Your First Mind

What is a mind?

Think of a mind as a well-organized notebook with three distinct sections. Each section serves a different purpose, but they all live together in one place. Instead of scattering your work across multiple tools, a mind keeps everything connected.

In practical terms, a mind is simply a folder on your computer where Synap stores your knowledge. You can have as many minds as you want — one for each project, client, or area of your life. When you first open Synap, a default mind is already set up with the three zones ready for you to start adding content. The zones will be empty — think of it as a fresh notebook waiting for your first notes.

The three zones

Every mind is divided into three zones. Each one is designed for a different type of work.

Memory

Memory is where you keep reference knowledge — the things you want to look up again and again. Think of it as your team's shared playbook or your personal reference library.

For example, a marketing consultant might store brand guidelines, target audience profiles, and competitive analysis here. A project manager might keep process documents, meeting templates, and vendor contacts. Anything that you or your team needs to reference regularly belongs in Memory.

Focus

Focus is your personal workspace. This is where the day-to-day action happens — your tasks, decisions, meeting notes, and anything you're actively working on.

For example, you might draft a proposal, track the status of a campaign launch, or work through a hiring decision. Focus is designed for the work that's in front of you right now.

Canvas

Canvas is your creative space. It's a visual, free-form area where you can lay out ideas, plan content, design campaigns, or brainstorm without the constraints of a traditional document.

For example, a content creator might map out a social media calendar, a founder might sketch a product roadmap, or a consultant might build a visual strategy deck. Canvas gives you room to think spatially and see the big picture.

Your data stays with you

Everything in your mind — every note, every task, every canvas board — lives on your computer. Nothing is stored on an external server. You own your data completely, and it's always available even without an internet connection.

Don't worry about backups either. Since a mind is just a folder on your computer, you can back it up the same way you back up any other files — copy it to an external drive, a cloud storage service, or wherever you keep your important documents.

What's next

Now that you understand the structure of a mind, let's explore how to move around the app itself. In the next section, we'll walk through Synap's navigation so you can find everything with ease.