Happy New Year everyone! 🎉

After months of building in public, InterBrain is ready for its first real field test marking the beginning of the next chapter for this project.

What this means: The core system works. You can create DreamNodes, weave DreamSongs, collaborate peer-to-peer, and grow your liminal web through conversation. But many edge cases remain undiscovered. Many bugs hide in corners we haven't looked. This is why private beta exists - to find what only real usage reveals.

Expectations: This is the very first iteration. Rough edges are expected, especially on platforms other than macOS. Your patience and feedback will shape what InterBrain becomes.

To everyone who has supported this journey: from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Every donation has translated directly into development time. The fact that InterBrain has reached this milestone at all is because of your generous contributions.

Now, let's walk through what's new and how to get started.

To install, open Terminal on macOS or Linux, or PowerShell on Windows. Full instructions are available at https://github.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain#installation--setup

For macOS and Linux, run:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/main/install.sh)

For Windows (PowerShell as Admin), run:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/main/install.ps1 | iex

The script handles everything: Obsidian, Git, GitHub CLI, Radicle, and Ollama. 

 

GitHub CLI is installed first and enables automated feedback - if anything breaks during installation, the script will help you submit an issue directly to GitHub. If something breaks before GitHub CLI is set up, visit the relevant tracking issue below and add a comment manually. 

 

At least one AI provider must be active for AI features to work. The settings panel includes links to obtain API keys for each supported provider. Anthropic is recommended as it was used during development and is the most tested. 

 

After installation, open the settings panel to enter your API key and your Radicle passphrase (which enables P2P collaboration). 

 

Note for Windows users: P2P features are pending Radicle native support, but all core features work fully. 

 

Installation troubleshooting: Installation has been validated on all platforms through automated VM testing, but every machine is different. Permission quirks, existing software conflicts, and platform-specific edge cases can cause issues - especially on Windows. Your feedback helps cover these cases. 

 

Common solutions are gathered in dedicated tracking issues. Check the relevant one for known solutions, or add a comment if you encounter a new issue: 

 

macOS: https://github.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/issues/374 

Linux: https://github.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/issues/375 

Windows: https://github.com/ProjectLiminality/InterBrain/issues/363

On first launch, you'll see a portal overlay. Enter DreamSpace and you'll find yourself with just the InterBrain node alone.

To populate your space, simply drag and drop files. Images, PDFs, and videos are all supported.

The file name becomes the DreamNode name, so rename your files before dropping if needed.

When you drop a file while focused on an existing node, the new node automatically connects to it.

Create Dreamers (people) and Dreams (ideas) by dropping files onto the canvas.

Navigate by clicking nodes - the liminal web recenters around your selection.

Click empty space to enter Constellation View, where your DreamNodes are arranged like stars in the night sky.

To edit relationships, press and hold Option (macOS) or Alt (Linux/Windows) to reveal the action buttons, then click Edit Relationships.

Select a Dreamer to edit which Dreams are related to it.

Select a Dream to edit which Dreamers are related to it.

To report a bug manually, hold Option/Alt on the InterBrain node and click the Report Bug button.

There's also an automatic mode: when an error is caught, a modal appears allowing you to add context to the error.

When submitting, you can either Send Report (which creates a GitHub issue directly) or use AI Refine (which polishes your description and enables intelligent deduplication to prevent flooding with duplicate issues).

If you're describing a known issue, the system intelligently appends to the existing issue rather than creating a new one.

Private beta expectations: Many bugs are expected, especially on platforms other than macOS. Better descriptions mean higher value feedback.

This is the crux of private beta - catching edge cases only discoverable through real user testing. The fundamental essence works, but many edge cases remain to be found.

To create a DreamSong, hold Option/Alt and click the Create DreamSong Canvas button. A canvas panel opens on the right.

Right-click the canvas and select Add Media from Vault to search for files to add.

The visual syntax works as follows: directed edges connect media files to create a linear flow that orders the sequence. Undirected edges connect text to media to create media-text pairs (annotations).

While weaving, flip the DreamNode to see real-time translation into the refined DreamSong UI.

Click the full screen button to preview the final DreamSong.

When you save changes, all referenced external DreamNodes are imported as submodules. After saving, clicking media in the DreamSong UI selects the source DreamNode where that media came from.

Pro tips (not shown in video):

Open the command palette (Cmd+P) and run "AutoLayoutCanvas" to organize complex canvases automatically.

InterBrain ignores unconnected elements, so you can throw everything on the canvas and connect what matters - only connected elements appear in the DreamSong UI. This lets you start messy and refine over time.

There's also an Edit shortcut: in the DreamSong UI, click the small Edit button under the title (top right) to reopen the canvas.

Sharing:

If you have GitHub CLI configured, hold Option/Alt and click Publish to GitHub Pages. This turns your DreamSong into a shareable website that looks identical to your local view.

After publishing, a GitHub button appears in the DreamSong UI that opens the hosted page. Share the URL to share your sensemaking with the world.

Constellation edges:

After saving, the Constellation View shows nodes connected by edges. Click an edge to reveal the DreamNode containing the DreamSong that connects them.

When you share changes on a DreamNode with a DreamSong, this triggers a coherence beacon, which is handled via the Social Resonance Filter described below.

Copilot Mode requires an email address for your conversation partner. To add one, hold Option/Alt to reveal the action buttons, click Edit, enter the address in the dedicated field, and save. 

 

Once configured, activate Copilot Mode for a video call or face-to-face conversation. By default, only the Dreamer node of your peer is visible.

Hold Option/Alt to reveal relevant DreamNodes based on the current conversation. Glowing nodes are already connected to your peer.

Click a DreamNode while holding Option/Alt to open it full screen and reveal its content.

If you're on a video call, share your InterBrain window. When you invoke a Dream, it shows full screen, allowing you to augment your conversation with visual context.

Invoked Dreams automatically connect to that Dreamer in your liminal web.

After the call, an email is generated. On macOS, this opens an email draft pre-filled - just click send. On Linux and Windows, a modal appears with the email content to copy-paste.

The email includes a conversation summary, links to clone the referenced DreamNodes, and installation instructions for peers who haven't yet installed InterBrain.

On any DreamNode, you can check for updates. This shows all commits and updates from your peers, grouped by peer.

You have granular control: preview, accept, or reject each update individually. Or batch them - all commits from one peer at once, or even all commits from all peers at once.

If AI is enabled, you can summarize all updates to quickly see what's changed.

Rejected commits aren't lost - they move to a rejected list and you can unreject them anytime.

Coherence beacon commits are highlighted in red. Accepting a coherence beacon clones the parent DreamNode (containing the DreamSong) plus all sibling submodule dependencies. This is how you discover new DreamNodes outside of video calls.

Private beta note: This is one of the most sophisticated systems in InterBrain. The pattern - accept what resonates, extend to your peers - has many edge cases. Simple updates like new media or README changes work smoothly. Complex scenarios need field testing. This is where private beta feedback is most valuable.

We kick off 2026 with the private beta. This will transition into a public beta once core features are stable, and eventually into a full stable release.

But stability is just the beginning. Once the foundation is solid, InterBrain will evolve into something far more profound: DreamOS - an agentic operating system for the age of digital shamanism. More on that when the time comes. :)

The larger vision: Project Liminality's mission remains to heal the fragmentation of the human family and thus catalyze our collective journey toward the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

As an incorruptible communication medium, the InterBrain is a crucial piece to that puzzle. Yet its true potential will be unlocked through the stories we tell and share through it.

Expect powerful visions for unlocking vast untapped potential and directing it toward humanity's most pressing challenges in the year ahead.

All of this is made possible by ongoing community support. With your help, we can make 2026 something truly special. 🙏🏻

Let's create a more beautiful world together :)

Yours truly,
David