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# Graphs
Since a Zettelkasten is a collection of notes and the links between said notes,
the perfect representation is a [directed
graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_graph). Graphs help a lot in
understanding your Zettelkasten, to give you a quick and intuitive overview of
everything that is going on.
`settle` provides the `--graph` option for the `query` command, which turns the
query results into a format of your choice. There are currently three available
formats, namely:
- [an interactive visualisation for the web-browser](./vizk.md), whose code is
printed when the `--graph` option is given `vizk` as a value (check the link
for usage instructions)
- [DOT (.gv)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_(graph_description_language)),
obtained by passing `dot` as the value to the `--graph` option. This format
is used by many graph renderers, such as `xdot` or `graphviz` (and its many
sub-tools).
- providing `json` as a value to the `--graph` option returns the query results
as a [JSON object with several properties](#json-format-specification).
## Visualising a DOT graph
You may use, for example, `xdot` to explore the DOT graph interactively:
```
$ settle query --graph dot >zk.gv
$ xdot zk.gv
```
Or, you may create a JPG image using `circo` ([on Arch Linux,] comes with the
`graphivz` package):
```
$ settle query --graph >zk.gv
$ circo -Tjpg zk.gv >graph.jpg
```
## JSON format specification
There are four properties in total:
- `nodes`: an array containing all the notes' titles
- `edges`: an array of arrays where the first element [in the sub-array] is
the index of the source Zettel [in the `nodes` array], the second is the
index of the target Zettel, and the third is the weight of the link
(which is `""` (empty string) if the target Zettel exists, and `"ghost"`
if it doesn't)
- `node_holes`: always empty array (`[]`)
- `edge_property`: always `"directed"`
A minimal example of the format is this:
```json
{
"nodes": [
"My first super interesting note",
"My second, albeit less interesting note",
"My third note, which is unrelated"
],
"node_holes": [],
"edge_property": "directed",
"edges": [
[
0,
1,
""
]
]
}
```
This minimal example describes a Zettelkasten where `My first super interesting
note` (indexed with `0`) links to `My second, albeit less interesting note`
(indexed with `1`), and how `My third note, which is unrelated` has no links to
or from it. The edge weight `""` (empty string) implies that the target exists
in the Zettelkasten.
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