syncLABSCO SUMMARY
Reviewing in chat, where the card can be explained.
The difference from reviewing in Anki is that you can ask. Get the card wrong and the assistant can explain why before you rate it, and the rating still goes through Anki's scheduler so your intervals stay correct. Authoring benefits differently: createModel and updateModelTemplates mean a note type with custom fields and card templates can be built by describing it, which is otherwise a fiddly afternoon in the Anki UI. Keep the GUI tools out of review sessions — they drive the desktop window and are meant for editing.
What it is
An MCP server that talks to a running Anki desktop through the AnkiConnect add-on. It covers the whole collection — reviewing, authoring, note types, media and statistics — and separates the tools that work on data from the eleven that drive the Anki window itself.
What you get
- Review as a conversation — get_due_cards, present_card and rate_card with Again, Hard, Good or Easy, so the scheduler is updated as you go, plus get_cards filtered by state and sync to AnkiWeb
- Decks — listDecks with study-queue statistics, deckStats for ease and interval distributions, createDeck and changeDeck
- Notes — addNote, addNotes for up to 100 at once, findNotes using Anki's own query syntax, notesInfo, updateNoteFields and deleteNotes
- Tags — getTags, addTags, removeTags, replaceTags to rename one across notes, and clearUnusedTags
- Note types, in full — modelNames, modelFieldNames, modelStyling, modelTemplates, createModel, updateModelStyling, updateModelTemplates, addModelField, removeModelField, renameModelField and repositionModelField
- Media — getMediaFilesNames, storeMediaFile from base64, a path or a URL, retrieveMediaFile and deleteMediaFile
- Statistics — collection_stats across all decks, and review_stats for retention, study streaks and temporal patterns
- Eleven GUI tools that drive the Anki window — guiBrowse, guiSelectCard, guiSelectedNotes, guiAddCards, guiEditNote, guiCurrentCard, guiShowQuestion, guiShowAnswer, guiDeckBrowser, guiDeckOverview and guiUndo — meant for authoring, not for reviewing
- The destructive tools say so and ask: deleteNotes, deleteMediaFile, clearUnusedTags and removeModelField all require explicit confirmation
Requirements
Anki running on the same machine, with the AnkiConnect add-on installed — the server reaches it at http://localhost:8765 by default, configurable through ANKI_CONNECT_URL. Run it with npx @ankimcp/anki-mcp-server, install it globally as ankimcp, or drop in the .mcpb bundle from Releases. Nothing leaves your machine except what your AI client sends. No account and no key.
Setup effort
One command — npm install -g @ankimcp/anki-mcp-server
USE CASES
01
Studying without switching to Anki
Pull what is due, work through the cards one at a time, and record the rating on each.
02
Turning something you just read into cards
Check the existing tags first so you do not duplicate them, then create the notes in a batch.
03
Building a note type that Anki's UI makes awkward
Create the model with its fields, card templates and CSS by describing what you want.
04
Fixing tags that drifted apart over years
List what exists, rename across the affected notes, and clear the orphans.
05
Finding out whether your study is actually working
Read retention and streaks across the collection, then look at the ease distribution of the deck that feels hard.
06
Cleaning up a deck you imported
Search with Anki query syntax, inspect the notes, and update or move them.
48 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
get_due_cardsget_cardspresent_cardrate_cardlistDecksdeckStatscreateDeckchangeDeckaddNoteaddNotesfindNotesnotesInfoupdateNoteFieldsdeleteNotesgetTagsaddTagsremoveTagsreplaceTagsclearUnusedTagsgetMediaFilesNamesretrieveMediaFilestoreMediaFiledeleteMediaFilemodelNamesmodelFieldNamesmodelStylingmodelTemplatescreateModelupdateModelStylingupdateModelTemplatesaddModelFieldremoveModelFieldrenameModelFieldrepositionModelFieldcollection_statsreview_statsguiBrowseguiSelectCardguiSelectedNotesguiAddCardsguiEditNoteguiDeckOverviewguiDeckBrowserguiCurrentCardguiShowQuestionguiShowAnswerguiUndoBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
48 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- Anki desktop running on the same computer, with the AnkiConnect add-on installed
- Node.js 22.12.0+
Where it runs
All 3 documented clients run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npm install -g @ankimcp/anki-mcp-serverMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"anki-mcp": {
"command": "ankimcp",
"args": [
"--stdio"
],
"env": {
"ANKI_CONNECT_URL": "http://localhost:8765"
}
}
}
}Cursor, Cline
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"anki-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@ankimcp/anki-mcp-server",
"--stdio"
],
"env": {
"ANKI_CONNECT_URL": "http://localhost:8765"
}
}
}
}
