Set up AnkiPilot in about 10 minutes

1. Install AnkiPilot and pin it

The live Chrome Web Store listing, "AnkiPilot: AI Cards for Anki."

1. Open the AnkiPilot listing in Chrome.
2. Click Add to Chrome, then Add extension in the confirmation dialog.
3. Pin it: click the puzzle-piece icon at the top right of Chrome, then click the pin next to AnkiPilot. The AnkiPilot icon now stays on your toolbar.

2. Install Anki desktop

apps.ankiweb.net, the official Anki download page.

1. Go to apps.ankiweb.net and click Download Anki.
2. Pick your system (Windows 10 or later, macOS 13 or later, or Linux) and run the installer.
3. Open Anki once so it creates your profile and your first deck, called Default.

Skip this step if Anki is already installed.

3. Install the AnkiConnect add-on

Installing AnkiConnect inside Anki, ending on "2055492159: Installed successfully."

1. In Anki, go to Tools > Add-ons > Get Add-ons...
2. Enter the code 2055492159 and click OK. Anki answers "Installed successfully. Download complete. Please restart Anki to apply changes."
3. Restart Anki.

After the restart, Tools > Add-ons lists Anki-Connect. That listing is the whole check.

AnkiConnect lets AnkiPilot add cards to the Anki running on your own computer. It only answers while Anki is open, so leave Anki open during setup and while you make cards. Most people need no AnkiConnect config change. If decks fail to load later, see Troubleshooting.

4. Open AnkiPilot for the first time

The First-time setup panel opens on its own and lists the same steps as this guide.

1. Click the AnkiPilot icon on the toolbar.
2. The First-time setup panel opens by itself. It stays until two things are done: an AI option is set up (step 5) and your decks load from Anki (steps 2 and 3).
3. The panel's buttons match the steps: Get Anki opens the Anki download page, and Open AnkiConnect add-on opens the add-on page for code 2055492159.

Setup done: the panel is replaced by a Setup help button, and AI access shows "Configured: Local model (Ollama)".

5. Add AI access: pick one of four paths

Open the popup's AI access section and use one path below. Your key is encrypted in your browser, and your browser calls the provider directly. AnkiPilot runs no server and receives nothing you generate.

5a. OpenAI key

Pasting a placeholder key and clicking Validate. Keys in these recordings are x characters, never a real key.

1. Go to platform.openai.com/api-keys, sign in, and create a new secret key. Copy it right away; OpenAI shows the full key once.
2. In AnkiPilot, set Select AI Provider to OpenAI and paste the key into "Enter your OpenAI API key:".
3. Click Validate. A good key answers "API key successfully validated!". A bad key answers "Invalid API key. Please check the key and try again."

5b. Anthropic key

The Anthropic path, including the optional Workspace ID field.

1. Go to console.anthropic.com (it opens as platform.claude.com), sign in, and create a key under Settings, API keys. Copy it.
2. In AnkiPilot, set the provider to Anthropic (Claude) and paste the key into "Enter your Anthropic API key".
3. Click Validate. A bad key answers "Could not validate this Anthropic API key."
4. The Workspace ID field is optional. Fill it only when Anthropic asks for a workspace; the popup explains where to find the wrkspc_... value.

5c. Google key

The Google path in AI access.

1. Go to Google AI Studio, sign in, and click Create API key. Copy the key.
2. In AnkiPilot, set the provider to Google and paste the key into "Enter your Google API key:".
3. Click Validate. A bad key answers "Invalid Google API key. Please check the key and try again."

5d. No key: local model with Ollama

Filmed with a small test model (qwen2.5:1.5b) so the recording stays short. Your popup shows the model you downloaded. The success line at the end is real: the model generated a test flashcard.

1. Install Ollama from ollama.com/download and open it. On Linux, run ollama serve instead.
2. In AnkiPilot, set the provider to Local model (Ollama). The popup shows a download command for its suggested model, Qwen3.5 9B, with a "Use smaller Qwen3.5 4B" option. Click Copy next to the command, run it in PowerShell or Terminal, and wait for the download to finish. Large downloads can take several minutes.
3. Click Find installed models and pick your model in the list. The Ollama address field should read http://127.0.0.1:11434.
4. Click Test local model. A pass reads: the model "is installed and generated a test flashcard... Ready to use." A pass also turns on Use this local model for you.
5. If the test cannot connect, open Ollama not connecting? in the popup and follow Troubleshooting below.

6. Choose the deck and the card type

Card defaults in the popup: Generation mode and Note type.

1. Open Card defaults in the popup and set Note type: AnKing-style cloze (fill-in-the-blank cards, the default for medical study) or AnkiPilot Basic (front and back).
2. Medical cloze cards do not require the AnKing deck. AnkiPilot uses AnKingOverhaul if you have it; otherwise it creates an "AnkiPilot Cloze" note type automatically.
3. The deck is chosen in the card builder panel, not the popup: the panel's Deck dropdown lists your Anki decks and starts on AnkiPilot::Review. Pick the deck before you generate. Step 7 shows this on screen.

7. Make your first card

Recorded with the shipped build and a study passage written for this guide. The three draft cards are a prepared example so the recording stays short; the review, the Accept click, and the add to Anki happen live against a real Anki.

1. On a study page, select the text you want to learn from. Or skip the selection and paste a passage into the panel's Source text field.
2. Click the AnkiPilot icon and then Open Anki Card Builder. Right-clicking selected text and choosing Create Anki cards opens the same panel. The panel header shows "Selected text" and the character count.
3. Check the Deck dropdown and the Card type at the top of the panel. In the recording, the deck is set to Default.
4. Open Learning context and answer "Why did you miss it?" in your own words. The quick-fill chips (Diagnosis, Next step, Key clue, Distractor, Mechanism) insert a starting phrase you then finish. This box is optional on ordinary pages. On UWorld and AMBOSS pages it is required: AnkiPilot reads only the question ID there, and cards on those pages are generated with a local model.
5. Click Create cards. The panel answers "Queued" and keeps working in the background. Finished drafts appear in the Review Queue further down the same panel; scroll down to it.
6. Read each draft. Click Accept to add that card to Anki, or Reject to drop it. Nothing reaches Anki until you accept.
7. Accepted cards collect under Added Cards, and the panel confirms each one: "Card added to Default."

The accepted card in Anki's Browse window: one note, two cards (Cloze 1 and Cloze 2), 8 tags.

Confirm the result in Anki: click Browse, pick the deck, and the new note is there with its tags.

8. Troubleshooting

Anki is not open, or AnkiConnect is missing

• Open Anki and leave it open. AnkiConnect only answers while Anki runs.
• In Anki, open Tools > Add-ons. Anki-Connect must be in the list. If it is not, install it with code 2055492159 (step 3) and restart Anki.
• In the card builder panel, click the refresh icon next to the Deck dropdown.
• If your AnkiConnect config sets an API key, the panel says "AnkiConnect requires an API key. Save it in the deck section, then refresh decks." Paste that same key into the panel's deck section. That key belongs to AnkiConnect; it is not your OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google key.
• Still stuck? The support page has the AnkiConnect config block that allows your extension origin.

The popup says your key is invalid (a 401 error from the provider)

• The messages are "Invalid API key. Please check the key and try again." (OpenAI), "Could not validate this Anthropic API key." (Anthropic), and "Invalid Google API key. Please check the key and try again." (Google).
• Re-paste the whole key. Extra spaces and a cut-off key fail.
• Check that Select AI Provider matches the key. An OpenAI key in the Google field fails.
• Remember that API billing is separate: a chat subscription does not fund API calls. Check the provider's billing page for API credit.
• If the key was deleted or rolled on the provider's site, create a new key there and validate the new one.

Ollama is not reachable

• Open the Ollama app (Windows and Mac) or leave ollama serve running (Linux). Closing Ollama stops the local server.
• Check that the Ollama address in the popup reads http://127.0.0.1:11434.
• Open Ollama not connecting? in the popup. Pick your system (Windows PowerShell, macOS Terminal, or Linux Terminal) and run the startup command it shows. The popup's own words: that command "starts a local server that allows only this extension origin." Leave that terminal window open.
• Then click Find installed models, pick your model, and click Test local model again.

Cards are not appearing in the deck

• Drafts wait in the panel's Review Queue. A card reaches Anki only after you click Accept.
• Read the line under Added Cards: "Card added to Default." names the deck the card went to. Compare it with the panel's Deck dropdown.
• In Anki, click Browse and open that same deck. A cloze note with two blanks shows as two cards, Cloze 1 and Cloze 2, from one note.
• Keep Anki open while you accept cards, and click the deck refresh icon if the deck list looks stale.