No-Sync Note Converter for Anki

No-Sync Note Converter is an Anki addon designed to change note types (e.g., Basic → Cloze) without triggering the "Full Sync Required" on AnkiWeb.

It bypasses the database schema change by performing a "Create New → Delete Old" operation. This preserves your media sync status—crucial for mobile users who want to avoid re-downloading their entire collection just because they changed a card template.

Features

• Zero-Sync Overhead: Converts notes without triggering a full database upload.
• Unified Conversion Dialog: Target note type selection and field mapping happen in one window, with dropdown-based field mapping and ordered multi-field merges. In the browser, mixed source note types can be configured from one shared conversion dialog.
• Smart Settings & Persistence: New checkboxes to control post-conversion behavior:
  • Open notes after conversion: Automatically opens the browser focused on the new notes.
  • Delete original notes: Controls whether the source notes are removed (enabled by default for zero-sync).
  • Preserve review history: Copies the selected source card's scheduling state onto the merged card and lets you choose which source card to use.
  • Remembered card choice: The selected history source card is remembered per source note type and reused later, including quick-convert runs.
  • Remove clozes: Toggle cloze stripping for non-cloze target types.
  • Target Deck: Select a specific deck for the converted notes, or click the Use source deck as target deck button to keep each converted card individually in its exact original subdeck/deck.
  • Settings are remembered for your next conversion.
• Quick Convert Presets: Save named source-to-target conversion presets from the dialog and reuse them from one-click quick convert menus that only appear for matching source note types.
• Single-Step Undo: Each conversion is merged into one Anki undo action, so Edit -> Undo restores the previous note/card state in a single step.
• GUI Config Editor: Open the config UI from Tools -> No-Sync Note Converter Config or the Add-ons Config button to edit general settings, quick presets, and saved mappings without hand-editing JSON.
• Reviewer Integration: Convert cards directly while reviewing. The addon will automatically skip to the next card and open a window to edit the new card (perfect for creating Clozes on the fly).
• Smart Field Mapping: Automatically suggests logical mappings (e.g., "Text" -> "Front", "Extra" -> "Back") while allowing full manual control.
• Cloze Stripping: Option to automatically strip {{c1::...}} syntax when converting from a Cloze note type to any non-Cloze note type.
• Deck & Tag Preservation: The new card stays in the exact same sub-deck and retains all tags.
• Safe Failure Handling: Conversions are validated before they run, and failed conversions are rolled back instead of leaving partially converted notes behind.

Installation

Install via AnkiWeb: No-Sync Note Converter

Usage

1. In the Browser (Batch Mode)

1. Select the notes you want to convert.
2. Right-Click and select No-Sync Convert Note Type, or go to Notes > No-Sync Convert Note Type.
3. Conversion Dialog: If your selection contains multiple source note types, one shared dialog lets you switch the source note type at the top and configure each one in place. Choose the target note type, then map fields with dropdown selectors below. You can add multiple source fields to one target field, and they will be merged in order.
4. In the options section, leave Preserve review history enabled if you want to copy scheduling to the new card. Use history from appears when the current source note actually has multiple cards, and the dropdown shows entries like Card 1, Card 2, plus the template name when available.
5. The old notes are deleted, new ones created, and the browser refreshes to show the new notes.
6. If needed, use Edit -> Undo once to restore the original notes/cards.

<img width="1036" height="956" alt="Screenshot_20260331_155422" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4d944c78-b912-419f-961e-6c2222b1cc6a" />

Quick Presets

1. Open the conversion dialog for a source note type.
2. Configure the target note type and field mapping.
3. Click Save Quick Preset and give the preset a custom name.
4. The preset will use the current note type as its fixed source note type.
5. Reuse it later from Notes > No-Sync Quick Convert in the browser, or from No-Sync Quick Convert in the reviewer context menu. Only presets that match the current source note type are shown.
6. Browser quick-convert uses your saved review-history preference and the last remembered Use history from card for that source note type. Reviewer quick-convert uses the card you are currently reviewing.

Preset customization: The preset name, target note type, and field mapping are customizable. The source note type is fixed automatically from the note type you created the preset from.

Config GUI

1. Open Tools > No-Sync Note Converter Config.
2. Alternatively, open Tools > Add-ons, select No-Sync Note Converter, and click Config.
3. Use the GUI tabs to edit the strip-cloze option, quick presets, and saved mappings.
4. Add/Edit actions reuse the same conversion dialog UI, so field mapping stays consistent with normal conversion.
5. In the config editor, source note type and target note type can both be changed directly inside the edit window. There is no separate source-selection popup.

2. In the Reviewer (Single Card Mode)

1. While reviewing a card, Right-Click (or click the More button).
2. Select No-Sync Convert Note Type.
3. Conversion Dialog: Choose the target note type and map the fields in the same window. You can add multiple source fields to one target field, and they will be merged in order.
4. In the options section, leave Preserve review history enabled if you want to keep scheduling on the new card. If the reviewed note currently has multiple cards, Use history from is shown and defaults to the card you are reviewing.
5. Action: The current card is converted and deleted. Anki will immediately move you to the Next Card, and a separate Browser Window will open focused on the new card so you can edit it (e.g., to add Cloze deletions).
6. If you want to revert it, use Edit -> Undo once.

Configuration (config.json)

You can customize the default behavior in config.json.

Options

• toggle_strip_cloze: (true/false) If true, removes {{c::}} syntax when converting from a Cloze note type to a non-Cloze note type.
• preserve_review_history: (true/false) If true, the conversion dialog enables review-history preservation by default.
• review_history_source_card_ord_by_model: (object) Stores the remembered source-card choice for each source note type. Values are zero-based card ordinals (0 = Card 1, 1 = Card 2, and so on).

Option Example:

{
    "toggle_strip_cloze": true,
    "preserve_review_history": true,
    "review_history_source_card_ord_by_model": {
        "Basic (and reversed card)": 1
    }
}

Mappings (Advanced)

While the GUI handles most cases, you can still define permanent rules for SourceType -> TargetType in config.json. These will be used as the default selections in the conversion dialog.

Mapping Example:

"Cloze->Basic": {
    "source_type": "Cloze",
    "target_type": "Basic",
    "field_map": {
        "Front": ["Text"],
        "Back": ["Extra"]
    }
}

Quick Convert Presets (Advanced)

Quick presets are stored in quick_convert_presets as named conversion rules that can be applied without reopening the dialog. Each preset has a fixed source_type, so a Cloze preset will not be shown for Basic notes, and a Basic preset will not be shown for Cloze notes.

The shipped config.json provides defaults, but once you edit settings in Anki, the live addon config is stored by Anki in addon metadata.

Preset Example:

"quick_convert_presets": [
    {
        "name": "Basic to Cloze",
        "source_type": "Basic",
        "target_type": "Cloze",
        "field_map": {
            "Text": ["Front", "Back"],
            "Extra": ["Extra"]
        }
    }
]

Project Layout

The addon is now split into smaller modules for easier maintenance:

• addon/__init__.py: addon entrypoint, log clear on start, update detection (auto-open Support tab), hook registration.
• addon/state.py: shared config state, defaults, constants, SUPPORT_ITEMS.
• addon/logger.py: debug logger (debug.log, 2 MiB rotation, 3 backups), clear_log_on_startup().
• addon/mapping.py: mapping validation, preset helpers, and cloze stripping.
• addon/conversion_dialog.py: main conversion dialog UI.
• addon/config_dialog.py: addon config window orchestrator (inherits SupportTabMixin).
• addon/config_tabs/: each tab in its own file — general.py, presets.py, mappings.py, log.py, tab_support.py (+ widgets.py for ADDON_PACKAGE).
• addon/operations.py: note conversion logic and custom undo handling.
• addon/browser_actions.py: Browser menu actions and quick-convert integration.
• addon/reviewer_actions.py: Reviewer context-menu actions.

See docs/architecture.md and docs/configuration.md for full architecture, variables, defaults and JSON keys. Development notes have moved to docs/development.md.

Documentation

• Architecture — module graph, data flows, hooks.
• Configuration — all config.json / meta.json keys, defaults, schemas.
• Development — versioning, build, symlink testing.
• Changelog — release history.

⚠️ Important Limitations

• Selected Card Only: Review history preservation applies to one chosen source card per converted note. If the target note creates multiple cards, the selected card's scheduling is applied to the matching card number when possible, otherwise the first new card is used. If the target note creates only one card, that single card gets the chosen source card's scheduling.
• Scheduling, Not Full Review Log: To keep conversion reliable and undoable in a single step, the addon copies the selected card's scheduling state to the new card, but it does not rewrite old revlog entries onto the new card.
• Full Sync vs. Media Sync: This addon prevents a "Full Database Sync," but if you change media filenames or add images, a media sync will still occur (which is normal and fast).
• Stale Presets/Mappings: If source or target fields are renamed later, the addon will block the conversion and ask you to reopen the conversion dialog and update the mapping.

Support

If you find this add-on useful, please consider supporting its development:

License

MIT License. Free to use and modify.