Using Possible Nodes
A practical guide to every feature in the interface — what each button does, how to navigate, and how to get things done.
The Sidebar Tabs
🔧 Tools Tab
Your main workspace. Create trees, add nodes, adjust weights, and use the Oracle for AI suggestions. This is where you'll spend most of your time.
🗳️ Votes Tab
View and cast votes on edge weights for public trees. Select a node on the graph, then use the vote slider to adjust your estimate of each branch's probability. The consensus blends your vote with the owner's weight and other voters.
🌲 Trees Tab
Browse public trees created by the community. Click any tree to load it into the graph view. You can explore, vote on, or fork any public tree.
❓ How To Tab
Quick start guide and keyboard shortcuts for new users.
📖 Docs Tab
You're reading it — the full UI reference.
Graph Canvas
The large area on the left is the graph canvas — it renders your tree as an interactive node map.
Selecting Nodes
Click any node to select it. The selected node gets a pink highlight. The right panel updates to show details and actions for that node. Click empty space to deselect.
Reading the Graph
Each node shows its label and level (L0 = root, L1 = first branch, etc.). Edges show their weight (e.g. "w:0.50"). The thickness and opacity of edges reflects their probability — thicker edges are more likely paths.
Navigation
Drag the canvas to pan around. Use the + and − buttons (bottom-right) to zoom in and out. Click the ↺ button to reset the view to the default position.
Header Controls
Tree ID input — Enter a tree ID number and press ↺ to load it
↺ (Reset) — Reset the graph view to default zoom and position
⟳ Sim (Simulate) — Run a Monte Carlo simulation on the current tree
Surgery — Toggle surgery mode for counterfactual analysis
Sandbox: OFF/ON — Toggle sandbox mode to experiment without saving changes
Tools Tab — Create a Tree
Enter a Head Label (the root concept, e.g. "AI in 2030") and optionally set a Max Depth (how many levels deep the tree can grow). Click Create Tree. The tree loads into the canvas and you can start expanding it.
Tools Tab — Add Node
To manually add a branch:
- Enter the Parent ID (the node you want to branch from — find it by clicking the node and checking the Selected Node panel).
- Enter a Label for the new node.
- Set the Weight (0.0–1.0) — this is the probability of this branch relative to its siblings.
- Click Add Node.
Weights auto-normalize: if a node has two children at 0.6 and 0.4, they become 60% and 40%. If you later change one to 0.8, the other scales to ~0.13 to keep the total at 1.0.
Tools Tab — The Oracle (AI Suggestions)
The Oracle uses AI to suggest possible future branches for any node:
- Select a node on the graph (click it).
- Click Suggest Futures in the Oracle panel.
- The AI proposes child nodes with suggested labels and weights.
- Click a suggestion to add it to your tree, or ignore it and add your own.
The Oracle covers diverse outlooks — optimistic, pessimistic, and wildcard scenarios. It's a starting point; you curate what stays.
Tools Tab — Selected Node Panel
When you click a node, the Selected Node panel appears. It shows:
Label — The node's name
Level — Its depth in the tree (L0 = root)
Probability — Cumulative probability from root to this node
Edit button — Change the node's label
Delete button — Remove the node and all its descendants
Tools Tab — World States (Counterfactuals)
World States let you save and restore snapshots of your tree with different forced/pruned nodes. Use them to explore "what if" scenarios:
- Enter Surgery mode.
- Click nodes to prune (gray) or force (gold).
- Click 💾 Save Current to save this scenario.
- Switch between saved states to compare outcomes.
Simulation
Click the ⟳ Sim button in the header to run a Monte Carlo simulation. The system performs thousands of random walks through your tree, following branches according to their weights. Results show how often each leaf node is reached — the most probable outcomes float to the top.
After simulating, the banner at the bottom shows the results. Nodes with higher cumulative probability are more likely end-states of the scenario you've mapped.
Surgery Mode
Click the Surgery button in the header to enter surgery mode. The Surgery panel appears in the Tools tab.
✂️ Pruning a Node
Click a node while in surgery mode to prune it. The node turns gray and all its descendants are hidden. The probability mass is redistributed among remaining branches. This answers: "What if this outcome never happens?"
⭐ Forcing a Node
Click a pruned node to force it. The node turns gold and its incoming probability becomes 100%. All descendants inherit the full probability mass. This answers: "What if this is guaranteed to happen?"
Resetting Surgery
Click Reset in the Surgery panel to clear all pruned/forced nodes and return to the original tree.
Sandbox Mode
Toggle Sandbox: ON to experiment freely. Changes you make in sandbox mode are not saved to the database. This is useful for testing different weight configurations or pruning scenarios without affecting the real tree. Toggle it OFF to go back to normal editing.
Sharing & Privacy
By default, trees are private — only you can see them. To share:
- Go to the Votes tab.
- Find your tree in the list.
- Click Toggle to switch it to Public.
Public trees appear in the Trees tab for everyone. Other users can view the graph, vote on edge weights, and fork their own copy.
Forking a Tree
In the Trees tab, click any public tree to load it. Then use the Fork button to create your own copy. The forked tree is owned by you — you can edit it, expand it, and toggle its visibility independently of the original.
Authentication
When you first visit, you're automatically given a guest account. Your trees are saved, but tied to this browser. To make your account permanent:
- Go to the Votes tab.
- Click Register.
- Choose a username and password.
Your guest trees are transferred to your new account. If you don't register, your trees stay as guest trees tied to this browser's local storage.
🤖 AI Oracle Settings
Configure your own API key to unlock AI-powered node suggestions. Your key is encrypted and never sent to other users.
📋 How to get an API key
Gemini AI Studio (recommended for beginners)
- Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey
- Sign in with your Google account
- Click "Create API key"
- Copy the key (starts with
AIza...)
- Paste it above and click Save
Free tier: 1,500 requests/day. No credit card required.
OpenRouter (multi-model access)
- Go to openrouter.ai/keys
- Sign in or create an account
- Click "Create Key"
- Copy the key (starts with
sk-or-...)
- Paste it above and click Save
Supports Gemini, Claude, GPT, DeepSeek and more. Requires credits.
💡 How it works
When you click Suggest Futures on a node, the Oracle sends the full context — parent, children, siblings, and path from root — to your chosen AI model. The model suggests NEW probable child nodes that don't already exist in the tree.
If no key is configured, the Oracle falls back to the server's default (if available).