How does the mind map generator work?

A mind map in Chiltepin is a typed YAML block: a center and a flat list of nodes, each with a label and an optional parent. The renderer lays the branches out radially around the center, colours a branch by the accent on its first node, and sizes everything from the text. There are no coordinates in the file — an agent or a person writes only the ideas.

Can an AI agent generate a mind map from a topic?

Yes. After npx skills add jdiejim/chiltepin -g the agent knows the block, runs chiltepin block mindmap for the contract, and writes one from "map out what onboarding v2 has to cover". Because the map is text, the next prompt can add a branch and the diff shows exactly what changed.

When is a mind map the right block?

When the ideas around a topic are unordered and the reader wants a landscape, not a sequence. The skill picks a mindmap for that question, a tree for a strict hierarchy with a top, a fishbone when the branches are causes of one effect, and a roadmap or gantt when the question is order and time.

Is it free, and does it need an account?

Chiltepin is MIT-licensed open source. The browser Studio at chiltepin.dev/studio and the playground run with no signup and nothing uploaded; the CLI runs through npx with nothing installed. There is no hosted service behind the map.

Diagram tool

Mind maps from text, laid out by code

A mind map is the landscape of a topic: the ideas around a center, grouped by branch, in no particular order. Chiltepin generates one from a list — yours or your agent's — as a typed mindmap block. The file holds the ideas; the renderer holds the geometry.

The block and its render

This is the mindmap starter template: a center, then nodes with parent for the branch they hang from. An accent on a first-level node colours its whole branch.

```mindmap
center: Onboarding v2
nodes:
  - { id: acct, label: Account, accent: blue }
  - { id: sso, parent: acct, label: SSO first }
  - { id: invite, parent: acct, label: Team invites }
  - { id: data, label: Data import, accent: teal }
  - { id: csv, parent: data, label: CSV }
  - { id: api, parent: data, label: API sync }
  - { id: learn, label: Learning, accent: amber }
  - { id: tour, parent: learn, label: Product tour }
  - { id: tmpl, parent: learn, label: Templates }
```

SECTION 01 · Mind map

MIND MAP

LegendAccountData importLearning

Three branches, two leaves each, one line per idea. Add a node and the map re-lays itself out; nothing in the file says where anything sits.

How to generate one

Install the skill. Run npx skills add jdiejim/chiltepin -g once. It installs the Chiltepin authoring skill into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot and 70+ other agents.
Ask for the map. "Map out everything onboarding v2 has to cover as a mind map in docs/onboarding.md." The agent runs chiltepin block mindmap for the contract and writes the center and the nodes with their parents.
Check it. npx chiltepin check reports a node whose parent does not exist or an unknown field with a stable code and the fix. The agent repairs it before handing off.
Render it. npx chiltepin html docs/onboarding.md -p renders the page. The renderer places every branch radially — never the model.

Mind map, tree, or fishbone?

The skill chooses by the reader's question. Unordered ideas around a topic is a mindmap; a hierarchy with a top and a part-of meaning is a tree; branches that are causes of one effect is a fishbone; what ships when is a roadmap. See the charts & overviews reference and the catalog.

Part of the document

A mind map opens a discovery doc or a workshop write-up; the use case diagram, the user stories and the decisions follow. Chiltepin renders the whole document — a growing set of typed blocks, one grammar — to a static site, slides or PDF from one Markdown file. Paste a block into the playground to see it render now.

Frequently asked questions

How does the mind map generator work?: A mind map in Chiltepin is a typed YAML block: a center and a flat list of nodes, each with a label and an optional parent. The renderer lays the branches out radially around the center, colours a branch by the accent on its first node, and sizes everything from the text. There are no coordinates in the file — an agent or a person writes only the ideas.
Can an AI agent generate a mind map from a topic?: Yes. After npx skills add jdiejim/chiltepin -g the agent knows the block, runs chiltepin block mindmap for the contract, and writes one from "map out what onboarding v2 has to cover". Because the map is text, the next prompt can add a branch and the diff shows exactly what changed.
When is a mind map the right block?: When the ideas around a topic are unordered and the reader wants a landscape, not a sequence. The skill picks a mindmap for that question, a tree for a strict hierarchy with a top, a fishbone when the branches are causes of one effect, and a roadmap or gantt when the question is order and time.
Is it free, and does it need an account?: Chiltepin is MIT-licensed open source. The browser Studio at chiltepin.dev/studio and the playground run with no signup and nothing uploaded; the CLI runs through npx with nothing installed. There is no hosted service behind the map.

Open Studio — no signup Set up your agentnpx skills add jdiejim/chiltepin -g