Constellations

A constellation is an AI-named themed cluster of semantically-related notes. Bridge forms constellations automatically — you don't tag, fold, or organize. You write notes; constellations surface.

How they form

On Discover tier and above, every Expandable note picks up a sense of its meaning when it gets its general expansion. Bridge then compares each note against the themes that already exist and either folds it into one or leaves it on its own for now.

When enough orphans share a theme, a new constellation forms. The cluster gets an AI-generated name based on what the notes inside it are about. When the AI can't name a group (for example, your key is out of credit), Bridge names it from its notes' Topic lines.

Where you see them

In the graph view

Tap any node — that note's whole constellation lights up and the rest of the graph dims. Each constellation carries its own color. Pinch to zoom. Tap the same node again or tap outside to release the focus.

In chat references

When you scope a chat, you can pick a whole constellation as the reference set. The AI sees the constellation by name with its current members.

Auto-merge

When two constellations cover substantially the same theme, Bridge auto-merges the smaller into the larger. The merged constellation keeps the larger one's name unless the smaller had a much more specific name, in which case Bridge renames it.

Tuning how readily notes connect

Settings → Graph & Import → Graph behavior → Similarity cutoff controls how close two notes must be before Bridge links them automatically. The slider runs from 0.02 to 0.50; the default is 0.10.

Lower the cutoff for a denser graph — more edges, larger constellations, more speculative links.
Raise it for a sparser graph — fewer, tighter connections and more orphans.

Change it when the graph doesn't match how you think: too tangled to read, or too sparse to be useful. New connections use the new value; run the maintenance actions below if you want existing notes reconsidered right away.

Catching the graph up

Two manual operations force the semantic engine to catch up. Both live in Settings → Graph & Import → Maintenance, and both are explicit user actions — Bridge won't surprise-bill you against your API key:

Connect existing notes — runs the AI expansion and grouping for notes captured before you had a tier with the semantic engine. Useful right after you upgrade from Free → Discover. It opens a sheet that previews the cost before you confirm. It runs the expansion on the key for your Build Plan model (in AI & Models, that model also runs note expansions) for notes that don't have one yet; notes your free runs already expanded connect without a key. On Discover and above, when a note still needs its expansion and that model has no key Bridge can use, the row reads "Add an API key to connect notes." On Free, the row opens the sheet, and starting it offers the upgrade.
Merge manual links into groups — folds the edges you asserted by hand into constellation membership, reforming the groups. This is the only way your own connections form groups: Bridge's automatic grouping follows only the links it draws itself. A new group needs three linked notes that are in the graph. The graph's prompt counts your manual connections, waits until every linked note is in the graph, and says Nothing to group yet when nothing formed — it comes back when you add more connections.

When notes are sitting outside the graph, the graph view shows a count with Add to graph (or what you need first: Discover, or an API key). The same notice pops up once each time that button changes — the first time a Free note is waiting, after you upgrade, after you remove a key — and doesn't repeat every time you open Bridge. Notes not in the graph yet draw as hollow dots.

Notes you add by hand

You can add a note to a constellation yourself, on every plan, with a note's Connect sheet: tap the constellation, then pick one of its notes — Join c3 · Name through B. That draws your connection to that note and adds yours to the group, and counts as one manual connection. It works for notes that aren't in the graph yet, including on Free; a note that is in the graph also gets Bridge's links to the group's close notes. /connect in chat does the same for notes already in the graph.

A note added by hand stays in that group when you Apply changes to the graph, as long as the group keeps its label through the regroup. If the regroup dissolves the group, or a note not yet in the graph has no connection left to anyone in the regrouped group, the note is taken out and the Inbox says Manual link removed. Joining and leaving wait while a regroup runs.

Leaving a constellation

Leaving undoes a join. The note leaves the group, its connections to the group's notes are cut — both yours and Bridge's — except to notes it still shares another constellation with, and a chat that had folded the note into the group gets it back as its own pick. A group needs three notes, so leaving one that has three ends it.

Cutting connections one at a time never takes a note out of a group. When you disconnect a note's last connection into one of its groups from the note's page, Bridge asks whether it should leave that group too; nothing changes unless you tap Leave. In chat, /disconnect @[note] from @[constellation] leaves.

A Reference note isn't part of the graph, so it can't be added to a constellation or connected to another note.

What constellations are not

Not folders. A note can belong to more than one constellation. Constellations are clusters, not tags. The graph view shows cross-constellation edges so you can still see related work across themes.
Not user-named. The names come from the AI based on the notes inside, and they stay as given. Only Apply changes names the groups it newly forms.
Not permanent. As you add more notes, constellations re-shape. A note that anchored one cluster might end up moved to a different one as your overall body of work shifts.

See The graph view for the visualization layer.
See Build Plan for how to turn a constellation into a shippable plan.
See Tier comparison — constellations are a Discover-tier feature.