Add Anki to Mac App Store

Anki Suggestions
1

Hey,
Can you add Anki to Mac App Store? I prefer to use sandboxed applications on my MBP.

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2

Edit: You right, sorry about that

3

I might be mistaken but the question seems to be about distributing Anki desktop ver.

4

yes that’s correct, I mean Anki should be sandboxed to protect users…

5

The App Store is not compatible with the open source license Anki uses.

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6

there is a lot of open-source application that were migrated to App Store (such as Keka)
Why is this not the case for Anki?
IDC about add-ons, I just want regular anki similar to anki mobile with import functionality (and nothing else)

7

Keka is not Open Source

The source was closed a few years ago after being wrongly used. To that date (maybe 2011?) no contribution other than translations were made, so it had no impact at all over the years
Open Source – or did I remember this wrongß · aonez/Keka · Discussion #1627 · GitHub

Apple does not permit GPL licenses, and Anki has a strict version called AGPL. Most open source apps you see in the Apple Store are MIT or Apache which are permissive licenses, and they can work with Apple Store terms of service, which isn’t the case for GPL

There could be an app store exception

Further reading

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9

Could a closed-source Anki Mac desktop app be published on the Mac App Store? Alternatively, could the Anki mobile app be adapted for Apple Silicon Macs with import functionality, which is all I need? Anki should be sandboxed to protect users—several articles have reported vulnerabilities in shared decks.

10

AnkiMobile is a paid app – Anki desktop on MacOS is free – both of them have the same import functionality. But I suspect the number of users who would be willing to pay to use a more limited AnkiMobile-ish version of the app on their Mac, instead of the full free version, is vanishingly small.

Shared decks aren’t created or published by Anki, but yes, they can be used maliciously. Don’t import them if they aren’t worth the risk to you. But I also think you’ll find that the most serious vulnerabilities – in shared decks or add-ons – have already been fixed.

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11

@Hyde you shouldn’t use MacOS if you value your freedom. MacOS is proprietary malware designed to mistreat the users. See Proprietary Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation and Apple's Operating Systems are Malware - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

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12

Just adding: The same is the case for microsoft and it’s products (and google and most other tech giants).

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13

I hear good things about the Pixel and GrapheneOS only supports pixel devices. Probably the only good thing I hear about Google.

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True. Things like GrapheneOS and LineageOS are great for privacy and also user freedom. It might work with non-google devices as well. It’s not exactly easy for most users to install an OS on a smartphone though (requires steps like unlocking the bootloader and manually flashing .iso files).

But as someone who does that for more than half a decade, I’d highly recommend it.

Anyways, that’s quite off-topic here.

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15

Since the topic is about Anki in app stores, the good news is that you can install something like Ubuntu, launch the App Center, and easily install Anki with just a few clicks.

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16

Maybe it will be possible in the future after Anki is fully migrated to Svelte and Qt is discontinued? If I remember correctly there was a discussion that the GPL was caused by Qt and that after Svelte was introduced it might be possible for individuals and companies to incorporate Anki into closed source since the license would be more freely. (BSD licence?)

17

This thread seems to bring up two questions for me:

  1. You’re equating Mac App Store distribution with sandboxing. I don’t think this is accurate. There is no reason in my eyes why an application outside of the app store shouldn’t be able to be sandboxed as well, it’s just not required.
    By all means, correct me if I’m wrong, but this assumption seems naive to me and like Apple has done good work in seeding mistrust in users about free software. After all, they’re already making it incrementally more difficult to install apps from outside the store (Settings → Security and Privacy → open regardless).
  2. Would you be willing to pay 30 € for the app on the App Store, just as with the iPhone version? Distribution on the App Store costs money, and with AnkiMobile, this is passed on to the users. I do like the idea of just bringing a version of AnkiMobile to macOS. I can imagine that current add on support wouldn’t work (although I don’t know). For that reason, AnkiMobile would be suitable. It would be a little bit confusing for the users, though, so it needs to be clear that this is the non-fully featured iPhone app. Perhaps it could even be extended in the future for proper macOS support.

Please correct me on the technical details, I’m not an expert on macOS apps. But I think this one-sentence question has a lot more to it than it contains and it’s not as simple as “adding Anki to the Mac App Store”, I’m sorry. I agree with the general idea, anyways.