[Apple Silicon/macOS] "Anki encountered a problem" while adding a new card

Anki Help
1

Today I wanted to add a new deck with some new cards, but suddenly my Anki instance decided not to cooperate anymore. A few words about the platform first:

Environment

  • Anki version: v26.05 (latest)
  • Apple Silicon M1 Pro architecture, macOS Tahoe: v26.5.1 (latest)
  • Python on ${PATH}: v3.11.15
  • Python with Anki distribution (About Anki window): v3.13.11 with Qt v6.11.0 Chromium 140

Steps to reproduce the issue

  1. Open Anki
  2. (Optional) Create a new deck
  3. Hit the Add button

Symptoms

A dialog with “Anki encountered a problem. Please follow the troubleshooting steps.” appears.
I checked the Debug Info:

Anki 26.05 (e64c6b1a) 
Python 3.13.11 Qt 6.11.0 PyQt 6.11.0
Platform: macOS-26.5.1-arm64-arm-64bit-Mach-O

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/webview.py", line 188, in cmd
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/webview.py", line 275, in _onCmd
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/webview.py", line 806, in _onBridgeCmd
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/toolbar.py", line 430, in _linkHandler
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/toolbar.py", line 445, in _addLinkHandler
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/main.py", line 1293, in onAddCard
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/__init__.py", line 152, in open
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/addcards.py", line 51, in __init__
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/addcards.py", line 229, in _load_new_note
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/addcards.py", line 157, in setAndFocusNote
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/editor.py", line 584, in set_note
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/editor.py", line 654, in loadNote
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/anki/_backend_generated.py", line 1900, in get_image_occlusion_fields
  File "/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/anki/_backend.py", line 175, in _run_command
anki.errors.InvalidInput: Please use the Check Database action, then try again.

Tried steps so far

  • disabled all Add-ons
  • checked the integrity of the database (Check Database action)
  • tested different video drivers (Metal, OpenGL, software)
  • performed the actions from the https://docs.ankiweb.net/troubleshooting.html page
  • reinstalled Anki (upgraded from v25.09 to v26.05)

I would be grateful for any support in solving this issue. :folded_hands:

Best Regards,
~DvN

2

Looking at that error, it’s possible there’s something wrong in one of your note types. The trace mentions the “Image Occlusion” note type –

  • Do you use built-in IO often?
  • Are you using the unchanged default note type, or have you customized it?
  • Are you IO notes/cards still accessible in the Browse window note editor? Do they appear correctly in Preview?
  • In Preferences > Editing, what do you have selected under “Default note type deck” – Preferences - Anki Manual ?
3

Hi @Danika_Dakika, thank you very much for your response.

  • Do you use built-in IO often?

Actually, I do not recall using it at all. When I go to Tools -> Manage Note Types I see the number of “Image Occlusion” notes is… 0.

obraz
obraz1678×852 127 KB

  • Are you using the unchanged default note type, or have you customized it?

No, I haven’t modified any note type yet. Although, as you can see above, there is quite a huge number of Note Types available. I assume they were added automatically each time I downloaded a deck from the AnkiWeb Shared Decks page.

  • Are you IO notes/cards still accessible in the Browse window note editor? Do they appear correctly in Preview?

As above, it looks like I have no IO notes/card at all.

  • In Preferences > Editing, what do you have selected under “Default note type”?

It seems there is no such field on macOS version. There is “Default deck” though:

obraz
obraz1700×1600 137 KB

Nevertheless, something magical happened since yesterday. Since I was unable to add a note on Mac, I added some notes using Anki on iOS. Today I tried on Mac once again and… voila:

obraz
obraz1606×1144 108 KB

the issue is gone. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

4

That’s great! If Anki was stuck on a broken note type, changing to a different deck (based on your settings), might cause the selected note type to change, which would let you open the screen.

Yes, that’s the one. Sorry about that – I had note types on the brain when I wrote my other response.

Yes, that’s how that happens. But if you want to clean them up (and especially if some of them aren’t functioning – Removing duplicate note types - Anki FAQs .