The AnkiConnect plugin enables external applications such as Yomichan to communicate with Anki over a network interface. This software makes it possible to execute queries against the user's card deck, automatically create new vocabulary and Kanji flash cards, and more. AnkiConnect is compatible with the latest stable (2.0.x) and alpha (2.1.x) releases of Anki and works on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.
The installation process is similar to that of other Anki plugins and can be accomplished in three steps:
- Open the Install Add-on dialog by selecting Tools > Add-ons > Browse & Install in Anki.
- Input 2055492159 into the text box labeled Code and press the OK button to proceed.
- Restart Anki when prompted to do so in order to complete the installation of AnkiConnect.
Anki must be kept running in the background in order for other applications to be able to use AnkiConnect. You can verify that AnkiConnect is running at any time by accessing localhost:8765 in your browser. If the server is running, you should see the message AnkiConnect v.6 displayed in your browser window.
Windows users may see a firewall nag dialog box appear on Anki startup. This occurs because AnkiConnect hosts a local server in order to enable other applications to connect to it. The host application, Anki, must be unblocked for this plugin to function correctly.
Starting with Mac OS X Mavericks, a feature named App Nap has been introduced to the operating system. This feature causes certain applications which are open (but not visible) to be placed in a suspended state. As this behavior causes AnkiConnect to stop working while you have another window in the foreground, App Nap should be disabled for Anki:
- Start the Terminal application.
- Execute the following commands in the terminal window:
defaults write net.ichi2.anki NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true defaults write org.qt-project.Qt.QtWebEngineCore NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true
- Restart Anki.
AnkiConnect exposes Anki features to external applications via an easy to use RESTful API. After it is installed, this plugin will initialize a minimal HTTP sever running on port 8765 every time Anki executes. Other applications (including browser extensions) can then communicate with it via HTTP POST requests.
By default, AnkiConnect will only bind the HTTP server to the 127.0.0.1
IP address, so that you will only be able to
access it from the same host on which it is running. If you need to access it over a network, you can set the
environment variable ANKICONNECT_BIND_ADDRESS
to change the binding address. For example, you can set it to 0.0.0.0
in order to bind it to all network interfaces on your host.
Every request consists of a JSON-encoded object containing an action
, a version
, and a set of contextual params
. A
simple example of a modern JavaScript application communicating with the extension is illustrated below:
function ankiConnectInvoke(action, version, params={}) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.addEventListener('error', () => reject('failed to connect to AnkiConnect'));
xhr.addEventListener('load', () => {
try {
const response = JSON.parse(xhr.responseText);
if (response.error) {
throw response.error;
} else {
if (response.hasOwnProperty('result')) {
resolve(response.result);
} else {
reject('failed to get results from AnkiConnect');
}
}
} catch (e) {
reject(e);
}
});
xhr.open('POST', 'https://127.0.0.1:8765');
xhr.send(JSON.stringify({action, version, params}));
});
}
try {
const result = await ankiConnectInvoke('deckNames', 6);
console.log(`got list of decks: ${result}`);
} catch (e) {
console.log(`error getting decks: ${e}`);
}
Or using curl
from the command line:
curl localhost:8765 -X POST -d "{\"action\": \"deckNames\", \"version\": 6}"
AnkiConnect will respond with an object containing two fields: result
and error
. The result
field contains the
return value of the executed API, and the error
field is a description of any exception thrown during API execution
(the value null
is used if execution completed successfully).
Sample successful response:
{"result": ["Default", "Filtered Deck 1"], "error": null}
Samples of failed responses:
{"result": null, "error": "unsupported action"}
{"result": null, "error": "guiBrowse() got an unexpected keyword argument 'foobar'"}
For compatibility with clients designed to work with older versions of AnkiConnect, failing to provide a version
field
in the request will make the version default to 4. Furthermore, when the provided version is level 4 or below, the API
response will only contain the value of the result
; no error
field is available for error handling.
Below is a comprehensive list of currently supported actions. Note that deprecated APIs will continue to function despite not being listed on this page as long as your request is labeled with a version number corresponding to when the API was available for use.
This page currently documents version 6 of the API. Make sure to include this version number in your requests to guarantee that your application continues to function properly in the future.
-
version
Gets the version of the API exposed by this plugin. Currently versions
1
through6
are defined.This should be the first call you make to make sure that your application and AnkiConnect are able to communicate properly with each other. New versions of AnkiConnect are backwards compatible; as long as you are using actions which are available in the reported AnkiConnect version or earlier, everything should work fine.
Sample request:
{ "action": "version", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": 6, "error": null }
-
upgrade
Displays a confirmation dialog box in Anki asking the user if they wish to upgrade AnkiConnect to the latest version from the project's master branch on GitHub. Returns a boolean value indicating if the plugin was upgraded or not.
Sample request:
{ "action": "upgrade", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
sync
Synchronizes the local anki collections with ankiweb.
Sample request:
{ "action": "sync", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
loadProfile
Selects the profile specified in request.
Sample request:
{ "action": "loadProfile", "params": { "name": "user1" }, "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
multi
Performs multiple actions in one request, returning an array with the response of each action (in the given order).
Sample request:
{ "action": "multi", "version": 6, "params": { "actions": [ {"action": "deckNames"}, { "action": "browse", "params": {"query": "deck:current"} } ] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [ {"result": "Default", "error": null}, {"result": [1494723142483, 1494703460437, 1494703479525], "error": null} ], "error": null }
-
deckNames
Gets the complete list of deck names for the current user.
Sample request:
{ "action": "deckNames", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": ["Default"], "error": null }
-
deckNamesAndIds
Gets the complete list of deck names and their respective IDs for the current user.
Sample request:
{ "action": "deckNamesAndIds", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": {"Default": 1}, "error": null }
-
getDecks
Accepts an array of card IDs and returns an object with each deck name as a key, and its value an array of the given cards which belong to it.
Sample request:
{ "action": "getDecks", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1502298036657, 1502298033753, 1502032366472] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": { "Default": [1502032366472], "Japanese::JLPT N3": [1502298036657, 1502298033753] }, "error": null }
-
createDeck
Create a new empty deck. Will not overwrite a deck that exists with the same name.
Sample request:
{ "action": "createDeck", "version": 6, "params": { "deck": "Japanese::Tokyo" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": 1519323742721, "error": null }
-
changeDeck
Moves cards with the given IDs to a different deck, creating the deck if it doesn't exist yet.
Sample request:
{ "action": "changeDeck", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1502098034045, 1502098034048, 1502298033753], "deck": "Japanese::JLPT N3" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
deleteDecks
Deletes decks with the given names. If
cardsToo
istrue
(defaults tofalse
if unspecified), the cards within the deleted decks will also be deleted; otherwise they will be moved to the default deck.Sample request:
{ "action": "deleteDecks", "version": 6, "params": { "decks": ["Japanese::JLPT N5", "Easy Spanish"], "cardsToo": true } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
getDeckConfig
Gets the configuration group object for the given deck.
Sample request:
{ "action": "getDeckConfig", "version": 6, "params": { "deck": "Default" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": { "lapse": { "leechFails": 8, "delays": [10], "minInt": 1, "leechAction": 0, "mult": 0 }, "dyn": false, "autoplay": true, "mod": 1502970872, "id": 1, "maxTaken": 60, "new": { "bury": true, "order": 1, "initialFactor": 2500, "perDay": 20, "delays": [1, 10], "separate": true, "ints": [1, 4, 7] }, "name": "Default", "rev": { "bury": true, "ivlFct": 1, "ease4": 1.3, "maxIvl": 36500, "perDay": 100, "minSpace": 1, "fuzz": 0.05 }, "timer": 0, "replayq": true, "usn": -1 }, "error": null }
-
saveDeckConfig
Saves the given configuration group, returning
true
on success orfalse
if the ID of the configuration group is invalid (such as when it does not exist).Sample request:
{ "action": "saveDeckConfig", "version": 6, "params": { "config": { "lapse": { "leechFails": 8, "delays": [10], "minInt": 1, "leechAction": 0, "mult": 0 }, "dyn": false, "autoplay": true, "mod": 1502970872, "id": 1, "maxTaken": 60, "new": { "bury": true, "order": 1, "initialFactor": 2500, "perDay": 20, "delays": [1, 10], "separate": true, "ints": [1, 4, 7] }, "name": "Default", "rev": { "bury": true, "ivlFct": 1, "ease4": 1.3, "maxIvl": 36500, "perDay": 100, "minSpace": 1, "fuzz": 0.05 }, "timer": 0, "replayq": true, "usn": -1 } } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
setDeckConfigId
Changes the configuration group for the given decks to the one with the given ID. Returns
true
on success orfalse
if the given configuration group or any of the given decks do not exist.Sample request:
{ "action": "setDeckConfigId", "version": 6, "params": { "decks": ["Default"], "configId": 1 } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
cloneDeckConfigId
Creates a new configuration group with the given name, cloning from the group with the given ID, or from the default group if this is unspecified. Returns the ID of the new configuration group, or
false
if the specified group to clone from does not exist.Sample request:
{ "action": "cloneDeckConfigId", "version": 6, "params": { "name": "Copy of Default", "cloneFrom": 1 } }
Sample result:
{ "result": 1502972374573, "error": null }
-
removeDeckConfigId
Removes the configuration group with the given ID, returning
true
if successful, orfalse
if attempting to remove either the default configuration group (ID = 1) or a configuration group that does not exist.Sample request:
{ "action": "removeDeckConfigId", "version": 6, "params": { "configId": 1502972374573 } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
modelNames
Gets the complete list of model names for the current user.
Sample request:
{ "action": "modelNames", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": ["Basic", "Basic (and reversed card)"], "error": null }
-
modelNamesAndIds
Gets the complete list of model names and their corresponding IDs for the current user.
Sample request:
{ "action": "modelNamesAndIds", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": { "Basic": 1483883011648, "Basic (and reversed card)": 1483883011644, "Basic (optional reversed card)": 1483883011631, "Cloze": 1483883011630 }, "error": null }
-
modelFieldNames
Gets the complete list of field names for the provided model name.
Sample request:
{ "action": "modelFieldNames", "version": 6, "params": { "modelName": "Basic" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": ["Front", "Back"], "error": null }
-
modelFieldsOnTemplates
Returns an object indicating the fields on the question and answer side of each card template for the given model name. The question side is given first in each array.
Sample request:
{ "action": "modelFieldsOnTemplates", "version": 6, "params": { "modelName": "Basic (and reversed card)" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": { "Card 1": [["Front"], ["Back"]], "Card 2": [["Back"], ["Front"]] }, "error": null }
-
addNote
Creates a note using the given deck and model, with the provided field values and tags. Returns the identifier of the created note created on success, and
null
on failure.AnkiConnect can download audio files and embed them in newly created notes. The corresponding
audio
note member is optional and can be omitted. If you choose to include it, theurl
andfilename
fields must be also defined. TheskipHash
field can be optionally provided to skip the inclusion of downloaded files with an MD5 hash that matches the provided value. This is useful for avoiding the saving of error pages and stub files. Thefields
member is a list of fields that should play audio when the card is displayed in Anki. TheallowDuplicate
member insideoptions
group can be set to true to enable adding duplicate cards. Normally duplicate cards can not be added and trigger exception.Sample request:
{ "action": "addNote", "version": 6, "params": { "note": { "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fields": { "Front": "front content", "Back": "back content" }, "options": { "allowDuplicate": false }, "tags": [ "yomichan" ], "audio": { "url": "https://assets.languagepod101.com/dictionary/japanese/audiomp3.php?kanji=猫&kana=ねこ", "filename": "yomichan_ねこ_猫.mp3", "skipHash": "7e2c2f954ef6051373ba916f000168dc", "fields": [ "Front" ] } } } }
Sample result:
{ "result": 1496198395707, "error": null }
-
addNotes
Creates multiple notes using the given deck and model, with the provided field values and tags. Returns an array of identifiers of the created notes (notes that could not be created will have a
null
identifier). Please see the documentation foraddNote
for an explanation of objects in thenotes
array.Sample request:
{ "action": "addNotes", "version": 6, "params": { "notes": [ { "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fields": { "Front": "front content", "Back": "back content" }, "tags": [ "yomichan" ], "audio": { "url": "https://assets.languagepod101.com/dictionary/japanese/audiomp3.php?kanji=猫&kana=ねこ", "filename": "yomichan_ねこ_猫.mp3", "skipHash": "7e2c2f954ef6051373ba916f000168dc", "fields": [ "Front" ] } } ] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [1496198395707, null], "error": null }
-
canAddNotes
Accepts an array of objects which define parameters for candidate notes (see
addNote
) and returns an array of booleans indicating whether or not the parameters at the corresponding index could be used to create a new note.Sample request:
{ "action": "canAddNotes", "version": 6, "params": { "notes": [ { "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fields": { "Front": "front content", "Back": "back content" }, "tags": [ "yomichan" ] } ] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [true], "error": null }
-
updateNoteFields
Modify the fields of an exist note.
Sample request:
{ "action": "updateNoteFields", "version": 6, "params": { "note": { "id": 1514547547030, "fields": { "Front": "new front content", "Back": "new back content" } } } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
addTags
Adds tags to notes by note ID.
Sample request:
{ "action": "addTags", "version": 6, "params": { "notes": [1483959289817, 1483959291695], "tags": "european-languages" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
removeTags
Remove tags from notes by note ID.
Sample request:
{ "action": "removeTags", "version": 6, "params": { "notes": [1483959289817, 1483959291695], "tags": "european-languages" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
getTags
Gets the complete list of tags for the current user.
Sample request:
{ "action": "getTags", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": ["european-languages", "idioms"], "error": null }
-
findNotes
Returns an array of note IDs for a given query. Same query syntax as
guiBrowse
.Sample request:
{ "action": "findNotes", "version": 6, "params": { "query": "deck:current" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [1483959289817, 1483959291695], "error": null }
-
notesInfo
Returns a list of objects containing for each note ID the note fields, tags, note type and the cards belonging to the note.
Sample request:
{ "action": "notesInfo", "version": 6, "params": { "notes": [1502298033753] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [ { "noteId":1502298033753, "modelName": "Basic", "tags":["tag","another_tag"], "fields": { "Front": {"value": "front content", "order": 0}, "Back": {"value": "back content", "order": 1} } } ], "error": null }
-
suspend
Suspend cards by card ID; returns
true
if successful (at least one card wasn't already suspended) orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "suspend", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
unsuspend
Unsuspend cards by card ID; returns
true
if successful (at least one card was previously suspended) orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "unsuspend", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
areSuspended
Returns an array indicating whether each of the given cards is suspended (in the same order).
Sample request:
{ "action": "areSuspended", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [false, true], "error": null }
-
areDue
Returns an array indicating whether each of the given cards is due (in the same order). Note: cards in the learning queue with a large interval (over 20 minutes) are treated as not due until the time of their interval has passed, to match the way Anki treats them when reviewing.
Sample request:
{ "action": "areDue", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [false, true], "error": null }
-
getIntervals
Returns an array of the most recent intervals for each given card ID, or a 2-dimensional array of all the intervals for each given card ID when
complete
istrue
. Negative intervals are in seconds and positive intervals in days.Sample request 1:
{ "action": "getIntervals", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1502298033753, 1502298036657] } }
Sample result 1:
{ "result": [-14400, 3], "error": null }
Sample request 2:
{ "action": "getIntervals", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1502298033753, 1502298036657], "complete": true } }
Sample result 2:
{ "result": [ [-120, -180, -240, -300, -360, -14400], [-120, -180, -240, -300, -360, -14400, 1, 3] ], "error": null }
-
findCards
Returns an array of card IDs for a given query. Functionally identical to
guiBrowse
but doesn't use the GUI for better performance.Sample request:
{ "action": "findCards", "version": 6, "params": { "query": "deck:current" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [1494723142483, 1494703460437, 1494703479525], "error": null }
-
cardsToNotes
Returns an unordered array of note IDs for the given card IDs. For cards with the same note, the ID is only given once in the array.
Sample request:
{ "action": "cardsToNotes", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1502098034045, 1502098034048, 1502298033753] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [1502098029797, 1502298025183], "error": null }
-
cardsInfo
Returns a list of objects containing for each card ID the card fields, front and back sides including CSS, note type, the note that the card belongs to, and deck name, as well as ease and interval.
Sample request:
{ "action": "cardsInfo", "version": 6, "params": { "cards": [1498938915662, 1502098034048] } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [ { "answer": "back content", "question": "front content", "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fieldOrder": 1, "fields": { "Front": {"value": "front content", "order": 0}, "Back": {"value": "back content", "order": 1} }, "css":"p {font-family:Arial;}", "cardId": 1498938915662, "interval": 16, "note":1502298033753 }, { "answer": "back content", "question": "front content", "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fieldOrder": 0, "fields": { "Front": {"value": "front content", "order": 0}, "Back": {"value": "back content", "order": 1} }, "css":"p {font-family:Arial;}", "cardId": 1502098034048, "interval": 23, "note":1502298033753 } ], "error": null }
-
storeMediaFile
Stores a file with the specified base64-encoded contents inside the media folder. To prevent Anki from removing files not used by any cards (e.g. for configuration files), prefix the filename with an underscore. These files are still synchronized to AnkiWeb.
Sample request:
{ "action": "storeMediaFile", "version": 6, "params": { "filename": "_hello.txt", "data": "SGVsbG8sIHdvcmxkIQ==" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
Content of
_hello.txt
:Hello world!
-
retrieveMediaFile
Retrieves the base64-encoded contents of the specified file, returning
false
if the file does not exist.Sample request:
{ "action": "retrieveMediaFile", "version": 6, "params": { "filename": "_hello.txt" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": "SGVsbG8sIHdvcmxkIQ==", "error": null }
-
deleteMediaFile
Deletes the specified file inside the media folder.
Sample request:
{ "action": "deleteMediaFile", "version": 6, "params": { "filename": "_hello.txt" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
guiBrowse
Invokes the Card Browser dialog and searches for a given query. Returns an array of identifiers of the cards that were found.
Sample request:
{ "action": "guiBrowse", "version": 6, "params": { "query": "deck:current" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": [1494723142483, 1494703460437, 1494703479525], "error": null }
-
guiAddCards
Invokes the Add Cards dialog.
Sample request:
{ "action": "guiAddCards", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
guiCurrentCard
Returns information about the current card or
null
if not in review mode.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiCurrentCard", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": { "answer": "back content", "question": "front content", "deckName": "Default", "modelName": "Basic", "fieldOrder": 0, "fields": { "Front": {"value": "front content", "order": 0}, "Back": {"value": "back content", "order": 1} }, "template": "Forward", "cardId": 1498938915662, "buttons": [1, 2, 3] }, "error": null }
-
guiStartCardTimer
Starts or resets the
timerStarted
value for the current card. This is useful for deferring the start time to when it is displayed via the API, allowing the recorded time taken to answer the card to be more accurate when callingguiAnswerCard
.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiStartCardTimer", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiShowQuestion
Shows question text for the current card; returns
true
if in review mode orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiShowQuestion", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiShowAnswer
Shows answer text for the current card; returns
true
if in review mode orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiShowAnswer", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiAnswerCard
Answers the current card; returns
true
if succeeded orfalse
otherwise. Note that the answer for the current card must be displayed before before any answer can be accepted by Anki.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiAnswerCard", "version": 6, "params": { "ease": 1 } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiDeckOverview
Opens the Deck Overview dialog for the deck with the given name; returns
true
if succeeded orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiDeckOverview", "version": 6, "params": { "name": "Default" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiDeckBrowser
Opens the Deck Browser dialog.
Sample request:
{ "action": "guiDeckBrowser", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
-
guiDeckReview
Starts review for the deck with the given name; returns
true
if succeeded orfalse
otherwise.Sample request:
{ "action": "guiDeckReview", "version": 6, "params": { "name": "Default" } }
Sample result:
{ "result": true, "error": null }
-
guiExitAnki
Schedules a request to gracefully close Anki. This operation is asynchronous, so it will return immediately and won't wait until the Anki process actually terminates.
Sample request:
{ "action": "guiExitAnki", "version": 6 }
Sample result:
{ "result": null, "error": null }
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.