Detective board software

See the connections
others miss

Pin characters, scenes, and clues. Connect them as a detective would, then test the logic before your readers do.

Download free Live demo

Windows 11 and macOS · Free forever, Pro $19.99 once · No account

Same board, different story →

suspectsimplicates

The whole case, in view

Lay out the evidence. Follow every thread.

Give complex ideas a physical shape. Pin what you know, connect what matters, and leave room for the pattern to emerge.

The Redstrings editor showing the Cedar Ridge investigation, with people, places, evidence, and events connected by labeled strings and a note open in the side panel

Example boards

See Redstrings in use

Story planning, fantasy world building, visual thinking, and stakeholder mapping.

The Redstrings editor showing characters, evidence, and locations connected on a story board, with an artifact’s details open in the side panel

Storytellers

Pin characters, scenes, and clues. Catch the plot hole before your readers do.

The Redstrings editor showing a fantasy world board with kingdoms, landscapes, and political relationships, plus a node’s details in the side panel

World Builders

Map factions, alliances, and betrayals on one board that grows with your world.

A Redstrings concept map of Barry Richmond’s eight critical systems-thinking skills, with ideas linked by named relationships

Visual Thinking

Turn a dense idea into a concept map where every connection has a name.

The Redstrings editor showing a consulting stakeholder map, with a team node’s details open in the side panel

Consultants

Map the people and decisions behind a project and see how they connect.

Made for the work

Built for serious research

A visual workspace for understanding how things connect.

Map real relationships

Link people, teams, and processes with labeled connections. See what charts and spreadsheets hide.

Track what you learn

Add notes, sources, and confidence levels to each connection. Keep the context with the evidence.

Make it yours

Start with seven node types. Pro adds custom types for suspects, factions, sources, or anything else.

Keep your work private

Boards stay local by default. Redstrings needs no cloud account or sync service. Optional Gemini analysis sends selected board content directly to Google when you run it.

Work at full speed

Move through large boards in a fast native desktop app built with Rust.

Create reports

Export a board to Markdown with nodes grouped by type and every relationship in a table.

For AI agents · MCP

Your agent's detective board

An agent can read and write a Redstrings board over MCP. Because the board is a plain local file, every node and connection it adds is right there for you to review, undo, or edit.

Learn about board generation →

research-agent → acquisition.redstrings · MCP+ node Source · Press release Q2+ string cites → Press release Q2+ string contradicts → SEC 10-K 2025✓ done 4 nodes added, one undo

Simple pricing

Free to use. Pay once for Pro.

Build full boards with unlimited nodes for free. Pro adds custom types and AI analysis for $19.99, one time.

⊞ Microsoft Store ● Mac App Store

Free: Full mapping, forever
Pro: Custom types and AI analysis
Updates: Included
Requires: Windows 11 or macOS

Ready to see the connections?

Download Redstrings and build your first board in five minutes.

Download freeWindows 11 and macOS · No account required

See the connectionsothers miss