Index Cards System

The most powerful way to capture, organize, and retrieve your knowledge.

Core Concepts

The Card Hierarchy

┌─────────────────┐
│   4×6 MASTER    │ ← Big Ideas, Projects, Concepts
│   "Launch SaaS" │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
    ┌────┴────┬──────┬──────┐
    ▼         ▼      ▼      ▼
┌─────────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐
│ 3×5 SUB │ │ 3×5 │ │ 3×5 │ │ 3×5 │ ← Tasks, Details, Actions
│"Research"│ │"MVP"│ │"Sales"│ │"Revenue"│
└─────────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘

Card Properties

Master Cards (4×6)
- ID: M-XXXXXX (e.g., M-ABC123)
- Title: The big idea (required)
- Content: Detailed description
- Tags: Categories and themes
- SubCards: Array of linked 3×5 cards
- Created/Updated: Timestamps
- Position: X,Y coordinates for graph view

Sub Cards (3×5)
- ID: S-XXXXXX (e.g., S-XYZ789)
- Title: Specific task or detail
- Content: Supporting information
- Tags: Inherited + specific
- ParentId: Link to master card
- Status: Todo/In Progress/Done
- Priority: High/Medium/Low

Three Interfaces, One System

1. Visual Interface

Access at /index-cards-prototype/

List View
- Chronological or alphabetical sorting
- Filter by type, tags, or date
- Quick search across all cards
- Bulk operations (select multiple)

Graph View
- Interactive node-based visualization
- Drag to reorganize
- Click to edit
- Visual connections between cards
- Zoom and pan navigation

Grid View
- Spatial memory organization
- Customizable grid size
- Drag and drop positioning
- Visual clustering of related cards

2. Terminal Commands

Press `Ctrl + `` to open terminal

Basic Commands

# List all cards
$ card
Found 15 cards:
[M] M-ABC123 - Launch SaaS Product
[M] M-DEF456 - Learn Machine Learning
[S] S-GHI789 - Research competitors
...

# Create cards
$ card create master "New Project"
✓ Created master card: M-JKL012
Title: "New Project"

$ card create sub "First task"
✓ Created sub card: S-MNO345
Title: "First task"

Search and Filter

# Search by keyword (title, content, tags)
$ card search "machine learning"
$ card -k "api"  # Short form

# Filter by type
$ card list --type master
$ card list --type sub

# Filter by tags
$ card list --tag "urgent"

View and Edit

# View specific card
$ card M-ABC123
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ M-ABC123 - Launch SaaS Product       ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Build B2B SaaS for invoice processing║
║ Target: Small businesses              ║
║ Price: $99/mo                         ║
║                                       ║
║ Tags: startup, saas, b2b             ║
║ Sub Cards: 4                          ║
║ Created: 2024-01-15                   ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝

# Edit card properties
$ card M-ABC123 --edit-title "Launch AI SaaS"
$ card M-ABC123 --edit-content "Updated description here"
$ card M-ABC123 --add-tag "ai-powered"
$ card M-ABC123 --remove-tag "old-tag"

# Delete card (with confirmation)
$ card M-ABC123 --delete
Are you sure? This cannot be undone! (y/n)

Linking Cards

# Link sub card to master
$ card S-XYZ789 --link-to M-ABC123
✓ Linked S-XYZ789 to master M-ABC123

# Unlink cards
$ card S-XYZ789 --unlink
✓ Unlinked S-XYZ789 (now orphaned)

Export and Import

# Export all cards
$ card export
✓ Exported 42 cards to index-cards-2024-01-15.json

# Export filtered
$ card export --type master
$ card export --tag "project"

# Import cards
$ card import file.json
✓ Imported 15 cards

# Stats
$ card stats
Total Cards: 42
├── Masters: 8
├── Subs: 34
├── Tags: 23 unique
└── Storage: 124 KB

3. AI Assistant Chat

Press `Ctrl + `` to open the AI chat, or click the chat button in the top-right of the terminal to switch from terminal to chat mode

Natural Language Queries

You: What cards do I have about the SaaS project?

AI: I found 1 master card and 4 sub cards about your SaaS project:

Master Card M-ABC123: "Launch SaaS Product"
├── S-GHI789: "Research competitors"
├── S-JKL012: "MVP Development"
├── S-MNO345: "Customer Acquisition"
└── S-PQR678: "Revenue Model"

Would you like to see details or edit any of these?

AI-Powered Creation

You: Create cards for planning a product launch

AI: I'll create a structured card set for your product launch:

✓ Created M-STU901 "Product Launch Plan"
✓ Created S-VWX234 "Market Research"
✓ Created S-YZA567 "Product Development"
✓ Created S-BCD890 "Marketing Strategy"
✓ Created S-EFG123 "Launch Day Checklist"

All cards are linked and tagged with "product-launch".

Smart Organization

You: Organize my learning cards by topic

AI: I've analyzed your 23 learning-related cards and organized them:

Programming (8 cards):
├── M-AAA111 "Learn Python"
├── M-BBB222 "Master React"
└── 6 sub cards

Business (5 cards):
├── M-CCC333 "MBA Concepts"
└── 4 sub cards

Design (10 cards):
├── M-DDD444 "UI/UX Principles"
├── M-EEE555 "Color Theory"
└── 8 sub cards

Would you like me to add topic tags to make this permanent?

Advanced Features

Real-Time Synchronization

All three interfaces stay in perfect sync:

1. Create in Terminal → Instantly appears in UI
2. Edit in UI → Terminal sees changes immediately
3. AI creates cards → Both other interfaces update

This uses our event-driven architecture:
- INDEX_CARDS_UPDATED - Any card change
- INDEX_CARDS_CREATED - New card added
- INDEX_CARDS_DELETED - Card removed
- INDEX_CARDS_CLEARED - All cards deleted

Tags and Categorization

# Popular tags appear as suggestions
$ card create master "New Idea"
Suggested tags based on title: innovation, ideas, brainstorming
Add tags? (y/n)

# Hierarchical tags
$ card M-ABC123 --add-tag "project/saas/b2b"

# Tag operations
$ card tags          # List all tags with counts
$ card tags --rename "old" "new"
$ card tags --merge "tag1" "tag2"

Templates

# Use templates for common card types
$ card create --template "project"
Creating project template:
✓ M-FFF666 "New Project"
✓ S-GGG777 "Requirements"
✓ S-HHH888 "Timeline"
✓ S-III999 "Resources"
✓ S-JJJ000 "Risks"

# Save current structure as template
$ card M-ABC123 --save-template "saas-launch"
✓ Saved template with 1 master and 4 sub cards

Batch Operations

# Bulk create from list
$ card create --batch << EOF
master "Project Alpha"
sub "Task 1"
sub "Task 2"
master "Project Beta"
EOF
✓ Created 4 cards

# Bulk edit
$ card edit --tag "old-project" --add-tag "archived"
✓ Updated 12 cards

# Bulk delete
$ card delete --tag "temp"
This will delete 8 cards. Continue? (y/n)

Data Management

Local Storage

Your cards are stored in browser localStorage:
- Key: ai2u_index_cards
- Format: JSON with versioning
- Size Limit: ~10MB (thousands of cards)
- Persistence: Until you clear browser data

Backup Strategy

# Manual backup
$ card export > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).json

# Auto-backup (coming soon)
$ card config --auto-backup daily

Data Structure

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "cards": [
    {
      "id": "M-ABC123",
      "type": "master",
      "size": "4x6",
      "title": "Launch SaaS Product",
      "content": "Build B2B SaaS...",
      "tags": ["startup", "saas"],
      "subCards": ["S-GHI789", "S-JKL012"],
      "x": 300,
      "y": 200,
      "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "updatedAt": "2024-01-16T14:20:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "lastUpdated": "2024-01-16T14:20:00Z",
  "count": {
    "total": 42,
    "masters": 8,
    "subs": 34
  }
}

Best Practices

Card Creation

Good Master Card:
- Clear, actionable title
- One main concept
- 3-7 sub cards
- Relevant tags

Good Sub Card:
- Specific and measurable
- Single responsibility
- Linked to one master
- Status tracking

Organization Patterns

Project Management:

M: "Q1 Product Launch"
├── S: "Feature Development"
├── S: "Marketing Campaign"
├── S: "Sales Enablement"
└── S: "Success Metrics"

Learning Path:

M: "Master TypeScript"
├── S: "Basic Types"
├── S: "Interfaces"
├── S: "Generics"
└── S: "Advanced Patterns"

Research:

M: "Competitor Analysis"
├── S: "Company A - Strengths"
├── S: "Company A - Weaknesses"
├── S: "Market Positioning"
└── S: "Our Advantages"

Search Strategies

# Find orphaned sub cards
$ card list --orphaned

# Find stale cards (not updated in 30 days)
$ card list --stale 30

# Find cards without tags
$ card list --untagged

# Complex search
$ card search "machine learning" --type master --tag "priority"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Cards not saving?
- Check localStorage quota
- Export and clear old cards
- Check browser console for errors

Search not finding cards?
- Check exact spelling
- Use partial matches: card -k "mach"
- Search content too: card search --deep "keyword"

UI not updating?
- Ensure same browser tab
- Check console for event bus errors
- Refresh page to resync

Performance Tips

• Keep cards under 1000 for best performance
• Archive old projects regularly
• Use tags instead of long descriptions
• Export and reimport to defragment

Keyboard Shortcuts

API Integration

Coming soon: REST API for external integration

// Future API example
const api = new AI2UCardsAPI({
  endpoint: 'http://localhost:8000/api/v1/cards',
  auth: 'optional-token'
});

// CRUD operations
await api.cards.create({ type: 'master', title: 'API Card' });
await api.cards.list({ tag: 'important' });
await api.cards.update('M-ABC123', { title: 'Updated' });
await api.cards.delete('M-ABC123');

// Sync with local
await api.sync.push();  // Upload local to cloud
await api.sync.pull();  // Download cloud to local
await api.sync.merge(); // Smart conflict resolution

Next Steps

• Terminal Command Reference - Complete CLI documentation
• AI Assistant Guide - Maximize AI capabilities
• Export/Import Guide - Backup strategies
• Templates Library - Pre-built card structures

Remember: If you can't fit it on a card, you're not thinking hard enough!