How to import Anki decks into Recense

How do I export a deck from Anki?

Anki packages a deck as a single .apkg file, the same format Recense reads. You only need Anki desktop for this step (the mobile apps can export too, but desktop is the clearest).

• Step 1: Open Anki desktop and find the deck you want to move.
• Step 2: Either choose File, then Export from the top menu, or right-click the deck in the deck list and choose Export.
• Step 3: In the export dialog, set the format to Anki Deck Package (.apkg).
• Step 4: Pick a single deck rather than All Decks if you want to bring decks over one at a time, which keeps them separate in Recense.
• Step 5: Leave Include media checked so your images and audio travel with the cards, then save the .apkg somewhere easy to find.

Check Include scheduling information if you want your due dates, intervals, and review history to come across too. Leave it unchecked and the deck imports fresh, which is the simpler choice if you are starting the deck over on purpose.

How do I import the .apkg into Recense?

Open Recense and go to the Import screen (it is also reachable from the command palette as "Add card / import Anki"). The screen walks you through a quick check before anything is created.

• Step 1: Drag your .apkg file onto the drop zone, or click Choose file and select it.
• Step 2: Recense analyzes the file and shows a summary card: the number of cards detected, how many fields each note has, and whether the deck contains audio.
• Step 3: Check the field-mapping preview, which shows how Anki fields line up with Recense (Front maps to Term, Back maps to Definition).
• Step 4: Press Import and watch the progress bar. Large decks are uploaded in chunks automatically, so a big file with lots of audio will not time out.
• Step 5: When it finishes, Recense opens your new deck.

The import screen accepts files up to the size shown on the drop zone, which comfortably covers most personal collections.

What gets imported into Recense?

The import brings the content of your deck. Your cards and notes come across, including the front and back text of each card. Images and audio that you included in the export are uploaded and attached to the right cards, so pronunciation clips and picture prompts keep working. Cloze-style notes are supported and arrive as study cards too.

• Recense maps each note into its own clean note type, so very elaborate custom templates from Anki are simplified rather than copied field for field.
• Notes with no usable front text are skipped, and the importer tells you the count.
• If a note had only an image or audio on its back and no text, it still imports, just with a media-only back.

In short, the cards and their media transfer; the exact Anki template styling does not.

Will my scheduling history carry over?

Yes, if you exported with Include scheduling information checked in Anki. Your due dates, intervals, memory state, and review history come across, not just the cards. Recense re-models that review history under its own FSRS defaults, so a few numbers may look slightly different from what Anki showed you. If your deck already used Anki's FSRS scheduler (added in version 23.10), the memory state carries over exactly; for older decks still on SM-2, Recense reconstructs it from the review history instead. Export without scheduling information and the deck starts fresh on FSRS, same as a new deck.

What do I do after importing?

Nothing complicated. Your imported deck is private to your account and appears in your deck list.

• Step 1: Open the deck and review the first cards to confirm the fronts, backs, and audio look right.
• Step 2: Start a study session. Recense schedules every card with FSRS, the same modern algorithm Anki now uses, so you do not configure intervals or install anything.
• Step 3: Repeat the export and import for any other decks you want to bring over, one .apkg at a time.

From here it works like any other Recense deck: review what is due each day, rate how each card went, and let the scheduler decide when you see it next. If a deck is large, give the first few days time to let the queue find its rhythm.

Bottom line: Export each Anki deck as an .apkg, drop it into the Recense import screen, and your cards and media come across into a private deck. Check Include scheduling information on export and your due dates and review history come across too; skip it and the deck starts fresh on FSRS. Either way, you keep your content and the scheduler takes it from there.