Frequently asked questions

Flashcard Chess is a community for sharing and studying chess decks built for Anki. You browse decks others have shared, subscribe to the ones you want, and study them on an interactive board right inside Anki using the Flashcard Chess add-on.

Through syncing via the following steps:

1. Install the Flashcard Chess add-on in Anki on your computer.
2. Subscribe to the deck here on the website.
3. In Anki, open the Flashcard Chess menu and click Log in, using the same flashcardchess.net account.
4. After logging in, click Sync now. Your subscribed decks are pulled in, and the cards appear in Anki.

After that, any time you subscribe to something new or a creator updates a deck, just hit Sync now again.

Flashcard Chess delivers decks through syncing rather than downloads. This keeps your cards up to date automatically when a creator improves a deck.

No — syncing only happens when you click Sync now in the Flashcard Chess menu. Nothing syncs in the background or on startup, so you're always in control of when your collection changes.

Three things to check:

1. You're logged in inside the add-on.
2. You've pressed Sync now.
3. The deck has Connect with Anki turned on in its "Configure updates" settings on the website.

Each subscription has a Deck field under "Configure updates" (default: Chess). You can type any name you like. We recommend using the name of a preexisting deck already on your Anki Dashboard.

Yes! However, the add-on runs on Anki desktop (Windows/Mac/Linux). The normal way to study on your phone is to sync on desktop first, then let Anki's built-in AnkiWeb sync carry the cards to your phone.

It depends on that deck's "Configure updates" settings. Each field group (titles, lines, book notes, personal notes, tags) has its own toggle. If a group is on, the creator's version is reapplied on each sync (so your edits revert); if it's off, your edits stick. Personal notes are protected by default — your own notes are left alone unless you choose otherwise.

Just press Sync now. As long as that deck has Connect with Anki turned on, the latest version is applied based on your toggle choices.

Yes. The first time the Flashcard Chess card type is added to your collection, Anki treats it as a structural change and asks to do a one-time full sync. It's expected and only happens once.

All from your Settings page (in the user menu). You can update your email, change your password, rename your account, and manage notifications there.

Upload your .apkg file from your profile/upload page. It's indexed automatically so others can subscribe and sync it.

Use the add-on's Create Flashcards tool (in the Flashcard Chess menu). A detailed guide is available directly through the add-on via the Anki desktop app.