How is XESO different from Heptabase?

Heptabase is a visual whiteboard for learning: you place cards on a canvas and think spatially. XESO is retrieval-first: add supported sources and notes, then ask across the library scope you choose. They solve different jobs: one arranges ideas by hand; the other answers questions across saved knowledge.

Can XESO do spatial whiteboards like Heptabase?

XESO does not make a whiteboard the starting requirement. If laying cards out spatially is the core of how you think, Heptabase is built for that. XESO starts by turning what you save into structured, searchable notes and scoped answers with citations, so value does not depend on arranging a board first.

Is my work portable if I start with XESO?

XESO supports Markdown export for notes. Check the current export screen for the exact formats and content included before you plan a migration.

Comparison

XESO vs Heptabase

Heptabase starts from spatial arrangement. XESO starts from cited retrieval across the library scope you choose.

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Free for 25 notes · 14-day Pro trial · monthly launch pricing

Product peek

Ask first. Answers do not depend on a board.

Add a supported link, file, or note, choose a library scope, then ask. When a cited answer is available, open its source without arranging a board first.

Which tool fits the job?

Choose by workflow, not a composite score

Choose XESO when…Asking across a persistent library and opening the cited source behind an answer.

Choose Heptabase when…Spatial learning and arranging connected cards on a whiteboard.

Scoped chat and inspectable sources are first-class
Add sources or notes without maintaining a board
Export notes to Markdown from supported surfaces

Editorial comparison. Confirm current plan details with each product before buying.

Where Heptabase wins

Heptabase is the right answer when thinking spatially is the point; a researcher mapping a literature review, a student connecting cards on an infinite whiteboard. Arranging ideas by hand is its craft, and it does it beautifully.

Where XESO wins

No board to build first. Add a supported source or note, choose a scope, then inspect the available citation behind a cited answer.

How XESO grounds answers: the citation floor

XESO shows citation links on supported cited answers. If the available evidence is thin, it can say so rather than inventing support. Citation coverage varies by answer mode; open a citation to inspect the saved note passage behind it.

Add → file → ask is the default path, not a canvas you must assemble before the work pays off.
Retrieval with citations is built in; ask a question and inspect the available saved source location.

XESO

Four notes in your library reference the Simplicity Contract: the product spec, the design token addendum, and two decision memos from March.

Product spec — Simplicity Contract

The Simplicity Contract is the governing constraint: every feature must reduce friction, not add it.

Heptabase

In a spatial-first workflow, you would search cards and scan the board to reconnect the relevant ideas visually.

Confirm Heptabase's current search and AI behavior in its official documentation before buying.

Stop arranging. Start asking.

XESO works the minute you save your first link. See Pro features with a 14-day trial.

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