How network clusters work: community detection and force simulation
How Sixgree discovers clusters in your LinkedIn connections, balances physical force layouts, and reveals your real professional circles without manual tagging.
Sixgree or Sixgrees? The story behind the name
Whether you type Sixgree, Sixgrees, or Six Degrees, here is why the project exists, how the name came to be, and what it means for discovering your network.
If you found this page by searching for Sixgrees (with an s) or Sixgree (without one), you are in the right place.
The project is Sixgree (often referred to as Six Degrees or Sixgrees), a free, local-first intelligence engine designed to map the hidden reach of your professional network.
Here is why the name exists, why people search for both, and what the tool does.
Six degrees of separation
The name originates from the classic concept of six degrees of separation: the theory that anyone on Earth can be connected to any other person through an unbroken chain of six or fewer acquaintances.
In modern professional life, however, you rarely need six steps. For almost any target company, hiring manager, or founder you want to reach, you are almost always just two degrees away:
- First degree (1st): The people you know directly—colleagues, mentors, alumni, and former managers.
- Second degree (2nd): The thousands of people they know directly.
The tragedy of modern networking platforms like LinkedIn is that while your 1st-degree connections are visible, your 2nd-degree paths are buried under algorithms, pagination limits, and ad feeds. You cannot see the direct bridge connecting you to the person you need to speak with.
Why "Sixgree" and "Sixgrees"?
When we built the native desktop app and website, we combined Six and Degrees into the shorthand Sixgree (domain: sixgree.com).
Because natural language makes it tempting to pluralize, many engineers, founders, and community members naturally type Sixgrees into search bars or GitHub. Both refer to the exact same software project:
- The repository: github.com/blakeb056/six-degrees
- The official domain: sixgree.com
- The desktop app: Six Degrees / Sixgree for macOS and Linux.
What Sixgree actually does
Regardless of how you spell it, the core mission remains the same: give you transparent, local control over your professional graph.
- Paths & Separation: Search any company (e.g., Stripe, OpenAI, Datadog) or role to immediately reveal which mutual contact bridges you to a decision-maker.
- Power & Catalyst Scoring: Identify the top 5% of connectors in your network who hold the keys to the most diverse industry circles.
- 100% Local & Private: Sixgree stores everything in an offline SQLite database on your computer. Your contacts and network insights never leave your machine, and no SaaS subscription is required.
Whether you searched for Sixgrees, Sixgree, or Six Degrees, welcome to the project. You can inspect the code on GitHub or download the app at sixgree.com/download/.