Complete Guide

☉ Overview

SacredTexts AI is a progressive web application (PWA) that leverages artificial intelligence to analyse and visualise the connections among the sacred texts of the world's major religious traditions.

The application combines modern machine-learning technologies with interactive visualisations and data sonification to provide a unique tool for the comparative study of religions, accessible to researchers and enthusiasts alike.

▶ Getting Started

Initial Setup

◆ Features

Main Interface

The interface is divided into three main panels:

• Input Panel (left): Area for selecting or entering the sacred text to analyse, with tradition filters and preloaded sample texts.
• Connection Graph (centre): Interactive visualisation showing the hierarchical structure of concepts extracted from the text, with integrated audio controls, generative audio synchronized to graph nodes and audio interaction through node clicking, hovering and dragging.
• Detailed Analysis (right): Text panel with source and author identification, themes, in-depth historical context, keywords, AI research leads and export options.

Navigation Bar

• History (🕐): Access previously saved analyses stored locally.
• Guide (📖): This complete documentation.
• Settings (⚙️): Configure API key and advanced options.

Graph Controls

• Replay (▶): Replays the cinematic graph construction, revisiting each node in sequence.
• Zoom (+/-): Zoom in or out of the visualisation.
• Reset View: Return to the initial position.
• AI Confidence (👁): Activates the X-Ray mode that displays node opacity proportional to the AI model's confidence.
• Audio On/Off (🔊): Enable/disable sonification.
• Preset Selector: Choose among 5 generative audio presets (1-5).

History and Favourites

Every analysis is automatically saved in the local history. You can:

• Search past analyses by keyword
• Mark analyses as favourites to find them easily
• Reload a previous analysis with a single click
• Export in various formats (JSON, JSON-LD, RDF/Turtle)

✧ Connection Graph

The graph is an interactive visual representation of the semantic structure of the analysed text. It uses a physics-based simulation algorithm to position nodes organically.

Hierarchical Structure

The graph features three levels of nodes:

1. Central Node (Source): Represents the analysed text. It is the focal point from which all themes branch out.
2. Thematic Clusters: Groupings of related concepts, colour-coded by category (theology, ethics, mysticism, practice).
3. Child Nodes (Children): Specific concepts extracted from the text, linked to their parent cluster.

Interactions

Node Details Sidebar

Clicking on a node opens a sidebar that displays:

• Name and Category: Colour-coded badge with the concept's category
• Quotation: The original text associated with the node
• Child Nodes: Clickable list of connected sub-concepts
• Cross-References: Links to other texts or traditions
• Actions: Copy quotation, focus on the node in the graph

Colour Coding

🎵 Audio Sonification

SacredTexts AI features a generative audio engine (GenerativeAudioEngine in generative-audio.js) powered by Tone.js. The engine is fully synchronized to the graph visualization: nodes trigger notes as they appear, and user interactions shape the sound in real time. Audio is disabled by default.

How to Enable Audio

1. Click the volume button (🔊) in the graph header
2. On the first click, the browser will request audio permission
3. The button turns gold when audio is active
4. Use the preset selector to choose among 5 generative audio presets

The 5 Audio Presets

Tradition-Specific Musical Scales

The generative engine automatically selects a musical scale matching the detected religious tradition. Every note produced — whether from node interactions or the background generative layer — stays within the tradition's authentic scale:

Each tradition also applies specific parameter modifiers to the active preset: register (octave offset), tempo multiplier, drone presence and tuning, multi-note probability, reverb wet level, and filter cutoff frequency.

Node-Audio Interaction

Interactions with graph nodes produce distinct audio responses:

• Click: Triggers an accented note in the tradition's scale, with pitch and timbre determined by the node's position and category.
• Hover: Plays a subtle, quiet note — a gentle preview without full emphasis.
• Drag: Modulates audio parameters in real time — filter cutoff, reverb wet level and delay feedback shift continuously as the node moves across the graph.
• Release: All modulated parameters smoothly return to their base values.

Audio Info Bar

When audio is active, an info bar appears below the graph header displaying: the current scale name, the notes in the scale, and the active synth type (PolySynth, FMSynth, AMSynth). This provides a transparent view of the generative parameters in use.

Optional FM Drone

Each preset can include an FM drone — a sustained low-frequency tone that provides harmonic grounding. The drone's presence, volume and frequency are configured per preset and further adjusted by tradition-specific modifiers. Presets 1 and 3 feature a prominent drone; preset 5 omits it entirely.

↗ Data Export

SacredTexts AI supports exporting analyses in standard formats for interoperability with academic research tools and linked data.

Available Formats

How to Export

1. Run an analysis or load one from history
2. In the "Detailed Analysis" panel, click the Export button
3. Select the desired format from the dropdown menu
4. The file will be downloaded automatically

Semantic Vocabulary

The JSON-LD and RDF formats use the following vocabularies:

• Schema.org: Primary vocabulary for entities and relationships
• Dublin Core (dcterms): Bibliographic metadata
• SKOS: Concepts and thematic relationships
• stai: Custom namespace for app-specific properties

▦ Detailed Analysis

The Detailed Analysis panel presents AI processing results in a structured textual format. The analysis engine supports two free user-selectable Google Gemini models: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (default, fast and cost-effective) and 2.5 Flash (most accurate). The model is selected from Settings (≅). Each model has an independent API quota.

Analysis Sections

• Text Source: Dynamic header that identifies the analysed text, displaying title, author (when recognised by the AI), religious tradition with emoji and section/chapter. It updates automatically with each analysis.
• Main Themes: The macro-themes identified in the text, each with a brief description and importance level.
• Historical-Cultural Context: In-depth analysis with 9 structured fields: historical period, socio-cultural environment, author, original audience, literary genre, significance within the tradition, received influences, cultural impact and interpretive currents.
• Keywords: Significant terms extracted from the text with their meaning in the religious context.
• Research Leads: Epistemological questions generated by the AI based on tensions, paradoxes and inter-tradition connections found in the text. Clickable to copy or re-analyse.

✧ Audio

SacredTexts AI features a single generative audio engine (GenerativeAudioEngine) built on Tone.js. All sound is synthesized in real time — no pre-recorded samples are used. Audio is disabled by default: click the 🔊 button in the graph toolbar to enable it.

Presets

Five selectable presets shape the overall sonic character. Use the preset selector in the graph toolbar to switch between them:

• 1 (default) — Warm PolySynth, slow tempo, prominent FM drone, high reverb.
• 2 — Bright FMSynth, bell-like tones, moderate reverb and delay.
• 3 — Deep AMSynth in a low register, heavy reverb, ritualistic drone.
• 4 — Warm FMSynth with vibrato, mid register, low drone, dark filter.
• 5 — Percussive PolySynth, faster tempo, dry mix, no drone.

Activation

• Audio disabled by default: Audio does not start automatically. Click the 🔊 button in the graph toolbar to enable it.
• Analysis change: If audio is active and a new analysis is started, the engine reconfigures automatically with the correct tradition's scale and parameters.
• 🔊 Button: Enables or disables audio at any time.
• Preset selector: Choose among 5 generative audio presets. The engine also auto-selects the best preset based on the detected tradition.

Node-Audio Interaction

Graph node interactions produce distinct audio responses:

• Click — Accented note: Triggers a prominent note in the tradition's scale, with pitch determined by node position and timbre by node category.
• Hover — Subtle note: Plays a quiet preview note without full emphasis.
• Drag — Real-time modulation: Continuously modulates filter cutoff, reverb wet level and delay feedback as the node moves across the canvas.
• Release: When the node is released, all modulated parameters smoothly return to their base values.

◉ Supported Traditions

SacredTexts AI includes sample texts from eight major world religious traditions. You can also analyse texts from any tradition by entering them manually.

Included Sample Texts

• Bible and Christian Tradition: Genesis, Psalms, Gospels (John, Matthew, Luke), Pauline Epistles, Revelation, Church Fathers (Augustine, Benedict), Mystics (Francis, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart), Desert Fathers, Pseudo-Dionysius
• Quran: Surah Al-Fatiha, Verse of Light
• Torah/Jewish Tradition: Shema Israel, Psalm 137
• Hinduism: Gayatri Mantra, Shanti Mantra
• Buddhism: Dhammapada
• Taoism: Tao Te Ching
• Sufism: Rumi (Masnavi)
• Orthodoxy: Jesus Prayer (Philokalia)

⚙️ Settings

Google Gemini API Key

The API key is required to use the AI analysis. For security reasons, the key is saved only in the current browser session and will need to be re-entered when the application is reopened.

Comparative Study Mode

This option relaxes the AI safety filters to allow the analysis of religious texts that might otherwise be blocked (e.g. controversial passages, apocryphal texts, cross-tradition comparisons).

Note: This mode is intended exclusively for academic and comparative study of religions. The user is responsible for appropriate use.

Automatic Updates

The application automatically checks for new version availability. When an update is detected, a prompt will appear to reload the page and obtain the latest features.

➤ Roadmap

SacredTexts AI is under continuous development. Here is the feature status overview:

Completed in v2.2.0

Completed in v2.9.16

Planned