anki-mcp

MCP server for safe, review-first Anki authoring built on official Anki concepts: profile, deck, note type, note, card, tag, and media.

It is designed for agents that need to inspect existing Anki structure, create or revise note types, add notes, preview the real Anki rendering, and only then release cards into study.

The package was renamed from anki-mcps to @yama662607/anki-mcp. The CLI command is now anki-mcp.

Why this exists

• avoid custom abstractions on top of Anki's own data model
• keep note creation review-first by suspending new cards until they are accepted
• let agents learn from existing decks and note types before writing new content
• keep note type changes additive-safe and validate them before apply

Features

• deck and note discovery for example-driven authoring
• additive-safe note type authoring with dryRun=true by default
• lightweight note type linting with structured errors and warnings before apply
• direct note creation with modelName, deckName, fields, and tags
• review-first isolation by suspending new cards until the user keeps them
• optimistic conflict detection for update_note
• batch add/delete note operations with stable per-item outcomes
• local media import for audio and image fields
• frozen v1 contract resource at anki://contracts/v1/tools

Requirements

• Node.js 22+
• Anki with AnkiConnect enabled
• optional: the anki-connect-extension add-on for read-only native preview instead of edit-dialog fallback

Quick start

1. Install @yama662607/anki-mcp from npm.
2. Start Anki with AnkiConnect enabled.
3. Add the MCP server to your client.
4. Ask the agent to run get_runtime_status first.
5. Use the review-first flow: add_note -> open_note_preview -> update_note or set_note_cards_suspended(false).

For a first-time setup guide, see 5-minute quick start.

Dependency model

• AnkiConnect is required for real Anki usage
• anki-connect-extension is optional and provides a read-only native preview path
• without the extension, open_note_preview falls back to opening the edit dialog
• in ANKI_GATEWAY_MODE=memory, neither dependency is required because the server is running in test mode

Installation

From npm

npm install -g @yama662607/anki-mcp

From source

npm install
npm run build

Running

As a local command

anki-mcp

From source

npm run dev

MCP client setup

Codex

Official Codex setup is codex mcp add or ~/.codex/config.toml.

Add the server with the CLI:

codex mcp add anki-mcp \
  --env ANKI_CONNECT_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8765 \
  --env ANKI_ACTIVE_PROFILE=default \
  -- anki-mcp

Equivalent ~/.codex/config.toml entry:

[mcp_servers.anki-mcp]
command = "anki-mcp"

[mcp_servers.anki-mcp.env]
ANKI_ACTIVE_PROFILE = "default"
ANKI_CONNECT_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:8765"

Claude-style clients

Some MCP clients use mcpServers JSON instead.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anki-mcp": {
      "command": "anki-mcp",
      "env": {
        "ANKI_CONNECT_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8765",
        "ANKI_ACTIVE_PROFILE": "default"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment

• ANKI_CONNECT_URL default: http://127.0.0.1:8765
• ANKI_ACTIVE_PROFILE optional fallback for read tools
• ANKI_MCP_DB_PATH default: user state directory (~/Library/Application Support/anki-mcp/anki-mcp.sqlite on macOS, %LOCALAPPDATA%\anki-mcp\anki-mcp.sqlite on Windows, $XDG_STATE_HOME/anki-mcp/anki-mcp.sqlite or ~/.local/state/anki-mcp/anki-mcp.sqlite on Linux)
• ANKI_GATEWAY_MODE=memory for deterministic local tests without Anki

ANKI_MCP_DB_PATH is the internal SQLite path used for idempotency and operational metadata. DRAFT_DB_PATH is still accepted as a backward-compatible fallback.

Core workflow

1. Verify setup with get_runtime_status.
2. Discover existing structure with list_decks, list_note_types, get_note_type_schema, search_notes, and get_notes.
3. Create missing decks with ensure_deck.
4. Create or revise note types with upsert_note_type(dryRun=true) and inspect result.validation.
5. Add review-pending content with add_note or add_notes_batch.
6. Inspect the real Anki rendering with open_note_preview (the extension path uses a read-only native previewer, not a live editor dialog).
7. After user feedback, call update_note, delete_note, or set_note_cards_suspended(suspended=false).

Media workflow

1. import_media_asset
2. Insert returned asset.fieldValue into the target note field
3. add_note or update_note
4. open_note_preview

Main docs

• 5-minute quick start
• Operating model
• Contracts and tool surface
• Note type authoring
• Real Anki E2E
• Migration from pack/card-type APIs
• Public release checklist

License

MIT