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01// Definition Term

// ##CT-DEF

=Cognitive Trace — a persistent mark that records a moment of thinking

.Created by a deliberate gesture: double-click, right-click, decision

.Survives page refresh — stored in the browser, not the server

~Analogous to a margin note in a physical book

→But linked, timestamped, exportable — and connected across pages

// the core idea

→Reading without traces leaves no memory of your engagement

.You visited the page, understood it, maybe agreed — but it's gone

→Reading with traces builds a personal cognitive layer on top of the text

.The text stays the same — your layer is yours alone

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02// Trace Types Taxonomy

◉

Associative Anchor

gesture: double-click a CLN line

Marks a line as an episodic boundary. Colors cycle through 5 hues — each color creates a visual cluster. Used to highlight "this mattered to me right now."

→ stored as colorClass + lineId + timestamp

▤

#tagmarry

gesture: right-click → tagmarry

Attaches a semantic tag to a line or selection. Same tag on different pages creates an implicit cross-page cluster. The word "tagmarry" = tag + marry: bonding meaning to text.

→ stored as tag + lineId + text snippet

✎

Decision Record

gesture: right-click → Record decision

Records your conclusion about a selection. Turns passive reading into active commitment. "I read this and decided X" — the most powerful trace type for retention.

→ stored as decision text + context snippet

↗

Visit Log

automatic — no gesture needed

Each page visit is silently recorded with a timestamp and dwell time. Builds your reading history across the wiki. Visible in the Global Memory panel in the sidebar.

→ stored as page + timestamp + duration (sec)

→ Try it now: double-click any CLN line above to anchor it. Then right-click a line to tagmarry or record a decision. Watch the Your Traces panel appear in the sidebar.

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03// Local Memory Per-Page

// ##CT-LOCAL

=Local memory — traces belonging to this page only

.Key: cln-wiki-[page-slug]-v1 in localStorage

.Capacity: last 25 traces per page

→On page load: visual state is restored from local memory

.Anchored lines reappear with their color

.Tagged lines re-show their badge

.Decided lines keep their rose background

// what is stored per trace

.id — Unix timestamp (unique within session)

.type — anchor | tag | decision

.lineId — DOM id of the anchored CLN line

.text — first 45 chars of the line content

.colorClass — for anchors: which of 5 colors was used

.tag — for #tagmarry: the tag string

.decision — for decisions: your recorded text

.timestamp — ISO 8601 string

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04// Global Memory Cross-Page

// ##CT-GLOBAL

=Global memory — the unified trace layer across all wiki pages

.Key: cln-wiki-global-memory-v1 in localStorage

.Capacity: last 100 traces + last 50 visits

→Every trace on any page is copied into global memory too

.Local = authoritative for this page's visual state

.Global = your cross-wiki reading portrait

Local Memory

Per-Page

scope: one wiki page

key: cln-wiki-[slug]-v1

capacity: 25 traces

use: restore visuals on load

visible: Your Traces panel

⟶feeds into

Global Memory

Cross-Wiki

scope: all wiki pages

key: cln-wiki-global-memory-v1

capacity: 100 traces + 50 visits

use: cross-page navigation

visible: Wiki Memory panel + export

// global memory panel — sidebar bottom

→Shows traces from other pages you've visited

.Clicking a trace navigates back to that exact line

→Shows recent visits with dwell time

*Effect: reading one page makes other pages richer

.Your #tagmarry tags on page A appear as context when reading page B

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05// Live Demo ● Live

// ##CT-LIVE — your actual memory state right now

~The panel below reads from your browser's localStorage in real time

.Reflects what's actually stored — not a mock

Wiki Memory · Live Read reading localStorage…

Total traces: 0

Pages visited: 0

This page: 0

Est. size: 0 B

No traces yet. Double-click a CLN line above to create your first anchor.

↻ Refresh Export .cln ↓ Clear all memory

// how to use this panel

→Double-click any CLN line on this page → Anchor appears in "This page" count

→Right-click → #tagmarry → tag appears in trace list

→Visit other wiki pages → Pages visited count rises

→Hit "Export .cln" → file downloads with full memory as CLN

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06// Export .cln — Brain Snapshot Export

// ##CT-EXPORT

=.cln file — a plain-text export of your entire cognitive trace history

.Format: valid CLN notation — readable by humans and AI

.Extension: .cln — opens in any text editor

→Think of it as exporting the annotations layer of your reading brain

.Not a transcript — only what you chose to mark

.Only your deliberate gestures — the signal without the noise

// export structure

.Header: date, total trace count

.Grouped by source page (as CLN comment block)

.Each trace: type + content in operator notation

example output: cln-wiki-memory.cln copy example

= MEMORY: CLN Wiki — Personal Knowledge Traces @ exported: 2026-02-21 @ traces: 7 // cln-basics.html . [anchor] CLN — a semantic notation system designed for high-density knowledge . [tag] #syntax Markdown is for Visuals . [decision] ~ use CLN for all meeting notes from now on // best-user-journeys.html . [anchor] AI → CLN — most viral right now (10/10) . [tag] #growth самые вирусные сценарии — это когда CLN используется как . [decision] ~ add AI prompt library to wiki this week // cognitive-traces.html . [anchor] Cognitive Trace — a persistent mark that records a moment of thinking

// what you can do with the .cln file

+Paste into ChatGPT / Claude: "here's what I've been reading and thinking — help me synthesize"

+Open in editor and write a CLN summary of your knowledge state

+Track how your anchors shift over time (weekly exports)

+Seed a new Obsidian/Notion workspace from your actual reading traces

!The file is a compression of your episodic reading memory — not a summary of the content, but of your reactions to it

★ The .cln export is the most powerful affordance in CLN Wiki. It turns passive reading into a portable, AI-readable knowledge asset. Export weekly, feed to an LLM, ask: "what patterns do you see in my thinking this week?"

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07// Brain Metaphor Neuro

// ##CT-BRAIN — how it maps to cognitive science

~The system is designed around how episodic memory actually works

.Not semantic storage (facts) but episodic (this moment, this reaction)

brain process → CLN equivalent

Episodic memory boundary → Associative Anchor — marks the moment when something clicked

Semantic labeling → #tagmarry — bonds a concept name to a specific passage

Working memory commit → Decision record — moves idea from reading to acting

Spaced repetition cue → Global memory panel — surfaces traces from previous sessions

Long-term potentiation → .cln export — consolidates episodic layer into persistent schema

Memory palace → CLN color clusters — 5 anchor colors = 5 spatial memory slots per page

// the deeper point

?Why do most notes die — never revisited, never used?

→Because they capture content, not reactions

→CLN traces capture reactions — the signal your brain actually fires on

.An anchor = "my brain spiked here"

.A decision = "my brain committed here"

*That's why the export is called a "brain snapshot" — not a note dump

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08// Privacy Local-only

// ##CT-PRIV

!All trace data is stored exclusively in your browser's localStorage

.No server. No account. No sync. No analytics on your traces.

.Yandex.Metrika tracks page views — not trace content

→Clearing browser data deletes all traces permanently

+Export .cln before clearing if you want to keep your traces

! Traces do not transfer between browsers or devices. They are tied to the localStorage of the specific browser where you created them. If you use CLN Wiki on multiple devices, export .cln files to keep a unified record.

// the privacy-by-design principle

+Your thinking is your property — not a product

+The .cln export is the only way your traces leave your browser — and you control it

→This is a deliberate design constraint, not a limitation

.Local traces = honest traces — you write for yourself, not for an audience