# Mind map widget > Grow an idea into a tree of branches on a desk. Add branches yourself or let AI propose them, then turn any branch into a task or a canvas of its own. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-mind-map Section: Widgets > Draw and diagram Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 The Mind map widget helps you think an idea through. You start with one central idea and grow it into a tree of branches, from left to right. Each branch can be an idea, a task, a question, a tool or an agent. AI can propose new branches for you to accept or reject, and any branch can become real work: a task on your desk, a canvas of its own, or widgets attached to it. Use it to plan a project, break a goal into steps, explore a topic before you write about it, or turn a messy brainstorm into something you can act on. ## Before you start - The Mind map widget is on every plan. - You need a desk open. - **AI Expand** uses your own Anthropic API key. Add it under **Settings** > **AI** > **AI · API keys**. See [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys). - **Build with AI** uses PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help). - Everything else, from adding branches to turning them into tasks, works without AI. ## Add a mind map 1. Open the desk you want it on. 2. Click **Add widget** in the middle of the header bar. 3. Click **Mind map**. In the **Add widget** menu, **Mind map** is in the **Draw & diagram** column. You can also type *mind map* in **Search widgets…** and press `Enter` to add it. Other ways to add one: - **The command palette.** Press `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows, type *add mind map* and press `Enter`. - **Right-click the desk.** Right-click an empty part of the desk and choose **Add object** > **Advanced** > **Mind map**. It appears where you clicked. A new mind map has one node, **New idea**, which is your central idea. The **Node** panel is open on the right, ready for you to name it. ## Name your central idea 1. Click the **New idea** node if the **Node** panel is not showing. 2. In the panel, click the name at the top and type your idea, such as *Q4 launch plan*. Changes save as you type. There is nothing to confirm. ## Add branches yourself 1. Click the node you want to branch from. It is highlighted, and the **Node** panel shows it. 2. Click **Add child** to add a branch under it, or **Sibling** to add one beside it, under the same parent. 3. The new branch, called **New idea**, is selected straight away. Type its name in the panel. The central idea has no parent, so **Sibling** is greyed out while it is selected. ### Set a branch's type Under the name, click one of the types: **idea**, **task**, **question**, **tool** or **agent**. Each type has its own tint in the map, so you can see at a glance which branches are open questions and which are things to do. New branches start as **idea**. ## Let AI propose branches 1. Click the node you want to expand. 2. Click **AI Expand (+ branches)** in the **Node** panel. The button reads **Expanding…** while AI works. 3. The proposed branches appear in the map with a dashed outline. Each has a tick at its bottom left and a cross at its bottom right. 4. Click the tick to keep a branch, or the cross to drop it. To decide on all of them at once, use **Accept all** or **Reject all** in the panel, under the count of proposed branches. AI decides how many branches the idea deserves, and gives each one a type. When you select a branch that came from AI, the panel shows a one-line reason for it in italics. Run **AI Expand** again on any branch to go deeper. > **Note:** > **AI Expand** needs your own Anthropic API key, even when you are signed in with PlexiDesk credits. If it shows a message instead of branches, add your key under **Settings** > **AI** > **AI · API keys** and try again. ## Focus on one branch - **Zoom into a branch.** Double-click a node. The map shows only that node and everything under it. - **Step back out.** A trail of names appears across the top of the map. Click any name in it to go back up to that level, or click the first name to see the whole map again. When a map grows larger than the widget, scroll inside it, or make the widget bigger by dragging an edge or corner. ## Turn a branch into work Select a branch, then use the buttons in the **Node** panel. ### Explore as canvas **Explore as canvas** gives the branch a canvas of its own, so you can work on it with any widgets you like. 1. Select the branch and click **Explore as canvas**. 2. PlexiDesk creates a task with its own canvas, named after the branch and filed under the desk you are on, and opens it. 3. On the new, empty canvas, a **Starting kit** panel suggests widgets and browser tabs for the branch. Tick what you want and click **Add to canvas**, or click **Not now** to start with a blank canvas. The branch's type changes to **task**, and a small badge appears at its bottom-right corner. To return to that canvas later, click the badge or select the branch and click **Open canvas**. Your mind map stays on the desk where you made it. ### Convert to task **Convert to task** creates a task with the branch's name, filed under the desk you are on, without leaving the map. The branch's type changes to **task**. Each click creates another task, so click it once per branch. ### Attach widgets to a branch You can attach widgets to a branch, such as a table for research or a sticky for notes, and find them again from the map. 1. Select the branch and click **+ Add tool** beside **Tools attached**. 2. In **Attach a tool to this node**, click the kind of widget you want. 3. The new widget appears on the desk to the right of the mind map, named after the branch, such as *Pricing · Table*. The widget is listed under **Tools attached** for that branch, and the branch shows a small dot at its top-right corner. **Unlink** removes the widget from the list but leaves it on your desk. ## Delete a branch Select the branch and click **Delete this node**. The branch and every branch under it are removed straight away, without a question, so check the name in the panel first. The central idea cannot be deleted. ## Close and reopen the Node panel Click the **×** at the top of the **Node** panel to close it and give the map more room. It stays closed, even when you leave the desk and come back. Click any node to open it again. ## Build a mind map with AI **Build with AI** suggests branches for your central idea from what your desk is about. You choose which ones to keep. 1. Open the **Set up with AI** panel in one of these ways: - On a new mind map you have not touched yet, click **Set up with AI** at the bottom of the widget. - Right-click anywhere in the mind map, or its title bar, and choose **Build with AI**. 2. If you want, type what to focus on in the box at the top, and press `Enter` or click **Redraft**. 3. Under **Proposed branches, tick the ones to add**, untick any you do not want. Everything starts ticked. 4. Click **Add** (it shows how many, such as **Add 6**). Or click **Cancel** to add nothing. The ticked branches are added under your central idea. Nothing already in the map is changed or removed. You can also open the same panel with the AI button on the mind map's title bar, the sparkle icon at the start of the buttons on the right. Its tooltip reads **Build with AI** on a new mind map and **Rebuild with AI** once it has content. Either way, it only adds the branches you tick. See [Use a widget's AI button](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai). ## The right-click menu Right-click anywhere in the mind map for the widget's full menu. **Build with AI** is near the top, and **Create & link** makes a new widget, such as a sticky or a table, linked to the mind map. See [Right-click menus](https://plexiidesk.com/help/right-click-menus). ## Suggested agents At the bottom of the **Node** panel, **Suggested agents** is an advanced option for people who keep their own AI agent definitions in a workspace folder, and it uses your own Anthropic API key. ## Share a mind map When you publish a live view of a desk, people see your mind map as a diagram of names joined by lines, read-only. Proposed branches you have not accepted yet are not shown. See [Publish a live view of a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-live-web-view). ## Good uses - **Plan a project.** Put the goal in the middle, add a branch per workstream, mark the next steps as **task** and use **Convert to task** for each one. - **Prepare to write.** Expand a topic with AI, keep the strongest branches, then double-click one to work through it in detail. - **Give a big branch its own space.** Use **Explore as canvas** for any branch that needs documents, tables or research of its own. ## Common questions **AI Expand shows a message instead of branches.** **AI Expand** uses your own Anthropic key. Add it under **Settings** > **AI** > **AI · API keys**. **Build with AI** works with PlexiDesk credits if you would rather not add a key. **Sibling is greyed out.** The central idea is selected, and it has no parent to add a sibling under. Select another branch. **Delete this node is greyed out.** The central idea is selected. Every mind map keeps its central idea. Rename it instead. **The Node panel has gone.** It was closed. Click any node to open it again. **I cannot select a dashed branch.** Dashed branches are proposals. Click the tick to keep one first, then select it. **I clicked Convert to task twice.** Each click creates a task, so you now have two. Remove the one you do not need. See [Archive, trash and restore rooms and desks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-archive-trash). ## Related tasks - [Draw & diagram widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-draw-and-diagram) - [Diagram widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-diagram) - [Flowchart widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help) - [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys) - [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create) More about this widget