Anki Enforcer

Anki Enforcer is an Anki add-on that keeps you in study mode until your chosen decks are done for the day. While required decks are incomplete, it can block close/minimize, force the main window back to full size, show warning popups, and try to reclaim focus if you switch away.

What It Does

• Blocks closing while required decks are incomplete
• Blocks minimizing and pushes the main window back to full-size mode
• Re-enters full-size mode if you restore down, drag, or resize the window
• Shows warning popups with bundled images and messages
• Supports password-protected fallback bypass
• Protects settings once enforcement is active
• Can launch Anki automatically at Windows login

Installation

Choose one of these approaches.

Install From Source Folder

1. Download the repository as a ZIP file and extract it.
2. Locate your Anki add-ons folder: %APPDATA%\Anki2\addons21\
3. Copy the extracted Anki_Enforcer folder into addons21.
4. Restart Anki.

Download

1. In Anki, go to Tools > Add-ons > Get add-ons
2. Enter the code 494395452 (https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/494395452)
3. Restart Anki.

Quick Start

1. Open Tools > Anki Enforcer Settings or click Focus Settings on Anki's home screen.
2. Enable the add-on.
3. Select one or more required decks.
4. Pick a focus lock strength: Standard focus lock uses lighter focus reclaim. Aggressive focus lock uses repeated focus reclaim attempts.
5. Set a fallback password.
6. Save.

Completion rule: a required deck counts as complete when there are no more cards scheduled for review that day.

Daily Behavior

When Required Decks Are Incomplete

• Closing Anki is blocked.
• Minimizing Anki is blocked.
• If you restore down, drag, or resize the main window, it is forced back to full-size mode.
• If you switch to another app, the add-on shows a warning popup and attempts to bring Anki back to the foreground.

When Required Decks Are Complete

• Enforcement is released.
• Anki returns to normal close/minimize behavior.

You can check current status anytime in settings under Current study status.

Settings

Focus Lock Strength

• Standard focus lock: lighter focus reclaim after true app leave.
• Aggressive focus lock: repeated focus reclaim attempts after true app leave.

Fallback Password

The fallback password is used for:

• activating fallback bypass
• opening protected settings while enforcement is active

Wrong passwords are rejected, and repeated failures trigger a temporary lockout.

Protected Settings

Once the add-on is enabled, decks are selected, and a password is set:

• opening settings requires the fallback password
• successful entry unlocks settings temporarily
• active fallback bypass also allows settings access

Fallback Bypass

If you need to exit Anki urgently:

1. Open settings.
2. Click Activate Fallback Bypass.
3. Enter your fallback password.
4. Enforcement stays disabled until you manually turn the bypass off.

To resume enforcement, open settings and click Disable Fallback Bypass.

Popups And Assets

Popup Images

You can add your own popup images:

1. Open the add-on folder in %APPDATA%\Anki2\addons21\[addon_folder]\
2. Open assets\images\
3. Add image files such as PNG, JPG, SVG, WEBP, or BMP
4. Restart Anki

If no valid image is available, the popup falls back to text-only mode.

Popup Messages

The current implementation uses bundled popup messages. Message editing is not exposed in the UI right now.

Popup Timing

• Popup duration is configurable in settings
• Default duration is 4 seconds
• You can trigger a test popup from settings

Windows Auto-Start

Windows auto-start is controlled from the settings dialog.

1. Click Browse... next to Anki executable path
2. Select anki.exe
3. Save
4. Click Enable Auto-Start

The helper script is scripts/anki_autostart.ps1.

Example commands:

powershell -File .\scripts\anki_autostart.ps1 -Action status
powershell -File .\scripts\anki_autostart.ps1 -Action enable
powershell -File .\scripts\anki_autostart.ps1 -Action disable

See AUTO_START_WINDOWS.md for more detail.

Troubleshooting

Add-on Seems Inactive

• Make sure the add-on is enabled in settings
• Make sure at least one required deck is selected
• Check Current study status
• Restart Anki

Wrong Study Status

• Click Refresh Status
• Confirm the selected decks actually still have cards due today

Locked Out Of Settings

• Use the fallback password
• If the password is forgotten, you may need to reset the add-on configuration manually

Auto-Start Issues

• Confirm the configured path points to the correct anki.exe
• Use Refresh Auto-Start
• Disable and re-enable auto-start to recreate the launcher

Popup Images Do Not Show

• Make sure valid image files exist in assets\images
• Restart Anki after adding or replacing images

Limitations

• Focus reclaim is best-effort, not a full kiosk-mode Windows lock
• Some system-level shortcuts may still briefly switch away before Anki is brought back
• Exact behavior can vary across Anki and Qt versions
• In-app Anki flows are filtered to reduce false warnings, but edge cases can still exist

Testing

• Automated tests: python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
• Manual live-Anki scenarios: tests/MANUAL_TEST_SCENARIOS.md
• QA checklist: QA_CHECKLIST.md

Project Layout

• Root __init__.py: Anki add-on entrypoint
• anki_enforcer/: main package
• anki_enforcer/ui/: settings and popup UI
• anki_enforcer/services/: enforcement, fallback, and progress logic
• scripts/: packaging and Windows auto-start helpers