1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
|
---
title: "How Supermemory Works"
description: "Understanding the knowledge graph architecture that powers intelligent memory"
icon: "brain"
---
Supermemory isn't just another document storage system. It's designed to mirror how human memory actually works - forming connections, evolving over time, and generating insights from accumulated knowledge.
## The Mental Model
Traditional systems store files. Supermemory creates a living knowledge graph.
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Traditional Systems" icon="folder">
- Static files in folders
- No connections between content
- Search matches keywords
- Information stays frozen
</Card>
<Card title="Supermemory" icon="network">
- Dynamic knowledge graph
- Rich relationships between memories
- Semantic understanding
- Information evolves and connects
</Card>
</CardGroup>
## Documents vs Memories
Understanding this distinction is crucial to using Supermemory effectively.
### Documents: Your Raw Input
Documents are what you provide - the raw materials:
- PDF files you upload
- Web pages you save
- Text you paste
- Images with text
- Videos to transcribe
Think of documents as books you hand to Supermemory.
### Memories: Intelligent Knowledge Units
Memories are what Supermemory creates - the understanding:
- Semantic chunks with meaning
- Embedded for similarity search
- Connected through relationships
- Dynamically updated over time
Think of memories as the insights and connections your brain makes after reading those books.
<Note>
**Key Insight**: When you upload a 50-page PDF, Supermemory doesn't just store it. It breaks it into hundreds of interconnected memories, each understanding its context and relationships to your other knowledge.
</Note>
## Memory Relationships
The graph connects memories through three types of relationships:
### Updates: Information Changes
When new information contradicts or updates existing knowledge, Supermemory creates an "update" relationship.
<CodeGroup>
```text Original Memory
"You work at Supermemory as a content engineer"
```
```text New Memory (Updates Original)
"You now work at Supermemory as the CMO"
```
</CodeGroup>
The system tracks which memory is latest with an `isLatest` field, ensuring searches return current information.
### Extends: Information Enriches
When new information adds to existing knowledge without replacing it, Supermemory creates an "extends" relationship.
Continuing our "working at supermemory" analogy, a memory about what you work on would extend the memory about your role given above.
<CodeGroup>
```text Original Memory
"You work at Supermemory as the CMO"
```
```text New Memory (Extension) - Separate From Previous
"Your work consists of ensuring the docs are up to date, making marketing campaigns, SEO, etc."
```
</CodeGroup>
Both memories remain valid and searchable, providing richer context.
### Derives: Information Infers
The most sophisticated relationship - when Supermemory infers new connections from patterns in your knowledge.
<CodeGroup>
```text Memory 1
"Dhravya is the founder of Supermemory"
```
```text Memory 2
"Dhravya frequently discusses AI and machine learning innovations"
```
```text Derived Memory
"Supermemory is likely an AI-focused company"
```
</CodeGroup>
These inferences help surface insights you might not have explicitly stated.
## Processing Pipeline
Understanding the pipeline helps you optimize your usage:
| Stage | What Happens |
|-------|-------------|
| **Queued** | Document waiting to process
| **Extracting** | Content being extracted |
| **Chunking** | Creating memory chunks |
| **Embedding** | Generating vectors |
| **Indexing** | Building relationships |
| **Done** | Fully searchable |
<Note>
**Tip**: Larger documents and videos take longer. A 100-page PDF might take 1-2 minutes, while a 1-hour video could take 5-10 minutes.
</Note>
## Next Steps
Now that you understand how Supermemory works:
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Add Memories" icon="plus" href="/add-memories/overview">
Start adding content to your knowledge graph
</Card>
<Card title="Search Memories" icon="search" href="/search/overview">
Learn to query your knowledge effectively
</Card>
</CardGroup>
|