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NS Tools 101

The NS Tools Atlas is the central platform for discovering, submitting, and tracking tools and projects in the Network State ecosystem.

Explore the Atlas

Head to the live Atlas to see the full interactive canvas β€” or check /requests to suggest a tool you'd like built.

Interactive Atlas​

The main view is an interactive canvas where every approved project is a visual node you can click and explore. Projects cluster by category with color-coded groupings.

  • Canvas view β€” draggable, zoomable project map (desktop)
  • Map view β€” spatial layout of projects
  • List view β€” card grid, optimized for mobile

Switch between views with the toggle buttons in the toolbar.

Use the search bar to instantly find any project by name and jump straight to it.

Project Details​

Click any project to open its detail panel:

  • Name, description, and category
  • Project URL and guide/docs link
  • Logo or emoji
  • Product screenshots
  • Team members via NS profile links
  • Plans and pricing

Submitting a Project​

Any verified NS member can submit a project directly from the Atlas. Fill in your project details β€” name, category, description, links, screenshots, team members, and pricing plans β€” and submit for review. See Submit a Project for prerequisites.

Editing Your Projects​

Once your project is approved, you can edit it anytime. Your projects appear in a toolbar at the top so you can quickly select and update them.

Tool Requests & Upvoting​

The Requests page is a community wishlist. Anyone can:

  • Submit a request β€” describe a tool you'd like to see built in the ecosystem
  • Upvote requests β€” signal demand for ideas from other members

Requests are sorted by upvote count so the most wanted tools rise to the top.

The Graveyard​

The Graveyard is an archive of NS tools that have shut down or gone inactive. It serves as a historical record and a reminder of why continuity matters (see Why NS Tools).

Data & Analytics​

The Data page will feature charts and visualizations about the ecosystem β€” category breakdowns, growth over time, and project health metrics. Currently under construction.

Embeddable Overlays​

NS Tools provides embeddable widgets that external sites can use to showcase Atlas projects.

Categories​

Projects are organized into categories:

  • Networks β€” community and social platforms
  • Coworking β€” shared workspaces
  • Events β€” meetups, conferences, gatherings
  • Media β€” content, publishing, news
  • Education β€” learning platforms and resources
  • Local VCs β€” local venture capital
  • Global VCs β€” international venture capital
  • Accelerators β€” startup programs
  • Corporate β€” corporate ventures and partnerships
  • Transport β€” mobility and logistics
Custom categories

Members can also propose custom categories when submitting a project. New categories get auto-assigned a unique color.

Authentication​

The Atlas uses NS Auth to verify membership via Discord. Authenticated members can submit projects, edit their own projects, and access member-only features. See Submit a Project for setup instructions.

Claude Code Plugin​

NS Tools ships a Claude Code plugin that gives Claude contextual knowledge about the platform and the codebase. It includes the /ns-auth skill for quick authentication setup and the /contributing skill for onboarding. See the Claude Code Plugin docs for details.