I have been using the older version of Anki on my Mac for years, but recently have been getting notifications that support for that version will be ending “soon” and that I need to download the Apple Silicon version. However, when I tried to do add it to my applications, the progress bar went almost to the end before quitting and making an error noise. (This happens whether I try to keep both versions or replace the old one.) I don’t know how to fix this but I don’t want to run out of time to change versions before I can’t use the old one anymore.
Could you please provide some background information?
- What model of Mac do you have?
- What version of macOS are you using?
- You are trying to install Anki version 26.08.1, correct?
- The .dmg file you downloaded is the -mac-apple.dmg file, not the -mac-intel.dmg file, correct?
Could you please clarify: You were able to download the Anki .dmg file and open it just fine? And, when you dragged the Anki icon into Applications, the install started just fine, including the step where it asks whether you want to Keep Both/Stop/Replace? The problem happens during the final “Copying Anki to Applications” step?
You might want to try rebooting your Mac and trying the install again, just to see if the behavior might be any different.
Please also check your Mac’s storage to see whether it could be that you are running out of disk space.
That doesn’t sound like a message that came from Anki. When you respond to BenJamesBen’s questions, also include what version of Anki you have been using.
We can’t force anyone to the “Silicon” version because it depends on the chipset on your device. But an old version also wouldn’t know about future changes. The only way to have triggered something like that would have been when you synced with AnkiWeb, but the account connected to the email address you used to post here has been inactive for years.
There is a standard “Support ending for Intel-based apps” popup message that macOS displays when you use an Intel-based app on an Apple Silicon system, via Rosetta 2. The message probably says something like:
This version of “Anki” will not open in a future release of macOS.
As I understand it, the OP was previously using the Intel version of Anki and is now having trouble installing the Apple Silicon version.
That would explain the source of the error. Thank you!
OP, you can disregard my questions.
Answering your questions: I am using a MacBook Air from 2025, macOS version 26.6.2, I am trying to install 26.08.1 and I downloaded the apple file
The problem did happen in the ‘copying to applications’ step, right before it would indicate that it had fully been installed, otherwise it seemed like it was working fine. I tried again after restarting my Mac just now and the same thing happened, and I still have enough storage to install it.
Thank you for that information. MacBook Air laptops sold in 2025 were Apple Silicon systems. I assume that the reason why you previously had the Intel version of Anki installed is because you transferred files from an older Mac sometime in the past.
There is a possiblity that the problem might be a permissions issue, either user permissions or file permissions.
Perhaps you are trying to install Anki while logged in as a user who isn’t an administrator of your system:
- You can check in System Settings > Users & Groups to see if your account is listed as an “Admin”.
- You can check in a Terminal window by running the
groupscommand.adminshould be one of the groups listed.
Perhaps the Applications folder doesn’t have correct permissions:
- You can check in a Finder window by going to the root of the filesystem (on my computer this is named “Macintosh HD”) where you can see the “Applications” folder. Right-click on the Applications folder and select “Get Info”. The permissions for the Applications folder should be: system: Read & Write, admin: Read & Write, everyone: Read only.
- You can check in a Terminal window by running the
ls -ld /Applicationscommand. The start of the output should be something likedrwxrwxr-x 49 root adminwhich says root is the owner, admin is the group owner, root and admin have fullrwxread/write/execute permissions, and everyone else just hasr-xread/execute permissions.
Perhaps the existing Anki app doesn’t have correct permissions, preventing existing files/directories from being deleted or new ones being added. Let’s try moving/renaming the existing Anki app to see if that allows the new Anki app to be installed.
- In a Finder window, go to the Applications folder, right-click on the Anki app, and select Rename. Rename it to something like “Anki.old”. Then, try installing the new version of Anki.
- You can also rename the app in the Terminal by using the
mv /Applications/Anki.app /Applications/Anki.old.appcommand. - Once the new version of Anki is successfully installed and confirmed to be working properly, you should just delete the “Anki.old” app. (The reason why we renamed it instead of simply deleting it in the first place was so we could restore it back to its original name, just in case.)
If you have trouble moving/renaming or deleting the old Anki app, that would suggest that there are incorrect file permissions somewhere. If that is the case, there would be additional steps to take.
(Your user data is stored in a different location, so deleting the Anki app won’t affect your cards, notes, media files, add-ons, etc.)
Thanks for your reply. I’ve now checked and confirmed that I have the correct permissions, and renamed my Anki app. (I also changed the permissions inside the app to read + write for both my own account and for admin which just includes me.) However, when I tried to install the new version the same thing as before happened, although it seems to have made a copy of Anki in my finder that it says was modified on the 5th of August at 16:52 (as I’m typing this it’s 18:51, so not even the time is correct.) I don’t know for sure if it’s an intel or apple silicon version but I would guess not as my laptop still made the error sound when trying to install it, along with the wrong time and date. It also seems to be a slightly bigger size than “Anki.old” (659.1 mb vs 665.4) for whatever reason.
I didn’t try to delete the old version of the app since I’m pretty sure the new one is still not installed, but will try if you think that will help.
I note that the Anki 26.08.1 packages were built on August 5, 2026.
Where did you see this copy of Anki? Why do you believe it is a copy of Anki, as opposed to the actual Anki app that was supposed to have been installed.?
The copy appeared in my finder, above my original Anki. I assumed it wasn’t the one that was meant to be installed because my laptop acted as if it didn’t go through with installing it as it did before, but I may have been mistaken. From what you’ve said about that being when the 26.08.1 was built, I’m a lot more hopeful that it went right as I didn’t know that before. Would the new app still have all my flashcards? That was another reason I assumed it was a copy, but again just an assumption from my part.
Is the new one named “Anki”? Is it in the Applications folder? And, does it look like the Anki app? Perhaps it actually is the new Anki app. Perhaps the install did succeed.
You might want to try double-clicking on the icon to see if it launches the Anki app.
Edit: Added: Yes, newly-installed versions of Anki will have access to all your existing flashcards.
Added:
I’m also wondering what the “error noise” was that you heard. macOS Tahoe 26.6.2 plays its standard “file copy/move success” sound when the application installation is complete. (You can hear the sound at around 29-30s in this YouTube video.) Was that the sound that you heard? If so, that was the sound that indicated a successful installation.
It worked, thanks for your help. (And yes that was the sound I heard after trying to install again after changing the permissions; I think it sounded similar to the alert sound I use, which is why I believed it hadn’t installed, along with the loading animation not being completed.)