Direct import — free
Your .mm files,
open again.
FreeMind maps outlive the machines that made them. The file is still there, the Java app is a chore to reinstall, and nothing modern wants to open it. Atlas Red reads .mm directly in the browser and builds the real thing — every node editable again. No AI, no credits, no Java.
How it works
Drop the file in
Any .mm file, from wherever it has been sitting. Nothing to install and no credits to spend; a free account is all it takes.
Structure comes across
The root becomes the map's centre and every branch keeps its place in the tree — parents, children and order, as you left them.
Edit — and send it back
Work on it as a map, then export to .mm again whenever you like. Out and back, as often as you want.
What a .mm file is
FreeMind is the long-running open-source desktop mind mapper, and .mm is what it saves: an XML file holding your nodes and their nesting. Because FreeMind was free and everywhere, .mm became a de facto interchange format — MindMeister, XMind and others all read or write it, which is why the extension turns up in export menus belonging to apps that have nothing to do with FreeMind.
It is also why these files tend to survive. They are plain XML, so nothing has corrupted them sitting in a backup for a decade. The problem was never the file. It was that opening it meant installing a Java desktop app to look at a tree of text.
Freeplane too — with one honest caveat. Freeplane is the actively maintained fork of FreeMind and saves the same .mm extension, so a straightforward Freeplane map opens the same way. The node structure is what carries across. If your file leans on Freeplane-specific extras, look at the result before you delete the original.
It goes back out, too.
You have already been through one migration where the app outlived its welcome and the file stayed put. It is reasonable to want the exit mapped before you walk in.
Atlas Red exports FreeMind .mm on every tier, including Free, alongside thirteen other formats: Markdown, plain text, JSON, YAML, OPML, XMind, XMindMark, HTML, slides, PNG, JPEG, SVG and PDF. Export is never behind the paywall.
So the map that spent ten years as a file you could not open goes back to being a file you can open anywhere — this time without needing us either.
What it costs
Nothing. FreeMind import is a direct format conversion, not an AI feature — no credits, no trial to burn, no credit card. It behaves identically on the Free edition and on Pro, and the same is true of export. Only photo and PDF import ever cost anything, because those need a model to read them.
Markdown, plain text and TSV, YAML, OPML, XMindMark and .xmind archives import the same way — direct and free.
Questions people ask
Is FreeMind to mind map conversion free?
Yes — completely. It's a direct format conversion, not an AI feature: no credits, no trial, no credit card. It works on the Free edition exactly as it does on Pro. Only photo and PDF import ever cost anything.
What is a .mm file?
FreeMind's save format — an XML file holding your nodes and their nesting. Because FreeMind was free and everywhere, .mm became a de facto interchange format that many other tools read and write, including MindMeister and XMind.
Do I need Java or FreeMind installed?
No. FreeMind is a Java desktop application; Atlas Red is not. You need the .mm file and a browser. If the machine that ran FreeMind is long gone, the file is still all you need.
Does it work with Freeplane files?
Freeplane is the actively maintained fork of FreeMind and saves the same .mm extension, so a straightforward Freeplane map opens the same way — the node structure is what carries across. If your file leans on Freeplane-specific extras, check the result before you delete the original.
Can I export the mind map back to .mm?
Yes, any time, on every tier including Free. FreeMind .mm is one of 14 export formats and export is never behind the paywall.
What other formats can I import without AI?
Markdown, plain text and TSV outlines, YAML, OPML, XMindMark and .xmind archives — all direct, all free, no AI. Photos and PDFs use AI and are the only imports that cost credits.
Can my AI assistant import .mm files for me?
Yes — Atlas Red's MCP server exposes the same import to any connected assistant, so you can ask Claude to bring an old map into your workspace. It's free and never metered.
Also direct and free: OPML, Markdown and plain text, and maps built by your AI assistant over MCP. Working from something else? Word, PDF, photos, meeting transcripts.