Migrate from Anki
Import Your Anki Deck Into Ellie
Bring your Anking, RRR, or personal decks into Ellie without retyping. Cards, media, and tags come along.
The number-one reason med students hesitate to switch from Anki is the fear of losing years of card-authoring work. Ellie's Anki import is designed around that fear. It reads standard .apkg files, preserves card templates, keeps media (images, audio, image occlusion), and maps Anki's SM-2/FSRS scheduling into Ellie's spaced-repetition state so you don't lose review progress.
This page covers the exact steps for Anking, RRR, personal decks, and shared community decks.
Exporting from Anki
Open Anki desktop. File → Export. In the Export dialog, pick the deck you want to move. Set 'Include' to 'Anki Deck Package (*.apkg)'. Check 'Include scheduling information' if you want to preserve your due dates and card ease. Check 'Include media' so images and audio come with you. Click Export and save the .apkg file somewhere you can find it (usually 100–500 MB for a full Anking deck).
Importing into Ellie
In Ellie, go to Decks → New Deck → Import → Anki (.apkg). Upload the file. Ellie parses the deck, extracts note types, mounts the media, and translates the scheduling state. A full Anking import takes about 60–120 seconds depending on file size.
After import, verify a handful of cards on the preview screen — especially image occlusion cards, which use Anki's specific note type. Ellie supports the standard AnKing image occlusion enhanced (IOE) format.
What transfers cleanly, what doesn't
The importer handles the majority of Anki content, with a few known limitations.
- Basic and cloze note types: full support
- Image occlusion (IOE): full support
- Anki add-on-specific card types: card content transfers, custom formatting may not
- LaTeX: transfers, rendered client-side
- Audio and video attachments: transfer
- Scheduling: mapped to Ellie's FSRS-compatible schedule
- Custom deck options presets: do not transfer — set manually per deck
Reviewing an Anking deck on Ellie
Your Anking cards are now on Ellie's queue. Ellie's scheduler is FSRS-compatible, meaning intervals will look similar to Anki's FSRS default. If your Anki was using the older SM-2 algorithm, expect intervals to compress slightly during the first two weeks as FSRS recomputes stability.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Anki streak if I migrate to Ellie?
Your Anki streak is stored in AnkiWeb, not in the deck itself, so it stays on your Anki account. Ellie tracks a separate review streak. Many students keep both apps installed for a few weeks — do your Ellie reviews for real, and open Anki once daily just to preserve the streak until you're confident about the switch.
Does Ellie support Anki add-ons?
Ellie does not run Anki add-ons directly because it isn't a fork of Anki. It does replicate the functionality of the most-used add-ons natively: image occlusion, FSRS, review heatmap, hardcore anti-cheat scheduling, and card browser with tag filtering. Custom add-ons like specific Anking Overhaul themes will not carry over.
Can I keep using Anki after importing to Ellie?
Yes. The .apkg file you exported is a copy — your Anki collection stays intact. You can dual-run Anki and Ellie during the transition. Some students prefer this: Ellie for adding new cards from lectures and Q-bank explanations, Anki for the daily Anking review while they get comfortable with Ellie's UI.
Can I export from Ellie back to Anki (.apkg)?
Yes. Ellie exports any deck as .apkg or CSV. If you decide Ellie isn't for you, or you want to share a deck with an Anki-only study partner, exporting takes one click. No lock-in.
What about AnkiHub decks?
AnkiHub is a subscription service that syncs collaborative changes to the Anking deck. If you're an AnkiHub subscriber, export the current state of your subscribed deck from Anki as .apkg and import that into Ellie. Ellie does not currently sync ongoing AnkiHub updates automatically — you'd re-import when there are major deck updates.
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