Home › Flashcards › Anki › Anki Filtered Deck Setup Guide

Create a filtered deck in Anki for the cards you need most

DeckOwl builds the flashcards from your material, and Anki's filtered deck feature pulls the ones you should review today.

Create flashcards nowFree · No credit card required

Drop files here or browsePDF, DOCX, PPTX, text or photos of your notes · several files with Plus

Free · First set needs no signup · Creates flashcards in seconds

Setting up a filtered deck in Anki

Filtered decks let you study a slice of a large collection without moving cards by hand. This page covers how to create a filtered deck in Anki, and shows how to make the flashcards it will hold.

Open the deck list in Anki desktop and press F or choose Tools, then Create Filtered Deck.
Write the search with Anki syntax, such as deck:Biology or is:due, to choose which cards are pulled in.
Keep the limit to one study session so the deck stays manageable and you finish it.
Empty the filtered deck when you are done so cards return to their home decks.

Example Anki filtered deck questions

What does a filtered deck in Anki do?It pulls cards from your regular decks using a search, then studies them in a temporary deck. Cards return to their home deck when you empty it.

Where do you create a filtered deck in Anki desktop?Choose Tools, then Create Filtered Deck, or press F in the deck list.

What does the search field in a filtered deck control?It decides which cards are pulled in, using Anki search syntax such as deck:Biology or is:due.

Can one card sit in two filtered decks at once?No. A card already in a filtered deck cannot be pulled into another one until it returns to its home deck.

What happens to cards when you empty a filtered deck?They return to their home deck, and their scheduling is kept or updated depending on the reschedule option you chose.

Generate the full set

Flashcards from your own files

Upload PDFs, DOCX, PPTX, plain notes or photos of pages and get flashcards built from that material.

Spaced repetition built in

Cards are scheduled for review in the browser, so you know which ones are due without sorting by hand.

Export to Anki on Plus

Send your generated flashcards to Anki as a deck, then use a filtered deck there to study a focused slice.

How it works

Generate your cards

Upload your lecture slides or notes and create a flashcard set from them.

Export the deck to Anki

On the Plus plan, export the set in Anki format and import it into Anki.

Set up the filtered deck

In Anki desktop, choose Tools, then Create Filtered Deck, enter a search, and set a card limit.

A filtered deck uses a search to pull cards from your regular decks into a temporary deck. You choose the search, a card limit and an order, and cards return to their home deck once you empty it or they are rescheduled.

If your source material is a set of lecture slides or a textbook chapter, generating the cards first gives the filtered deck something useful to filter.

Explore related topics

Create your own Anki deck with AI

Step-by-step guide to building an Anki deck from your own notes, slides or PDFs.

Get an Anki Deck on Your Phone

Turn your notes into flashcards, then export to Anki and load them on your phone app.

AI Anki Deck Maker from Your Notes

Turn PDFs, slides and notes into an Anki deck with AI, then study with spaced repetition.

Anki Deck App Download: Make Your Own

Turn your PDFs and notes into flashcards, then export to Anki on Plus.

Anki Deck App for iOS Flashcards

Turn PDFs and notes into iOS study flashcards with spaced repetition and Anki export.

Anki Deck Maker from Your Own Notes

Turn PDFs, slides and notes into an Anki-ready deck, studied in your browser.

How to Use an Anki Deck

Step-by-step guide to studying an Anki deck, plus how to make one from your own notes.

Anki Deck Maker App

Turn your PDFs, slides and notes into an Anki-ready flashcard deck with AI.

Frequently asked questions

How do I create a filtered deck in Anki on desktop?

Open Anki, choose Tools and then Create Filtered Deck, or press F from the deck list. Enter a name, write a search, set a limit and pick an order, then click Build.

How many cards should go in one filtered deck?

Keep it to what you can finish in one session, often a few dozen cards. A smaller deck is easier to review consistently than a large one you skip.

Can DeckOwl create a filtered deck for me?

DeckOwl does not set up filtered decks in Anki, but it generates flashcards that you can export to Anki and filter there. Export to Anki is a paid feature on the Plus plan.

Is exporting to Anki free?

No. Anki export is included with Plus at $39/year or $7.99/month, while the free plan lets you study in the browser only. You can start without a credit card.

Generate free flashcards

Keep exploring the topic

Review the main ideas visually or practice recalling them.