Setup wizard

Five minutes to first card.

Everything runs on your machine. These steps happen once.

Install Anki (free) and open it once

Desktop versions are free on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Launch it once before continuing — Deckhand talks to a running Anki. (First launch creates your collection; you'll see the deck list.)

Download Anki ↗

Add the AnkiConnect add-on

In Anki: Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons…, paste this code, restart Anki:

2055492159

This local add-on lets apps on your own computer write into your collection. It listens only on 127.0.0.1 — nothing outside your machine can reach it.

Install Deckhand & connect your assistant

Grab the plugin from your assistant's directory (search "Deckhand"), or install directly:

git clone https://github.com/deckhand-anki/deckhand.git
cd deckhand && uv sync
uv run deckhand-mcp   # stdio MCP server

Then point your assistant at it:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deckhand": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/deckhand", "run", "deckhand-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop / Claude Code / Codex / any MCP client: same shape. Directory listings make this step one click once approved.

Say the magic words

In any conversation: "Make cards from this conversation" or "turn this PDF into cloze cards in Med school::Endo." Your first cards land in your deck in seconds.

Troubleshooting: "cannot reach AnkiConnect" means Anki isn't running (or step 2's restart didn't happen). Everything else — dedupe, cloze rules, exports — is handled automatically.

What does Pro add? ↗ Read the source ↗