Import an Anki deck into Lietner

By Ahmed Eltigani · Updated 19 October 2026

How do I import an Anki deck into Lietner?

Export the deck from Anki desktop as Notes in Plain Text (.txt) with Include HTML and media references unticked. Then, in Lietner, open the deck editor, expand Import JSON, CSV or Anki text export, choose the file and select Import. Your cards arrive in box 1, ready to review. It takes about two minutes.

The numbered steps on this page cover the short version. The rest of this page explains each setting, what carries over, and what doesn't.

Which Anki export settings should I use?

Anki's plain-text export writes each note on one line, with fields separated by tabs (Anki manual: Exporting, checked 19 October 2026). In recent versions of Anki desktop, the dialog shows a few checkboxes (option names and defaults (dialog layout, dialog code) in Anki's source code, checked 19 October 2026). Here's what to do with each:

Anki also writes a few lines at the top of the file that start with #, such as #separator:tab. Lietner skips those lines, so you don't need to delete them.

How does Lietner read the file?

Lietner takes the first column as the front of each card and the second column as the back. Anything after that, like tags or a third field, is ignored. It works out whether the file uses tabs, commas, semicolons or pipes on its own.

For a Basic note, that's exactly right: Front becomes the front, Back becomes the back. A few things are worth knowing:

• Notes with more than two fields. Only the first two come across. If your note type puts the answer in a later field, rearrange the fields in Anki first, or edit the cards in Lietner afterwards.
• "Basic (and reversed card)" notes become one card in Lietner, front to back. There's no automatic reverse card.
• Empty fields. A row with no front or no back is skipped, and Lietner tells you how many.
• Long fields. Each side can hold up to 1,000 characters. Longer rows are skipped and counted, so you can shorten them in Anki and import again.

Before you select Import, Lietner shows how many cards are ready and how many rows it skipped, so you can check the numbers first.

What doesn't carry over from Anki?

To be upfront about it:

• Scheduling. Your intervals, ease and review history stay in Anki. Every card starts fresh in box 1, due today, and moves through the five Leitner boxes from there.
• Images, audio and video. Lietner cards are text only.
• Cloze deletions. The {{c1::...}} markers come through as plain text. Rewrite cloze notes as questions, or leave them in Anki.
• Formatting. Bold, colours, lists and maths markup become plain text.
• .apkg files. Lietner can't open them. Use the plain-text export instead.

If most of your deck is images, cloze or audio, Anki is the better home for it. Our page on Lietner as an Anki alternative is honest about who should stay.

Can I import a big Anki deck?

Yes, within Lietner's limits: up to 5,000 cards in total, across up to 100 decks. If your Anki collection is bigger than that, move one subject at a time, starting with whatever you're studying now.

Keep in mind that all imported cards land in box 1 and are due on the same day. For a deck of a few hundred cards, consider splitting it into smaller decks, or importing a chapter at a time, so your first session isn't a wall of cards.

What if my file isn't from Anki?

The same importer reads any CSV or TSV file. Put the front in the first column and the back in the second. A header row is optional: Lietner recognises front/back, question/answer, term/definition, word/meaning and q/a, and uses those columns wherever they are. Quizlet exports work the same way, as described on the Quizlet alternative page. You can also skip files entirely and let your own AI write the cards.

Ready to move a deck? Open Lietner and follow the steps on this page.