CoRT Circle Support

Structured Thinking Tools for Better Decisions — now with three AI modes, in six languages

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How to Use CoRT Circle

🚀 1. Getting Started

🧠 2. CoRT Thinking Tools

CoRT Circle provides six structured thinking tools based on the CoRT methodology:

📊 PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting)

Systematically analyze any idea by examining its positive aspects, negative aspects, and interesting implications.

• Plus — What are the advantages and benefits?
• Minus — What are the disadvantages and problems?
• Interesting — What are the interesting implications and side effects?

🔍 CAF (Consider All Factors)

Ensure you consider every relevant factor before making a decision.

• Core Factors — Key factors that directly affect the decision
• Easily Ignored — Important factors often overlooked
• Potential Factors — Hidden factors that may have impact

⏰ C&S (Consequences & Sequel)

Think through outcomes across different time horizons.

• Immediate (now) — Effects that happen right away
• Short-term (1-3 mo) — Changes in the next few months
• Medium-term (3-12 mo) — Developments over the next year
• Long-term (1 yr+) — Far-reaching effects beyond a year

🎯 AGO (Aims, Goals, Objectives)

Clarify all goals and constraints upfront to prevent vague direction.

• Main Goal — The primary objective you want to achieve
• Secondary Goal — Supporting goals that assist the main goal
• Hidden Goal — Goals you may not have stated explicitly
• Constraints — Time, cost, resource or other limitations

🔄 APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices)

Break fixed thinking and expand the solution space.

• Mainstream — Traditional, safe, lower-risk options
• Innovative — Novel, creative alternatives
• High-Risk — Bold choices with high risk and reward
• Optimal — Best choice after weighing all options

📋 Action Planning

Convert thinking into concrete steps for effective execution.

Use this tool to break down your decisions into actionable tasks with timelines and responsibilities.

🤖 3. Three AI Modes (Optional)

CoRT Circle offers three AI modes. All of them are optional and use your own API key from the provider you configure (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, or any Anthropic-compatible endpoint):

💬 AI Coach

A conversational thinking coach that can also act inside the app. Ask it to create a session, fill a tool, run a chain or export your work — it replies with one-tap action buttons. You confirm each action; destructive actions (deleting a session, overwriting records) always require explicit approval, and every executed action is recorded in an on-device audit log.

🔗 Thinking Chain

Run the complete sequence PMI → CAF → C&S → AGO → APC → Action Plan on any topic. AI drafts each step for your review; when the chain is done you can save the accepted steps into a brand-new thinking session — as many times as you like.

💡 PI Diverge

Seed any idea and let the app expand it from six lateral-thinking angles (Reversal, Random Analogy, Cross-domain, Extreme Scaling, Provocation, Recombination). Each idea can be re-diverged, sent into a CoRT tool field, or used as a chain topic. Sessions are saved to history automatically.

🔑 Setting up AI

📁 4. Managing Sessions

Sessions help you organize related thinking over time:

• Create a session — Tap New Session in the sidebar
• Switch sessions — Tap any session name in the sidebar
• Delete a session — Swipe left on the session name and tap Delete
• Export sessions — Export as JSON, Markdown or PDF from the session menu
• Per-tool history — Tap a tool name on the dashboard to browse its past records, with every sub-field (Plus / Minus / Interesting, etc.) shown in full

✏️ 5. Apple Pencil & Handwriting

CoRT Circle supports Apple Pencil for handwritten notes and diagrams:

• Write naturally — Use your Apple Pencil to write or draw in the canvas area
• Clear canvas — Tap Clear Canvas to erase all handwritten content
• Save to Photos — Tap Save to Photos to export your notes as an image

📤 6. Export & Sharing

Share your thinking sessions in multiple formats:

• JSON — Structured data format for backup or importing elsewhere
• Markdown — Readable text format for notes and docs
• PDF — Print-ready format for sharing and archiving
• Image — Save handwritten notes to your photo library

⚙️ 7. Settings

• AI Assistant (Optional) — Vendor, model, base URL and your API key; supports pasting a config from the clipboard
• Auto-Save — Save records automatically after each edit
• Recommended Order — Customize the CoRT wheel numbering to match your preferred sequence
• Interactive Tutorial — Replay the onboarding tutorial

🌍 8. Languages

CoRT Circle is fully localized in English, Japanese (日本語), German (Deutsch), French (Français), Spanish (Español) and Portuguese (Português). The interface follows your device language automatically — change it in iOS Settings → General → Language & Region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the app ask for photo library permission?

CoRT Circle only accesses your photo library when you explicitly choose to save handwritten notes as images. We never read or upload any existing photos from your library. You can revoke this permission anytime in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos → CoRT Circle.

Where is my data stored?

All your thinking sessions, notes, AI chat and history, and preferences are stored locally on your device. Nothing is automatically sent to any server. The only exception is when you use an AI feature — in that case, your content is sent to the AI provider you configured, using your personal API key.

Do I need an internet connection to use CoRT Circle?

No! CoRT Circle works completely offline. Only the optional AI modes require internet, and the six thinking tools, handwriting and export work fully without them.

Can the AI Coach really do things in the app?

Yes — within guardrails. The AI Coach proposes actions (create a session, fill a tool, run a chain, export, and more) as one-tap buttons. Nothing happens until you confirm. Destructive actions always show an explicit confirmation first, and every executed action is written to an audit log stored only on your device.

Which AI providers are supported?

Anthropic, OpenAI and Google Gemini are built in, plus any custom Anthropic-compatible endpoint (useful for proxies or self-hosted models). You choose the provider and supply your own API key in Settings → AI Assistant.

Is my API key secure?

Yes. Your API key is stored securely in the iOS Keychain on your device. It's only transmitted directly to the provider you configured when you use an AI feature — we never see, store, or transmit your key to any other service.

Can I recover deleted sessions?

No. Deleted sessions are permanently removed from your device. We recommend exporting important sessions as JSON, Markdown or PDF before deleting them.

The app crashed / something isn't working. What should I do?

Try force-quitting and relaunching the app. If the problem persists, please email us at daibou007@gmail.com with a description of the issue and your device model & iOS version.

What are the best practices for using CoRT tools?

For best results: use PMI for quick evaluations, CAF for important decisions, C&S for planning, AGO for goal setting, APC for creative problem solving, and Action Planning for implementation. You can use them in sequence for comprehensive thinking — or let the Thinking Chain run them all for you.

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