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Tutorial: Build Your First Model

In this tutorial, you'll create a complete organization model using Metapad's AI assistant. By the end, you'll have departments, employees, and relationships connecting them - all built through natural language conversation.

Time required: ~10 minutes

Prerequisites

  • A Metapad account (sign up free)
  • A new, empty model (create one from your gallery)

Tip: Want to see the finished result first? Check out the completed tutorial model in our gallery.

Step 1: Open the AI Assistant

  1. Open your new model
  2. Click the AI icon in the toolbar (or press Ctrl/Cmd + J)
  3. The chat panel will open on the right side

The AI assistant can help you create node types, relationship types, instances, and connections - all from natural language descriptions.

Step 2: Create Your First Node Type

Let's start by defining what a "Department" looks like in our organization.

Type this prompt:

Create a "Department" node type with a "budget" number property and a "location" text property.

What happens:

  • The AI analyzes your request
  • It shows a preview: "Add node type 'Department'" with 2 properties
  • Click Apply Changes to create it

You'll see "Department" appear in the Tree View under "Node Types".

Step 3: Create an Employee Type

Now let's define employees.

Type this prompt:

Create an "Employee" node type with "role" and "email" text properties.

What happens:

  • Another node type is proposed
  • Apply the changes

Now you have two node types: Department and Employee.

Step 4: Create a Relationship Type

We need a way to connect employees to departments.

Type this prompt:

Create a "works_in" relationship type that connects employees to departments.

What happens:

  • The AI creates the relationship type
  • Apply the changes

Step 5: Define the Connection Rule

Metapad uses "Allowed Connections" to define which relationships can connect which node types. Let's set this up.

Type this prompt:

Allow the works_in relationship to connect Employee nodes to Department nodes.

What happens:

  • An allowed connection rule is created
  • This ensures data integrity - only valid connections can be made

Step 6: Create Department Instances

Now let's add some actual departments.

Type this prompt:

Create three departments:
- Engineering (budget: 500000, location: Berlin)
- Sales (budget: 300000, location: Munich)
- HR (budget: 150000, location: Berlin)

What happens:

  • Three department nodes are created with their properties filled in
  • Apply the changes

Check the Tree View - you'll see your departments under "Nodes > Department".

Step 7: Create Employee Instances

Let's add some employees.

Type this prompt:

Create these employees:
- Oliver (role: CTO, email: oliver@example.com)
- Sarah (role: Sales Lead, email: sarah@example.com)
- Chris (role: HR Manager, email: chris@example.com)
- Max (role: Developer, email: max@example.com)

What happens:

  • Four employee nodes are created
  • Apply the changes

Step 8: Connect Employees to Departments

Now for the relationships.

Type this prompt:

Connect the employees to their departments:
- Oliver and Max work in Engineering
- Sarah works in Sales
- Chris works in HR

What happens:

  • Four "works_in" relationships are created
  • Apply the changes

Step 9: Visualize Your Model

Let's see what we've built!

  1. Create a new diagram (right-click "Diagrams" in Tree View > "New Diagram")
  2. Name it "Organization Overview"
  3. Drag your departments and employees from the Tree View onto the canvas
  4. The relationships will automatically appear as you add connected nodes

Arrange the nodes to create a clear organizational chart.

Step 10: Query Your Model

The AI can also help you explore your model.

Try these prompts:

Show me all employees in the Engineering department.

Response: Oliver (CTO), Max (Developer)

What's the total budget across all departments?

Response: 950,000

Which employees are in Berlin?

Response: Lists employees in Berlin-based departments

What You've Learned

Congratulations! You've just:

  • Created a metamodel (node types, relationship types, allowed connections)
  • Populated it with instances (departments, employees)
  • Connected instances with relationships
  • Visualized everything in a diagram
  • Queried your model using natural language

Next Steps

  • Experiment: Try adding more types like "Project" or "Skill"
  • Explore templates: Check out the Template Gallery for more complex examples
  • Learn concepts: Read Core Concepts to understand the theory behind metamodeling
  • Collaborate: Invite a colleague and try real-time editing together

Quick Reference: Useful Prompts

TaskExample Prompt
Create node type"Create a Project node type with status and deadline properties"
Create relationship type"Create an 'assigned_to' relationship type"
Allow connection"Allow assigned_to to connect Employee to Project"
Create instances"Create three projects: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma"
Create relationships"Assign Oliver to Project Alpha"
Query model"Which projects have no assigned employees?"
Update data"Change Oliver's role to CEO"

Happy modeling!