anki -addon

AnkiMCP Server runs a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server inside Anki, exposing your Anki collection to AI assistants. This enables AI-powered study sessions, card creation, and collection management through MCP clients like Claude Desktop. The server starts automatically when Anki launches and serves HTTP requests at http://127.0.0.1:3141 by default. You can connect clients by configuring their MCP settings to point at this local endpoint, optionally using a custom path and CORS configuration to fit your environment. The addon exposes a comprehensive set of tools for syncing, querying, creating and updating notes, and controlling card states, all bridged between MCP requests and Anki’s operations.

Prerequisites:

• Anki installed (version 25.07+ recommended)
• Access to install add-ons via AnkiWeb or local releases

Step 1: Install the AnkiMCP Server Addon

• From AnkiWeb: Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons... → enter code for the addon (provided by project)
• Or from GitHub Releases: download anki_mcp_server.ankiaddon and install via Tools → Add-ons → Install from file...

Step 2: Start Anki and allow the addon to initialize

• On first run, the addon will download pydantic_core from PyPI as needed. This is automatic and required for MCP protocol support.

Step 3: Verify the server is running

• Open Anki, then go to Tools → AnkiMCP Server Settings to confirm status. The server should be listening at http://127.0.0.1:3141/ by default.

Step 4: Optional client configuration

• In your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop), add or update the MCP server reference to point at http://127.0.0.1:3141/ as shown in the README example.

Step 5: Customize as needed

• Adjust path, CORS, and exposure settings via Anki’s Config UI to suit tunneling or browser-based clients.

Tips and notes:

• The server runs inside Anki and bridges requests to Anki’s API, so most operations require Anki’s context (e.g., deck names, note types).
• First-run may download platform-specific binaries for pydantic_core; allow network access during the initial setup.
• If exposing the endpoint behind a tunnel (Cloudflare Tunnel, ngrok), you can set a http_path to a subpath to avoid a fully open root endpoint.
• CORS: configure cors_origins if you plan to connect from browser-based MCP clients. Use a precise origin list for production; '*' is convenient but not recommended for security reasons.
• The addon provides a large set of tools (see Available Tools) for deep integration with Anki collections; ensure you understand the impact of potentially destructive actions like delete_notes.