In the natural world, taxonomy is the discipline of naming, sorting, and relating living things. In Project Spore, that same logic shapes how notes are stored, grouped, and rediscovered over time.

Instead of forcing every note into a rigid folder tree, the starter kit encourages a lighter classification system built on tags. A single specimen can belong to several conversations at once: a scientific thread, a reading log, a reflective essay, or a technical reference.

Planting the seeds of order

To classify a note, add tags to its front matter. These tags behave a little like a specimen’s DNA, helping Hugo connect related ideas across the archive, the classification pages, and search.

tags: ["Biology", "Basal Cognition", "Systems Thinking"]

The goal is not to create perfect categories on day one. The goal is to leave enough signals behind that future-you can trace how one thought grows into another.

Building a living index

Project Spore ships with archive, classification, and search pages so these tags are not decorative. They become part of the structure of the garden:

  • Archive pages preserve chronology.
  • Tag pages reveal clusters of related thinking.
  • Search helps you recover fragments you forgot you had written down.

Used together, these layers create a knowledge system that feels organic rather than bureaucratic.

A practical tagging approach

A simple rule of thumb works well:

  • Use one or two subject tags for what the note is about.
  • Use one process tag for how the note functions.
  • Reuse existing tags before inventing new ones.

For example, a note on fungal intelligence might carry Biology, Systems Thinking, and Reading Notes. That is usually enough context to keep the garden legible without overcataloguing every page.

Why this matters

The charm of a digital garden is not just visual. It is structural. A thoughtful knowledge archive helps readers move through ideas with curiosity rather than friction.

Project Spore uses taxonomy to support that experience quietly, in the background, so the writing can still feel human and warm.