Anki LM Studio Integration

Connect Anki to LM Studio for seamless AI-powered card generation and processing.

Features

• Integrates two open-source tools: Anki + LM Studio
• Customizable system and user prompts
• Field-based templating with {{field_name}} syntax
• Batch processing of selected cards

Prerequisites

• Anki installed
• Command line access (required for server startup)

Note: Results depend on model quality and prompt engineering. Larger models typically produce better outputs.

Quick Setup

Step 1: Install & Configure LM Studio

1. Download LM Studio

   • Get it from: https://lmstudio.ai/

2. Download a Model

   • Go to Discovery → Model Search
   • Download any chat model (recommended: llama-3.2 or similar)
   • (I did not have great success with DeepSeek but you can try, I usually use the gemma-3, it also seems that less than 4B gives horrible results)

3. Load the Model

   • Navigate to Chat tab
   • Click "Select a model to load"
   • Choose your downloaded model
   • Wait for "Model loaded" confirmation

Step 2: Start Local Server

1. Enable LLM Service

   • Go to Discovery → App Settings → Developer
   • Check "Enable Local LLM Service"

2. Start Server via Command Line

   Linux/Mac:

   # First time only (bootstrap)
   ~/.lmstudio/bin/lms bootstrap
   
   # Start server
   lms server start
   

   Windows:

   lms server start
   

Step 3: Install Anki Addon

1. Open Anki
2. Go to Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons
3. Enter addon code: 777816304
4. Restart Anki

Step 4: Test Connection

1. Open Anki Browser
2. Click LM Studio dropdown → Test Connection
3. Troubleshoot if errors occur (retry previous steps or contact developer)

Step 5: Configure Output Field

1. LM Studio dropdown → Configure Fields
2. Set Target Field to the note field that will receive AI output
3. Click Save Configuration
4. Optional: Test Preferred Model and Load Model functions

Step 6: Setup Prompts

1. LM Studio dropdown → Prompt Configuration

2. System Prompt: Define AI behavior, constraints, and response style

3. User Prompt: Your actual request/question

   • Use {{field_name}} to reference Anki fields
   • Example: {{Front}}, {{English}}, {{Definition}}
   • Works with text fields only (no image/audio support)

4. Temperature: Set randomness level (lower = more deterministic)

5. Click Save Configuration

Step 7: Process Cards

1. Select cards in Anki Browser
2. LM Studio dropdown → Process Selected Notes
3. Wait for completion

Field Templating

Reference any text field in your prompts using double braces:

• {{Front}} - Front field content
• {{Back}} - Back field content
• {{Custom_Field}} - Any custom field name

Limitations: Image and audio fields not supported.

Example Prompts

See included files for reference:

• SystemPromptExample.txt - Sample system prompt configurations
• UserPromptExample.txt - Sample user prompt templates

Use these as starting points for your own prompt engineering.

Troubleshooting

• Connection Issues: Verify LM Studio server is running
• Poor Results: Try larger models or improve prompt engineering
• Field Errors: Check field names match exactly (case-sensitive)

Demo