Import an Anki deck
Bring Anki decks into Swiftflip from apkg or colpkg files, including images, audio and formatting, and learn what does and does not transfer.
Swiftflip imports Anki decks directly, so you can move years of cards across without retyping. This guide covers the export, the import and what carries over. For the bigger picture, see why people pick Swiftflip as an Anki alternative.
Export your deck from Anki
In Anki, export the deck you want as an .apkg file. Swiftflip also reads .colpkg collection files. If an export will not import, open it in a recent version of Anki and export it again as .apkg.
Open Import in Swiftflip
On iPhone or iPad, open Settings then Import Decks. On Mac, use File then Import. Pick your Anki file, then choose which decks to bring in.
What transfers
Swiftflip brings over the parts of a deck you rely on:
- decks and their names
- card fronts and backs
- images and audio on cards
- bold, italic, underline and links
- cloze deletions, with the hidden part marked
What does not transfer
A few things are left behind, on purpose or by limitation:
- Study history. Cards come in fresh, so scheduling starts from your first practice in Swiftflip.
- Video. Video files are skipped, and Swiftflip tells you how many.
- Very new packages. A newer compressed Anki format may not import. Export again as
.apkgand it will.
Existing decks and duplicates
If a deck with the same name already exists, the cards are added to it instead of making a copy. Cards whose front and back already exist are skipped, so a repeat import will not flood a deck with duplicates.
After the import
Open a deck and skim a few cards to check the formatting and media. Spaced repetition starts the next time you practice. If you also have cards in spreadsheets or other apps, the CSV import guide covers that route.