Understand people. Understand yourself.

A reading library for psychology, relationships and human behaviour — 262 structured entries across 14 modules, with a 980-fact research library and an interactive concept map. Fully static: no account, no server, no tracking.

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Quick start

git clone https://github.com/apsideslabs/mindtrace.git
cd mindtrace
npm install
npm run dev

Or just read it — the library is live at https://apsideslabs.github.io/mindtrace/.

Contents

• What it is
• What you can learn
• Features
• How it works
• Facts and quotes
• Tech stack
• Scripts
• Deployment
• Project structure
• Responsible use
• License

What it is

MindTrace is a reading library for psychology, relationships and human behaviour. It runs entirely in the browser — no account, no server and no tracking — and every note, bookmark and preference stays on the device.

Across the 262 entries sit 2,742 individual sections of writing, an average of 10.5 per entry, which is roughly 18 hours of reading at the library's own stated read times. Alongside them sits a research library of 980 sourced findings, each carrying an evidence rating and at least one cited reference.

Entries	262 across 14 modules
Sections	2,742 (avg 10.5 per entry)
Facts	980 sourced findings in 40 collections
Citations	995 references
Quotes	254 from 187 authors, each with a source
Reading time	about 18 hours
Hosting	GitHub Pages — static, no backend

What you can learn

Every entry runs to roughly ten sections — typically What It Is, Why It Works, How It Actually Appears, Real Phrases, Warning Signs, Protection Strategy, Common Mistakes and a closing Key Insight — so you can read straight through or jump to what you need.

Module	Entries	What it covers
Persuasion	33	The mechanisms of influence — reciprocity, scarcity, social proof, framing, pre-suasion.
Negotiation	30	Strategy and leverage — BATNA, ZOPA, first offers, concessions, tactical empathy, hardball tactics.
Manipulation	20	Coercive tactics and their warning signs — gaslighting, love bombing, DARVO, intermittent reinforcement.
Relationships	20	Attachment, communication, boundaries, and what separates healthy connection from harmful.
Body Language	20	Non-verbal cues, micro-expressions, posture, baseline behaviour and cultural differences.
Human Behaviour	18	Everyday effects that shape how people act — the halo effect, loss aversion, the bystander effect.
Behavioural Economics	16	Money and value perception — prospect theory, mental accounting, the pain of paying.
Cognitive Biases	16	Systematic errors in judgement — anchoring, hindsight, survivorship, the planning fallacy.
Criminology	16	Predatory behaviour — grooming, coercive control, the cycle of abuse, victim selection.
Personality	16	Traits and typologies — the Big Five, the dark triad, attachment styles, grit, locus of control.
Power & Status	15	Hierarchies and status — dominance versus prestige, gatekeeping, the Matthew effect.
Decision Making	14	How people choose — choice overload, decision fatigue, the decoy and default effects.
Social Psychology	14	Groups and influence — conformity, obedience, groupthink, deindividuation.
Deception & Truth	14	Interviewing and cues — the cluster principle, the Othello error, cognitive load.

Features

• Library — Browse every entry by module; filter by unread, read or saved, and search within a module.
• Reader — A long-form entry with a contents sidebar, reading-progress bar, related reading and previous / next navigation.
• Key-line emphasis — The key line of every section is underlined and the important points in warning and protection sections are highlighted. Switchable.
• Notes & highlights — Select any passage to add a note; it is re-marked inline in your chosen colour and saved. Export everything to a single Markdown file.
• Map — An interactive graph of how entries connect — category map, concept web and relationship graph — exportable as a PNG.
• Facts — 980 sourced findings, each with an evidence rating and a cited reference, organised into 40 collections.
• Quotes — 254 attributable quotes grouped into six themes, each with its source.
• Search — A global overlay that searches entries and facts as you type.
• Reading settings — Theme, accent colour, text size, page width, highlight colour, emphasis and focus mode.
• Profile — Entries read, saved items, reading time and library progress, with a one-click clear of local data.

How it works

Everything is static. The content layer is a folder of JSON entries and typed data files; the app reads them at build time and keeps all reader state in the browser.

flowchart LR
    subgraph Content["Static content"]
        E["262 entries<br/>14 modules"]
        F["980 facts<br/>40 collections"]
        Q["254 quotes<br/>6 themes"]
    end

    subgraph App["React application"]
        IDX["content-index<br/>registry · lookup · search"]
        V["Views<br/>Home · Library · Reader<br/>Map · Facts · Quotes · Notes · Profile"]
        S["settings.ts · store.ts"]
    end

    LS["Browser local storage<br/>notes · bookmarks · preferences"]

    E --> IDX
    F --> IDX
    IDX --> V
    Q --> V
    S --> V
    V --> LS

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Module map — the fourteen modules at a glance

mindmap
  root((MindTrace))
    Persuasion
    Negotiation
    Manipulation
    Relationships
    Body Language
    Human Behaviour
    Behavioural Economics
    Cognitive Biases
    Criminology
    Personality
    Power and Status
    Decision Making
    Social Psychology
    Deception and Truth

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Facts and quotes

Alongside the entries sits a research library of 980 sourced findings, each carrying an evidence rating and at least one cited reference — 995 references in total. They are grouped into 40 collections across four categories.

Category	Collections	Findings
Psychology Facts	16	392
Social & Human Behaviour	9	220
Crime & Dark Psychology	8	196
Relationships, Love & Sex	7	172

All 40 collections

Psychology Facts — Brain & Cognition · Cognitive Biases · Decision Making · Emotion · Memory · Attention & Perception · Learning & Motivation · Personality & Individual Differences · Sleep & Circadian Rhythms · Stress & Coping · Language & Thought · Creativity & Insight · Development & Ageing · Self-Regulation & Willpower · Mental Health & Psychopathology · Intelligence & Cognitive Ability

Social & Human Behaviour — Social Influence · Groups & Conformity · Persuasion & Compliance · Identity & Prejudice · Culture & Cross-Cultural Psychology · Leadership & Followership · Morality & Ethics · Cooperation & Conflict · Status & Hierarchy

Crime & Dark Psychology — Deception & Manipulation · Dark Personality · Criminal Behaviour & Victimology · Forensic Interviewing & Lie Detection · Aggression & Violence · Fraud & Scams · Addiction & Substance Use · Cults & Coercive Groups

Relationships, Love & Sex — Attachment & Attraction · Communication & Conflict · Intimacy & Sexuality · Relationship Maintenance · Friendship · Family & Parenting · Loneliness & Connection

Evidence ratings run from 2 to 5: 271 findings are rated 5 (replicated or meta-analysed), 550 are rated 4, 154 are rated 3, and 5 are rated 2. Contested findings say so in their own text rather than being smoothed over.

The library closes with 254 quotes from 187 authors, grouped into six themes: Psychology (44), Philosophy (40), Human Nature (46), Leadership (43), Success & Work (43), Motivation & Discipline (38). Every quote carries a verified source — the book, speech, essay or letter it comes from.

Tech stack

Layer	Choice
Framework	React 19
Language	TypeScript 5.8
Build	Vite 6
Styling	Tailwind CSS 4
Animation	Motion
Concept map	React Flow + Dagre
Image export	html-to-image
Icons	lucide-react
Type	Fraunces (display) · Inter (body)

There is no backend, no API key and no tracking. Reading history, bookmarks, notes and display preferences are stored in the browser's local storage; nothing leaves the device.

Scripts

Command	Does
npm run dev	Start the dev server
npm run build	Production build to dist/
npm run preview	Preview the production build
npm run lint	Type-check with tsc

Requires Node.js 20 or newer.

Deployment

Pushing to main builds the site and publishes it to GitHub Pages via the workflow in .github/workflows/deploy.yml.

flowchart LR
    A["push to main"] --> B["npm ci"] --> C["npm run build"] --> D["upload dist/"] --> E["deploy to GitHub Pages"]

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Project structure

mindtrace/
├── .github/workflows/deploy.yml   # build + deploy to GitHub Pages
├── assets/                        # README wordmark
├── public/                        # favicon, robots.txt, sitemap.xml
├── src/
│   ├── components/                # Home · Library · Reader · Map · Notes · Profile
│   ├── content/
│   │   ├── content-index.ts        # category registry, lookup and search
│   │   ├── quotes.ts               # 254 quotes across 6 themes
│   │   ├── facts/                  # 4 categories · 40 collections · 980 findings
│   │   └── <module>/               # 14 modules · 262 entry .json files
│   ├── facts/                      # fact browsing and reader views
│   ├── settings.ts                 # theme, accent, text size, page width, focus
│   ├── store.ts                    # local-storage reader state
│   └── App.tsx
├── index.html
└── package.json

Responsible use

MindTrace is an educational resource. It teaches patterns and probabilities, not certainty. It is not medical, legal or diagnostic advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified professional. Always read it alongside your own judgement.

License

Released under the Apache-2.0 License.

_{Built by Apsides Labs}