AI integration: getting started

AI integration is available starting with Freeplane version 1.13.1.

The newer features linked from this page — prompts, model-parameter controls, editor attachment, AI-owned script review, formula-editing controls, and script-facing AI requests — require Freeplane 1.13.3 or later.

Benefits and risks

Benefits:

  • AI can summarize, rewrite, inspect, and help edit map content faster.
  • Prompts, profiles, formulas, and scripts can make repeated tasks easier.

Risks:

  • Depending on your provider and setup, map content sent to AI may leave your machine.
  • Model output can be wrong, misleading, or influenced by map content.
  • Higher-permission features such as editing, formula authoring, script execution, and MCP increase risk and should be enabled deliberately.

For the higher-risk features, read AI formulas and script editing and Model Context Protocol server before enabling them.

Configure AI in Preferences

Open AI Preferences from the AI panel toolbar burger menu, then configure the AI options.

Required user input:

  • For OpenRouter:
    • AI OpenRouter key
  • For Gemini:
    • AI Gemini key
  • For Ollama:
    • set AI Ollama service address (for example http://localhost:11434 or your remote endpoint URL).
    • optional: set AI Ollama API key when your Ollama endpoint requires token authentication.

Notes for Ollama:

  • Ollama is available only when AI Ollama service address is set.
  • When AI Ollama API key is non-empty, Freeplane sends Authorization: Bearer <key> for Ollama chat and model discovery requests.

If configuration is missing, chat shows: No AI provider is configured.

Important AI controls

The following settings matter for most current AI workflows:

  • AI tool availability
    • Disabled: no general AI tools
    • Reading: AI can inspect map content without changing it
    • Editing: AI can also make normal map edits
    • Script execution: AI can also work with AI-owned scripts and code editing features
  • AI may edit formulas
    • separately allows AI to help author formulas when general tool availability is high enough
  • AI-owned script execution policy
    • controls whether AI-owned scripts are shown for review or may run directly without user review
  • AI chat shows tool calls
    • shows AI and MCP tool activity in chat
  • AI thinking effort
    • sets the default provider-independent thinking level where the selected provider/model supports it
  • AI temperature
    • sets the default temperature; Model default sends no temperature value to the provider

AI preferences

Send your first AI chat message

  1. Open the AI panel.
  2. Type a request in the input area.
  3. Use Send or press Command/Ctrl + Enter to start the request.
  4. Use Cancel to stop an active request.

Helpful chat controls:

  • New chat: start a clean live chat.
  • Chats: open the chat list dialog.
  • Edit profiles...: open profile management.
  • AI profile: shows or selects the active profile.
  • model selector: selects the provider/model used by ordinary chat requests.
  • thinking-effort selector: sets the default thinking effort used by ordinary chat requests.
  • Temperature in the AI panel menu: sets the default temperature used by ordinary chat requests.

Next steps