AnkiConnect MCP server

Integrates Anki flashcard functionality, enabling natural language interactions for spaced repetition learning within conversations.
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Setup instructions
Provider
Same Farrar
Release date
Jan 08, 2025
Language
Python
Package
Stats
3.6K downloads
10 stars

This server connects Claude conversations with AnkiConnect, enabling you to interact with your Anki flashcards directly through Claude. You can easily review due cards, create new ones, and manage your spaced repetition system with natural language commands like "Let's go through today's flashcards" or "Make flashcards for this."

Prerequisites

Before installing the MCP server, you need:

  • Anki desktop application installed and running
  • AnkiConnect plugin (ID: 2055492159) installed in Anki

AnkiConnect can be slow on Macs due to the AppSleep feature. Disable it by running these commands in your terminal:

defaults write net.ankiweb.dtop NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true
defaults write net.ichi2.anki NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true
defaults write org.qt-project.Qt.QtWebEngineCore NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true

Installation

Installing AnkiConnect Plugin

  1. Open Anki
  2. Go to Tools > Add-ons > Get Add-ons...
  3. Enter code: 2055492159
  4. Restart Anki

Setting Up the MCP Server

Configure Claude Desktop by editing the configuration file:

  • MacOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-ankiconnect": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--with", "mcp-ankiconnect", "mcp-ankiconnect"]
    }
  }
}

After configuring, restart both Anki and Claude desktop to apply the changes.

Available Tools

The MCP server provides three main tools that Claude can use to interact with your Anki collection:

num_cards_due_today

Gets the number of cards due today.

  • Optional deck parameter to filter by a specific deck
  • Returns count of due cards across all decks or the specified deck

get_due_cards

Retrieves cards that are due for review.

  • Optional limit parameter (default: 5) to control number of cards
  • Optional deck parameter to filter by a specific deck
  • Optional today_only parameter (default: true) to show only today's cards
  • Returns cards in XML format with questions and answers

submit_reviews

Submits answers for reviewed cards.

  • Takes a list of reviews with card_id and rating
  • Valid ratings: "wrong", "hard", "good", "easy"
  • Returns confirmation of submitted reviews

Usage Examples

Here are some prompts you can use with Claude to interact with your Anki collection:

  • "How many cards do I have due today?"
  • "Show me 5 due cards from my Biology deck"
  • "Let's go through my Spanish vocabulary cards"
  • "Can you help me review my due cards?"
  • "Make flashcards from this information: [provide content]"

After Claude shows you cards, you can respond with how well you remembered each one, and Claude will submit those ratings to Anki.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

  1. Ensure Anki is running while using Claude
  2. Verify the AnkiConnect plugin is installed correctly
  3. Check that your Claude Desktop configuration file contains the correct MCP server settings
  4. Restart both applications if they aren't communicating properly

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "mcp-ankiconnect" '{"command":"uv","args":["run","--with","mcp-ankiconnect","mcp-ankiconnect"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-ankiconnect": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--with",
                "mcp-ankiconnect",
                "mcp-ankiconnect"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-ankiconnect": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--with",
                "mcp-ankiconnect",
                "mcp-ankiconnect"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect

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