anki-connect/README.md

25 KiB

AnkiConnect

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.

Installation

The installation process is similar to that of other Anki plugins and can be accomplished in three steps:

  1. Open the Install Add-on dialog by selecting Tools > Add-ons > Browse & Install in Anki.
  2. Input 2055492159 into the text box labeled Code and press the OK button to proceed.
  3. 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.3 displayed in your browser window.

Notes for Windows Users

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.

Notes for Mac OS X Users

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:

  1. Start the Terminal application.

  2. Execute the following command in the terminal window:

    defaults write net.ichi2.anki NSAppSleepDisabled -bool true
    
  3. Restart Anki.

Application Interface for Developers

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 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 to bind it to all network interfaces on your host.

Sample Invocation

Every request consists of a JSON-encoded object containing an action, and a set of contextual parameters. A simple example of a JavaScript application communicating with the extension is illustrated below:

function ankiInvoke(action, params={}) {
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
        const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
        xhr.addEventListener('loadend', () => {
            if (xhr.responseText) {
                resolve(JSON.parse(xhr.responseText));
            } else {
                reject('unable to connect to plugin');
            }
        });

        xhr.open('POST', 'http://127.0.0.1:8765');
        xhr.send(JSON.stringify({action, params}));
    });
}

ankiInvoke('version').then(response => {
    window.alert(`detected API version: ${response}`);
}).catch(error => {
    window.alert(`could not get API version: ${error}`);
});

Or using curl:

curl localhost:8765 -X POST -d '{"action": "version"}'

Supported Actions

Below is a list of currently supported actions. Requests with invalid actions or parameters will a return null result.

Categories:

Miscellaneous

  • version

    Gets the version of the API exposed by this plugin. Currently versions 1 through 4 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"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    4
    
  • 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"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • multi

    Performs multiple actions in one request, returning an array with the response of each action (in the given order).

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "multi",
        "params": {
            "actions": [
                {"action": "deckNames"},
                {
                    "action": "browse",
                    "params": {"query": "deck:current"}
                }
            ]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        ["Default"],
        [1494723142483, 1494703460437, 1494703479525]
    ]
    

Decks

  • deckNames

    Gets the complete list of deck names for the current user.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "deckNames"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        "Default"
    ]
    
  • deckNamesAndIds

    Gets the complete list of deck names and their respective IDs for the current user.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "deckNamesAndIds"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "Default": 1
    }
    
  • 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",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1502298036657, 1502298033753, 1502032366472]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "Default": [1502032366472],
        "Japanese::JLPT N3": [1502298036657, 1502298033753]
    }
    
  • changeDeck

    Moves cards with the given IDs to a different deck, creating the deck if it doesn't exist yet.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "changeDeck",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1502098034045, 1502098034048, 1502298033753],
            "deck": "Japanese::JLPT N3"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    
  • deleteDecks

    Deletes decks with the given names. If cardsToo is true (defaults to false 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",
        "params": {
            "decks": ["Japanese::JLPT N5", "Easy Spanish"],
            "cardsToo": true
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    

Deck Configurations

  • getDeckConfig

    Gets the config group object for the given deck.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "getDeckConfig",
        "params": {
            "deck": "Default"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "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
    }
    
  • saveDeckConfig

    Saves the given config group, returning true on success or false if the ID of the config group is invalid (i.e. it does not exist).

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "saveDeckConfig",
        "params": {
            "config": (config group object)
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • setDeckConfigId

    Changes the configuration group for the given decks to the one with the given ID. Returns true on success or false if the given configuration group or any of the given decks do not exist.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "setDeckConfigId",
        "params": {
            "decks": ["Default"],
            "configId": 1
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • cloneDeckConfigId

    Creates a new config 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 config group, or false if the specified group to clone from does not exist.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "cloneDeckConfigId",
        "params": {
            "name": "Copy of Default",
            "cloneFrom": 1
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    1502972374573
    
  • removeDeckConfigId

    Removes the config group with the given ID, returning true if successful, or false if attempting to remove either the default config group (ID = 1) or a config group that does not exist.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "removeDeckConfigId",
        "params": {
            "configId": 1502972374573
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    

Models

  • modelNames

    Gets the complete list of model names for the current user.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "modelNames"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        "Basic",
        "Basic (and reversed card)"
    ]
    
  • modelNamesAndIds

    Gets the complete list of model names and their corresponding IDs for the current user.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "modelNamesAndIds"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "Basic": 1483883011648
        "Basic (and reversed card)": 1483883011644
        "Basic (optional reversed card)": 1483883011631
        "Cloze": 1483883011630
    }
    
  • modelFieldNames

    Gets the complete list of field names for the provided model name.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "modelFieldNames",
        "params": {
            "modelName": "Basic"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        "Front",
        "Back"
    ]
    
  • 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",
        "params": {
            "modelName": "Basic (and reversed card)"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "Card 1": [
            ["Front"],
            ["Back"]
        ],
        "Card 2": [
            ["Back"],
            ["Front"]
        ]
    }
    

Note Creation

  • 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, the url and filename fields must be also defined. The skipHash 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.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "addNote",
        "params": {
            "note": {
                "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"
                }
            }
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    1496198395707
    
  • 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 for addNote for an explanation of objects in the notes array.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "addNotes",
        "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"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        1496198395707,
        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",
        "params": {
            "notes": [
                {
                    "deckName": "Default",
                    "modelName": "Basic",
                    "fields": {
                        "Front": "front content",
                        "Back": "back content"
                    },
                    "tags": [
                        "yomichan"
                    ]
                }
            ]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        true
    ]
    

Note Tags

  • addTags

    Adds tags to notes by note ID.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "addTags",
        "params": {
            "notes": [1483959289817, 1483959291695],
            "tags": "european-languages"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    
  • removeTags

    Remove tags from notes by note ID.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "removeTags",
        "params": {
            "notes": [1483959289817, 1483959291695],
            "tags": "european-languages"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    

Card Suspension

  • suspend

    Suspend cards by card ID; returns true if successful (at least one card wasn't already suspended) or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "suspend",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • unsuspend

    Unsuspend cards by card ID; returns true if successful (at least one card was previously suspended) or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "unsuspend",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • areSuspended

    Returns an array indicating whether each of the given cards is suspended (in the same order).

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "areSuspended",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [false, true]
    

Card Intervals

  • 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",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1483959291685, 1483959293217]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [false, true]
    
  • 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 is true. (Negative intervals are in seconds and positive intervals in days.)

    Sample request 1:

    {
        "action": "getIntervals",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1502298033753, 1502298036657]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response 1:

    [-14400, 3]
    

    Sample request 2:

    {
        "action": "getIntervals",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1502298033753, 1502298036657],
            "complete": true
        }
    }
    

    Sample response 2:

    [
        [-120, -180, -240, -300, -360, -14400],
        [-120, -180, -240, -300, -360, -14400, 1, 3]
    ]
    

Finding Notes and Cards

  • findNotes

    Returns an array of note IDs for a given query (same query syntax as guiBrowse).

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "findNotes",
        "params": {
            "query": "deck:current"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        1483959289817,
        1483959291695
    ]
    
  • 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",
        "params": {
            "query": "deck:current"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        1494723142483,
        1494703460437,
        1494703479525
    ]
    
  • 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",
        "params": {
            "cards": [1502098034045, 1502098034048, 1502298033753]
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        1502098029797,
        1502298025183
    ]
    

Media File Storage

  • storeMediaFile

    Stores a file with the specified base64-encoded contents inside the media folder.

    Note: 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",
        "params": {
            "filename": "_hello.txt",
            "data": "SGVsbG8sIHdvcmxkIQ=="
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    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",
        "params": {
            "filename": "_hello.txt"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    "SGVsbG8sIHdvcmxkIQ=="
    
  • deleteMediaFile

    Deletes the specified file inside the media folder.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "deleteMediaFile",
        "params": {
            "filename": "_hello.txt"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    

Graphical

  • guiBrowse

    Invokes the card browser and searches for a given query. Returns an array of identifiers of the cards that were found.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiBrowse",
        "params": {
            "query": "deck:current"
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    [
        1494723142483,
        1494703460437,
        1494703479525
    ]
    
  • guiAddCards

    Invokes the AddCards dialog.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiAddCards"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    
  • guiCurrentCard

    Returns information about the current card or null if not in review mode.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiCurrentCard"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    {
        "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
            }
        },
        "cardId": 1498938915662,
        "buttons": [1, 2, 3]
    }
    
  • 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 calling guiAnswerCard.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiStartCardTimer"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • guiShowQuestion

    Shows question text for the current card; returns true if in review mode or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiShowQuestion"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • guiShowAnswer

    Shows answer text for the current card; returns true if in review mode or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiShowAnswer"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • guiAnswerCard

    Answers the current card; returns true if succeeded or false 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",
        "params": {
            "ease": 1
        }
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • guiDeckOverview

    Opens the Deck Overview screen for the deck with the given name; returns true if succeeded or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiDeckOverview",
    	"params": {
    		"name": "Default"
    	}
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    
  • guiDeckBrowser

    Opens the Deck Browser screen.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiDeckBrowser"
    }
    

    Sample response:

    null
    
  • guiDeckReview

    Starts review for the deck with the given name; returns true if succeeded or false otherwise.

    Sample request:

    {
        "action": "guiDeckReview",
    	"params": {
    		"name": "Default"
    	}
    }
    

    Sample response:

    true
    

License

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 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.