FlowJoe provides native visual indicators and safety features to help you categorize work, organize outlines, and secure sensitive information.

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Node Status

Every node in FlowJoe can display a status badge. This is useful for project tracking:
  • Status Options: Node status can be toggled (e.g., Todo, In Progress, Done, Flagged, Paused).
  • Tree Filtering: You can filter your tree search specifically by status (e.g., searching status:progress displays only items currently being worked on).
  • Joe Awareness: Joe is aware of node statuses and will use them to prioritize suggestions.

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Branch Theming & Inheritance

To help organize different zones of a large workspace (e.g. distinguishing personal logs from client tasks), FlowJoe supports custom branch themes:
  • Color Coding: Right-click a node, select Theme, and choose a color profile.
  • Inheritance: By default, children nodes inherit their parent’s color theme. This lets you color-code an entire branch (and its gallery slots) in one click.
  • Theme Profiles: Global styling themes (Dark, Light, Cozy, Sepia) are managed in Settings.
  • Joe: You can ask Joe to set a node’s Theme-menu look by its menu name, such as Clay Roast, or ask for a calming, earthy, light, or dark look. He is shown each look’s colors and uses those, not the name alone. A name that is not on the list is refused.
  • Clear or app theme: Clearing that look lets the node inherit from its parent again. Asking for the app theme uses the app-wide look on that node and stops inheritance. A locked or private node refuses the change.

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The Four Node Protection States

FlowJoe supports four independent (orthogonal) node states that can be toggled via the Set Visibility / Privacy… context-menu flyout. These states inherit down the tree, meaning locking or privatizing a parent applies to the entire subtree.

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1. Hidden Nodes

Hiding a node filters it out of the tree view sidebar without deleting it.
  • To view or edit hidden nodes, toggle Show Hidden Nodes from the tree panel menu.
  • Hidden nodes remain fully editable and unprotected once revealed.

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2. Locked (Read-Only) Nodes

Marking a node as Locked freezes its gallery content to prevent accidental modifications:
  • What is Allowed: You can still rename the node, reorder/move it on the tree, copy/export content, and duplicate the branch (the duplicate is created as a new, fully unlocked editable sibling).
  • What is Blocked: You cannot edit slot notes or titles, crop/delete images, reorder or navigate stacks, attach new media, set statuses, or delete the node itself.
  • Unlock Toggle: Clicking the lock badge in the gallery header opens a confirmation modal before unlocking.

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3. Private (Password-Protected) Nodes

Private nodes hide sensitive content behind a password verifier.
  • Temporary Unlock: Right-click and enter your password. This starts an in-memory session. Leaving the node, reloading the app, or disconnecting the workspace immediately re-locks it.
  • Workspace Folder privacy: Workspace files show a redacted Private node (not shared) placeholder. When an older Flow is opened, FlowJoe preserves the private content in owner-only storage and verifies the redacted folder file before saving resumes. Copies made before migration cannot be recalled. If a retained backup still contains private text, FlowJoe leaves it intact and keeps saving paused; see Workspace Folders.
  • Removal: To share the node again, choose Remove Password Protection (this requires your password, permanently clears private status, and republishes the node).

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4. Hidden from Joe Nodes

Marking a node as Hidden from Joe seals the entire node and its children from the AI assistant:
  • Human View: The node remains fully visible and editable to you.
  • AI Block: Joe cannot read the summary, gallery media, slot notes, or tags of the node.
  • Tool Exclusions: Joe is barred from running mutations, auto-titling, spelling checks, or image generation tools on the node, and the snapshot API emits it as redacted.