genanki

0.13.1 verified Sat May 09 auth: no python

A library for generating Anki decks programmatically. Current version 0.13.1, supports Anki 2.1+ (via .apkg), requires Python 3.6+. Releases are infrequent; API is stable.

pip install genanki

Common errors

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'genanki' ↓

cause Package not installed; or virtual environment not activated.

fix

Run: pip install genanki

error ValueError: Model ID 1607392319 is already used by another model in this deck. ↓

cause Reusing a Model ID that conflicts with an existing one in the same deck (or across decks).

fix

Use a unique ID for each model, e.g., import random; model_id = random.randrange(1<<30, 1<<31)

error TypeError: write_to_file() missing 1 required positional argument: 'filename' ↓

cause Forget to pass filename to write_to_file; it's a method, not a property.

fix

package.write_to_file('deck.apkg')

Warnings

gotcha Model IDs and Deck IDs must be unique and not collide with existing IDs in Anki. Use random large integers (e.g., from time-based generators) to avoid conflicts. ↓

fix Use a random 10-digit integer or a timestamp-based ID: genanki.Deck(int(time.time()*1000), 'Deck Name')

gotcha The .apkg file is a ZIP archive. If you need to modify it, you must rebuild the deck from scratch; genanki does not support appending to existing decks. ↓

fix Regenerate the entire deck programmatically instead of trying to edit the .apkg directly.

gotcha Media files (images, audio) must be added via Package.media_files before writing. Simply linking in the note fields is not enough. ↓

fix package = genanki.Package(deck); package.media_files = ['image.jpg']

Imports

Note
```
from genanki import Note
```
Deck
```
from genanki import Deck
```
Package
```
from genanki import Package
```
Model
```
from genanki import Model
```

Quickstart

Creates a simple Anki deck with one card and writes it to output.apkg.

import genanki

# Define a model (card template)
my_model = genanki.Model(
  1607392319,
  'Simple Model',
  fields=[
    {'name': 'Question'},
    {'name': 'Answer'},
  ],
  templates=[
    {
      'name': 'Card 1',
      'qfmt': '{{Question}}',
      'afmt': '{{FrontSide}}<hr id="answer">{{Answer}}',
    },
  ])

# Create a deck with a unique ID
deck = genanki.Deck(
  2059400110,
  'My Deck')

# Add notes (cards) to the deck
note = genanki.Note(
  model=my_model,
  fields=['Capital of France?', 'Paris'])
deck.add_note(note)

# Generate .apkg file
package = genanki.Package(deck)
package.write_to_file('output.apkg')

print('Deck generated successfully!')