> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thinknoesis.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Noesis FAQ: Plans, Models, Privacy, and Troubleshooting

> Answers to the most common questions about Noesis — what it is, how branching works, pricing, model availability, data privacy, and troubleshooting tips.

Whether you're exploring Noesis for the first time or you're a regular user looking for a quick answer, this page covers the questions we hear most often. Browse by topic below — from creating your first account to understanding how branching works, what's included in each plan, and how your data is protected.

## Getting Started

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is Noesis and how does it work?">
    Noesis (from Greek νόησις — the mind's act of pure understanding) is a collaborative, non-linear AI research workspace. Instead of a single, scrolling chat thread, Noesis lets you **branch conversations** at any message to explore alternative ideas side-by-side, visualise your entire thinking process as an interactive **concept map**, and draw on multiple leading AI models — all in one place.

    A typical workflow looks like this:

    1. Start a conversation in a **Space** (your workspace container).
    2. At any message, fork the thread to spin up a new branch without losing your original context.
    3. Watch your Concept Map update in real time to reflect the growing graph of your ideas.
    4. Select two or more branches and run **Synthesis** to merge them into a unified summary.

    Noesis is designed for researchers, engineers, writers, students, and anyone whose thinking doesn't fit a straight line.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to create an account?">
    Yes — an account is required to use Noesis. You can sign up for free at [thinknoesis.xyz/app](https://thinknoesis.xyz/app) using your email address or a supported social login provider. Account creation takes less than a minute, and you can start branching conversations immediately on the free Origin plan — no credit card required.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a free plan?">
    Yes. The **Origin plan** is free forever and requires no credit card to activate. It includes:

    * Access to standard models (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT 5.4 Mini, Grok 4.3)
    * Unlimited conversation branching and merging
    * Document uploads (PDF, DOCX, TXT)
    * Interactive concept mapping (Session & Global maps)
    * Web search integration and Markdown export

    Origin is a fully functional plan — not a time-limited trial. If you decide you need premium models, more usage, or real-time collaboration, you can upgrade to a paid plan at any time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What should I use Noesis for?">
    Noesis is purpose-built for any task that involves exploring a problem from multiple angles. Common use cases include:

    * **Research & academic study** — map hypothesis structures, compare sources, and track dialectical arguments across philosophical or scientific positions.
    * **Software engineering & debugging** — branch off a thread to isolate and test specific failure scenarios without losing your primary debug context.
    * **Writing & content creation** — explore multiple narrative directions or argument structures before committing to one.
    * **Fact-checking & journalism** — use web search integration with visual branching to verify complex timelines and reconcile conflicting sources.
    * **Systems design** — visualise different architecture approaches and trace execution trees side-by-side.
    * **Learning & note-taking** — build a structured, visual map of a topic as you move through concepts, creating a lasting knowledge artifact.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Features

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What does 'branching' mean?">
    Branching is the core mechanic of Noesis. At any message in a conversation, you can **fork the thread** — creating a new branch that starts from that point while leaving the original intact. Both branches share the same context up to the fork, but evolve independently from there.

    This means you can ask the same question to different AI models, explore a completely different line of reasoning, or test a counter-argument — all without losing what you already built. You can switch between branches at any time, and every branch is visible in the Concept Map so you never lose track of where you are.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the Concept Map?">
    The Concept Map is an **interactive 2D node graph** that visualises your entire conversation tree as it grows. Each message node appears on the canvas, connected by edges that reflect the branching structure of your research.

    Key things you can do in the Concept Map:

    * **Double-click any node** to jump directly back to that point in your conversation history.
    * Watch the layout update in real time as you create new branches or synthesise existing ones.
    * Share and explore the map collaboratively with teammates on Synthesis and Noesis plans.

    Think of it as a living mind map that builds itself as you think.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is Synthesis?">
    Synthesis is the feature that lets you **merge two or more conversation branches** into a single, unified summary. Select any two (or more) nodes on your Concept Map, trigger Synthesis, and Noesis generates a coherent output that reconciles the ideas, highlights agreements and contradictions, and draws connections across branches.

    After a synthesis is generated, you can navigate back to any of the original source branches using the built-in **source switcher**, so you never lose the raw context behind the merged result.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I upload documents?">
    Yes. Noesis supports document uploads on **all plans**, including the free Origin tier. You can upload files in the following formats:

    * PDF
    * DOCX
    * TXT

    Once uploaded, Noesis parses the document and makes it available as context during your conversation. You can ask questions about the content, branch off specific sections, or reference the document across multiple threads in the same Space.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Noesis support web search?">
    Yes — web search is integrated on **all plans**. You can trigger a web search from within any conversation branch, and Noesis will retrieve and surface relevant results in context. Combined with branching, this makes it straightforward to explore multiple sources side-by-side and track how different pieces of evidence relate to your research question.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What AI models are available?">
    The models available to you depend on your plan:

    **Origin (free)** — Standard models:

    * Gemini 3.5 Flash
    * Claude Haiku 4.5
    * GPT 5.4 Mini
    * Grok 4.3

    **Synthesis ($11.99/mo) and Noesis ($23.99/mo)** — All standard models, plus premium models:

    * Claude Opus 4.8
    * GPT 5.5
    * Gemini 3.1 Pro

    You can switch models mid-conversation or assign different models to different branches, making it easy to compare how different architectures respond to the same prompt.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Plans & Billing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What are the differences between plans?">
    Noesis offers three plans:

    | Plan          | Price      | Key additions                                                                         |
    | ------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Origin**    | Free       | Standard models, unlimited branching, document uploads, web search                    |
    | **Synthesis** | \$11.99/mo | All premium models, more usage, real-time collaboration, unlimited Spaces             |
    | **Noesis**    | \$23.99/mo | 5× more usage than Synthesis, priority support, early access to experimental features |

    For a full side-by-side comparison, visit [thinknoesis.xyz/plans](https://thinknoesis.xyz/plans).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I cancel at any time?">
    Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time from **Settings → Subscription**. When you cancel:

    * You retain full access to all premium features until the end of your current billing period.
    * Your subscription will not renew, and no further automatic charges will be made.
    * Your data and Spaces remain accessible; you are not immediately downgraded.

    There are no cancellation fees and no minimum commitment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do you offer refunds?">
    No. Due to the significant AI compute costs involved in running real-time branching, model inference, and context management, Noesis maintains a **strict no-refunds policy**. Once a payment is processed for a billing cycle, it is final and non-refundable — including prorated amounts for partially used periods.

    If you want to evaluate Noesis before committing to a paid plan, the free **Origin plan** gives you full access to core features with no time limit and no credit card required.

    <Tip>
      If you believe you were charged in error or experienced a duplicate transaction, contact [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz) immediately. Billing errors caused by a technical issue on our side will be investigated and corrected.
    </Tip>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What payment methods do you accept?">
    Noesis accepts **credit and debit cards** via [Stripe](https://stripe.com), a PCI-compliant payment processor. Your payment details are handled entirely by Stripe — Noesis does not store or have direct access to your card information.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is a 'usage limit'?">
    Usage in Noesis is measured by the number of **AI tokens** consumed across your conversations. A token is roughly equivalent to a word or part of a word in a prompt or response.

    Premium models (such as Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT 5.5) consume more tokens per message than standard models, so heavy use of premium models will reach your limit faster. Each plan includes a different usage allocation:

    * **Origin** — Standard usage included with free tier
    * **Synthesis** — More usage than Origin
    * **Noesis** — 5× more usage than Synthesis

    If you're consistently hitting your limit, upgrading your plan is the easiest way to get more capacity.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Privacy & Security

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is my data private?">
    Yes. Your data is stored securely using **Convex**, a modern backend platform that provides encryption both at rest and in transit. Noesis implements industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information.

    When you send a message, your conversation is processed by the AI model provider you've selected (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI). Each provider has their own privacy policy governing how they handle inference requests. Noesis does not use your conversations to train its own models.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Noesis sell my data?">
    No. Noesis does not sell, rent, or trade your personal data or conversation content to any third party. Your data is used solely to provide and improve the Noesis service.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I delete my account?">
    You can delete your account from **Settings → Account → Delete Account**. Account deletion is permanent and removes your personal information and associated data from our systems.

    If you encounter any issues or prefer to request deletion via email, contact [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz). You also have the right to request an export of your conversation data before deletion.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What tracking does Noesis use?">
    Noesis uses **Vercel Analytics** to collect anonymous, aggregated usage data — such as page views and general performance metrics. Vercel Analytics is cookie-free, meaning no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies are placed on your device.

    Noesis does not use advertising cookies, remarketing pixels, or any third-party tracking that follows you outside of the application.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The app is slow or not loading">
    Try the following steps in order:

    1. **Hard refresh** the page: press `Ctrl+Shift+R` on Windows/Linux or `Cmd+Shift+R` on macOS. This forces the browser to reload all assets from the server.
    2. **Clear your browser cache and cookies**, then reload the page.
    3. Try opening Noesis in a **different browser** or in a private/incognito window to rule out extension conflicts.
    4. Check your internet connection and confirm other sites are loading normally.

    If the issue persists, contact [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz) with details of your browser, operating system, and a description of the problem.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A model isn't responding">
    If a specific model is not returning responses or is timing out, the most likely cause is a **temporary outage or degraded performance on the model provider's side** (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or xAI). These are outside Noesis's control.

    Steps to try:

    * Switch to a different model on the same branch to confirm the issue is model-specific.
    * Wait a few minutes and try again — provider outages are usually short-lived.
    * Check the provider's status page for any active incidents.

    If the problem affects all models, please contact [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My document didn't upload">
    Before re-uploading, check the following:

    * **File format:** Noesis supports PDF, DOCX, and TXT only. Other formats (e.g. `.pages`, `.xlsx`, `.pptx`) are not currently supported.
    * **File size:** Ensure the file is within the supported size limit. Very large documents may time out during upload.
    * **File integrity:** Try opening the file locally to confirm it isn't corrupted.

    If the file meets all requirements and still fails to upload, try refreshing the page and uploading again. If the issue continues, email [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz) with the file type, size, and any error messages displayed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I can't see my collaborator's cursor">
    Real-time collaboration features — including live cursors — are available on the **Synthesis** and **Noesis** plans only. Confirm that both you and your collaborator are on one of these plans.

    If both accounts are on a qualifying plan and live cursors are still not visible:

    * Check that both users have a stable internet connection.
    * Try refreshing the Space on both sides.
    * Ensure the collaborator has been granted at least **Editor** or **Commenter** permissions within the shared Space.

    Contact [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz) if the issue persists after checking the above.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I contact support?">
    You can reach the Noesis team through either of the following channels:

    * **Email:** [support@thinknoesis.xyz](mailto:support@thinknoesis.xyz) — for account issues, billing questions, and bug reports.
    * **Discord:** Join the Noesis community server to ask questions, share feedback, and get help from the team and other users.

    We aim to respond to all support emails within one business day.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>