Anki no longer sync media after update to 26.05

Anki Syncing & AnkiWeb
1

Today I updated Anki desktop app from 25.09.4 to 26.05 (on macOS 26.5.1) and now new added media no longer sync with AnkiWeb. New notes and reviews are syncing, it is just media that does not sync. I tried to log out desktop app from AnkiWeb (in Preferences > Syncing), log in again, it did full media check, but did not add new files. I also tried forced sync (On next sync, force changes in one direction), still no media upload.

In the meantime 26.08 was released. I updated again, but this problem is still present.

2

Can you say more about why you think the media is not syncing? Is sync failing? Are you getting an error message? Are you looking for a particular media file that you cannot find (if so, what file, and where)?

3

Example - I just added a new note on Anki desktop. Note ID: 1785653295318. It has two fields:

  1. Word: テスト
  2. WordAudio: [sound:voice-1785653295318-WordAudio-1.mp3]

The file voice-1785653295318-wordaudio-1.mp3 is present in Anki’s media folder, next to all other media files. All files follow the same naming syntax. On previewing card in Anki desktop, audio plays correctly.

The sync completes without errors. Media Sync Log: Media sync complete.

When I open the same note on AnkiWeb or Anki Mobile (iOS), then note has all fields set, but audio does not play. On Anki Mobile I get error “missing file” on playback and in Check Media option.

This started after updating Anki desktop. Nothing else changed: same media audio format, same name syntax, same note template etc.

4

Found the issue: In note file is named voice-1785653295318-WordAudio-1.mp3, but in media folder it is voice-1785653295318-wordaudio-1.mp3 (lower case). After changing to lower case in note and syncing, it works again. So media sync does work, but new Anki started lowering file names. Files added in old Anki are not lower case.

5

Did you run Tools > Check Media on desktop Anki as well? Does that file show up on the missing or unused lists?

I looked at your collection synced to AnkiWeb, and I see that note. But the text in the “WordAudio” field is: [sound:voice-1785653295318-WordAudi.mp3] [truncated, just like that] – and the file that is synced to AnkiWeb is called: voice-1785653295318-wordaudio-1.mp3.

6

Sorry about truncated file names, I was experimenting, because I had a hunch the issue was related to file names.

7

No problem. It looks like you the discrepancy on your own. If you’re using AnkiConnect and certain other tools in your workflow, see – Anki 26.05 Beta 2 - #45 by abdo .

8

Yes, I do use AnkiConnect. I forced lowercase for file names in note’s fields in my tools and it fixed the issue. Although it is strange for me that Anki desktop can use media with case-mismatch, but AnkiWeb and Anki mobile not.

9

You are using the Anki desktop app on a Mac. The macOS filesystem is case insensitive by default. So, when the Anki app looks for a filename with a specific spelling of upper and lowercase characters, the operating system ignores case when finding a matching filename.

You can see an example of this behavior in Terminal:

% touch FILE.txt
% ls -l file.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 myusername  wheel  0 Aug  2 08:29 file.txt
% ls -l file.TXT
-rw-r--r--  1 myusername  wheel  0 Aug  2 08:29 file.TXT
% ls -l
total 0
-rw-r--r--  1 myusername  wheel  0 Aug  2 08:29 FILE.txt

By contrast, the iOS filesystem is case sensitive.

10

Additionally, AnkiMobile hasn’t been updated to Anki 26.05+ yet, so you might see differences with Check Media there.