Find your Anki deck location, then make new cards from your notes
Anki keeps each collection as a file on your computer. DeckOwl builds flashcards from your PDFs, slides and notes, so you can study in the browser or export to Anki on a paid plan.
Where Anki stores your deck files
Your Anki deck location depends on your operating system, but the decks themselves always sit inside one profile folder, with the main data in a file named collection.anki2. Knowing that path helps when you back up, move to a new computer or recover a deck after a sync problem.
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Anki2\<profile>\collection.anki2
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Anki2/<profile>/
- Linux: ~/.local/share/Anki2/<profile>/
- Open the profile you use in Anki before searching, since each profile keeps its own folder.
Upload your own material
Add PDF, DOCX, PPTX, plain text, notes or photos of pages. Images are read with text recognition.
Spaced repetition built in
Cards return at intervals matched to your recall, so review time goes to the cards you are about to forget.
Export to Anki on Plus
The Plus plan includes Anki, PDF, DOCX and CSV export, so new cards can go straight into your Anki collection.
How it works
Upload or paste
Add a PDF, slide deck, document, text file or a photo of your notes.
Generate flashcards
Review the cards and keep the ones that matter for your course.
Study or export
Study in the browser on the free plan, or export to Anki with Plus.
The default folders are %APPDATA%\Anki2 on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Anki2 on macOS and ~/.local/share/Anki2 on Linux. Each profile gets its own subfolder, and media such as images and audio go into a collection.media folder beside the collection file.
If you would rather skip the file hunt, upload your source material to DeckOwl and get a fresh set of cards with spaced repetition, then export them to Anki when you need them in your collection.
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the collection.anki2 file on a Mac?
It sits in ~/Library/Application Support/Anki2 inside the folder for your profile. Quit Anki before copying the file so the latest changes are saved.
How many flashcards should I make for one lecture?
Start with the key terms, definitions and cause-and-effect points, which usually means a few dozen cards per lecture. Add more only where you keep missing answers in review.
Can I export DeckOwl cards to Anki?
Yes, Anki export is included with the Plus plan at $39/year or $7.99/month. The free plan lets you study in the browser but does not include exports.
Is there a free plan?
Yes, the free plan includes 3 generations per month and browser study, and no credit card is needed to start. Students get 40% off with a school email.
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