ArgoBox
ArgoBox Infrastructure & Automation
user@argobox:~/journal/2025-04-24-the-obsidian-graph-dream
$ cat entry.md

The Obsidian Graph Dream

[Thursday, April 24, 2025] MOOD: DISCOVERY Ubuntu
○ NOT REVIEWED

The Obsidian Graph Dream

Date: April 24, 2025 Time: 12:20 AM Issue: Blog feels flat and disconnected Solution: Build a knowledge graph

The Moment

It’s 12:20 AM. I’m looking at ArgoBox.

The posts are fine. The design is fine. Everything… works.

But something’s missing.

I have 181MB of notes in Obsidian. Thousands of connections. Tags linking concepts. The graph view shows this beautiful web of interconnected ideas.

My blog shows a list.

Chronological. Linear. Boring.

The Vision

What if the blog worked like Obsidian?

  • Posts as nodes
  • Tags as connecting hubs
  • Click a tag, see related posts
  • Visual exploration instead of linear browsing

The more I think about it, the more obvious it seems. Obsidian users already think in graphs. Why shouldn’t blogs work the same way?

The Late-Night Message

At 12:20 AM, I typed this to Claude:

“I would like to make posts one color of orb on the graph and the tags another… It should really work the same way as an obsidian graph, where you have tags linked in the center point to the post.”

And then:

“I do not want the topic version unless we can make easy to understand as the tags already kind of do that. but the graph should be part of the search filter area, maybe above it but in the same section/bubble.”

The requirements were forming as I typed.

First Implementation Decisions

Posts: Blue nodes (#3B82F6) Tags: Green nodes (#10B981) Edges: Connect posts to their tags Library: Cytoscape.js (force-directed layouts)

The first version was rough. Nodes overlapped. Labels were everywhere. The physics felt mechanical.

But it existed. That’s the important part.

What I Learned

Late-night inspiration is valid. Some of my best ideas come after midnight. The 12:20 AM graph idea became a real feature.

Start with “just make it work.” The first version was ugly. But I could iterate from there.

Obsidian users are a target audience. If they use Obsidian for notes, they might want their blog to feel the same way.

What’s Next

The graph works. Barely. Now I need to:

  • Add fullscreen mode
  • Improve the physics
  • Make it not look terrible on mobile
  • Add content preview on hover

This is just the beginning.

Session Stats

  • Time: 12:20 AM - 1:38 AM
  • Messages: ~20
  • Result: Working knowledge graph (barely)
  • Caffeine: Yes

The Dream

Eventually, I want ArgoBox to feel like opening someone’s Obsidian vault.

Dark theme. Graph navigation. Interconnected ideas. The sense that everything relates to everything else.

It’ll take months. But tonight, the foundation exists.