conversation with my co-visionary and dear friend Anna Ziegler. Check out her one-of-a-kind work at https://goodfairy.gift