I’m aware that AnkiConnect exists. And there are some MCP servers built on top of it on GitHub, but they’re either (a) read-only (b) half-baked. They also require you to have Anki running.
I think it’d be great if AnkiWeb had an official MCP server that didn’t require you to have Anki running in the background on a device. I’d personally pay $10-20/mo for this.
That way, you could do things like use ElevenLabs’ voice assistant 11.ai and connect the AnkiWeb MCP to it and do your cards in audio form on the go. Or even have ChatGPT connect via MCP and create cards for you.
according to opinion polls most people dislike ai. as far as i know the only people who like ai are us developers and it geeks. (ai add-ons and ai tools are often criticized within the anki community and are very rarely recommended)
so far the official anki seems uninterested in such ankiweb enhancements or monetization. the idea for a premium server has been around for years but it probably hasn’t been developed yet. (anki is an open-source project with many volunteers so free services are preferred)
I can see where you’re coming from. That may be the general public’s sentiment. But I think, as far as students are concerned (who are avid users of Anki), they really like AI if it improves their studying.
I made a video on YouTube (Video ID: ziPwestGTxI ) that recently passed 100k+ views on how to use AI for making Anki flashcards.
I also made a niche AI add-on for language learners, which is much-loved ( ID: 375742312 ).
Both have had an overwhelming positive response.
But I respect that you’ve had different experiences that may inform your opinion until now, just sharing some of my data points.
That makes sense. I wonder if this would be achievable with a custom sync server?
I’d be interested in setting up my own sync server, which has MCP capabilities. I’d have to look into it.
I think language learning works well with AI, as the generated info tends to be relatively accurate, and as you say students will likely prefer AI.
it’s technically possible, but development of such servers isn’t supported by the community and resources are almost nonexistent. because tools that have their own servers and can be reviewed by users would become competitors to Anki. (so Anki’s server is closed source and outside apps are prohibited from accessing it under the terms of service.) so if developers want to develop such custom servers I think it’s common to develop their own learning apps unrelated to Anki.
I’m a SW developer learning Tibeten language with anki. As I’m studying, I’m developing anki plugins and tools for me and my classmates.
I would be happy to collaborate with fellow developers interested to boost anki’s power with recent AI tools, but also in general to make it a more rich and full language learning tool. I have a few cool ideas in the oven
