Getting Started with AnkiVocab
Learn how to create an account, generate cards, connect the browser extension, and review with spaced repetition.
Using the browser extension? Here is the simple version:
- Install the AnkiVocab browser extension.
- Create a connection code (API key) in your AnkiVocab account.
- Paste it into the extension settings once.
- Highlight words on any webpage and save cards in one click.
What is an API key? It is a private connection code that lets the extension securely save cards to your AnkiVocab account.
1 Create an account
Go to ankivocab.com/register and enter your email and a password.
You'll receive 5 free credits right away. Verify your email to unlock the remaining 45 bonus credits (50 total). Each credit generates one new card in your library.
You're taken to the Dashboard where you can see your credits, recent cards, and quick links to all features.
2 Generate your first card
Click Generate in the Dashboard or navigate to /dashboard/generate.
Enter a word or phrase (e.g. "resilient" or "slip off").
Select the target language if it's not English. AnkiVocab supports 10 languages.
Click Generate. The AI creates a complete card with definition, IPA, synonyms, example sentence, image, and audio.
The card is saved to your library and costs 1 credit. Looking up the same word or phrase again is free (cache hit).
Three checkboxes control the output: Image, Audio, and Spell check. Spell check catches typos before generation so you don't waste a credit on a misspelled word — if it spots one, you get a confirm step with the suggested correction.
Proficiency level: Go to Settings to set your CEFR level (A1–C2). This controls the complexity of generated example sentences.
Voice and accent: Open Settings to choose a specific voice or rotate across a curated voice pool. You can also save your own ElevenLabs voice IDs.
Out of credits? The Generate button disables and a banner points you at /pricing. Verifying your email unlocks 45 bonus credits if you haven't already.
3 Connect the browser extension
What is an API key, and why do I need it?
The browser extension needs a secure way to know which AnkiVocab account should receive your cards. Your API key works like a private connection code between the extension and your account.
Step 1: Install the extension
Install the AnkiVocab Extension from the Chrome Web Store.
Step 2: Create your private connection code
Go to Dashboard → API Keys.
Enter a name like "My browser extension" and click Create key.
Copy the key immediately. It is only shown once for your security.
Step 3: Connect the extension to your account
Click the extension icon and open Settings (gear icon).
Paste your API key and save. You only need to do this once. The extension is now connected to your AnkiVocab account.
Step 4: Generate cards from any webpage
Highlight a word or phrase on any webpage, then click the extension icon (or right-click → "Generate AnkiVocab card").
The card is generated and saved to your library instantly. Review it from the extension popup or later on ankivocab.com.
Tip: Cards generated via the extension automatically capture the source URL as context.
If you get stuck: You can always create cards directly inside AnkiVocab, even before connecting the extension.
4 Manage your card library
Your Card Library is where all generated cards live. Here you can:
- • Search by word or phrase across all your cards.
- • Filter by language, by deck, or show only cards you've ★ marked during review. Toggle the marked-only pill in the filter toolbar.
- • Sort by newest, oldest, or alphabetical.
- • Spot marked cards instantly — a small amber star appears on every tile you've flagged so it stands out even with the filter off.
- • Edit any card — change the definition, synonyms, or example sentence. Edits auto-regenerate the audio.
- • Regenerate the image directly from the card preview (hover the back-side image → ↻ button) or the library tile. First 2 regenerations are free, then 1 credit each.
- • Regenerate audio from the edit modal — useful when you've changed the example sentence or want a different voice.
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Organize cards into hierarchical decks using the
::separator (e.g. English::Business). - • Trash cards you no longer need — recoverable for 30 days from Dashboard → Trash.
5 Review cards with spaced repetition
Go to Dashboard → Review Cards. Cards due for review appear automatically.
The front side shows the definition with [...] replacing the word or phrase, the image, and the cloze sentence. Try to recall the word or phrase.
Click Show answer to reveal the word or phrase, synonyms, IPA, and hear the audio (auto-plays by default).
Rate how well you remembered:
The scheduling algorithm spaces reviews further apart as you remember better — the same approach used by Anki.
Review toolbar
A small toolbar sits above each card with three quick actions:
- ★ Star a card to mark it for later attention. Marked cards show an amber star in the library and can be filtered to in one click.
- ✎ Edit the card directly during review — changes are saved immediately.
- ↶ Undo last answer if you tapped the wrong rating. The button appears as soon as you've rated at least one card and restores the previous card's exact scheduling state. Only the most recent rating is undoable, the same way Anki's "Undo Answer Card" works.
Multiple-choice mode
Switch Settings → Exercise mode to Multiple choice if you prefer recognition over recall. The front of the card shows four options drawn from your own library; pick the right one and the card is auto-rated and advanced. Wrong picks are auto-rated Again. Gap-fill mode (the default) keeps the original recall-then-rate flow.
Keyboard shortcuts
Keep your hands on the keyboard during a review session:
- Space or Enter — flip the card to show the answer (gap-fill mode)
- 1 2 3 4 — rate the card as Again / Hard / Good / Easy once the answer is shown
- 1–4 — pick an option in multiple-choice mode (left-to-right, top-to-bottom)
Front side
Back side
6 Settings: voice, exercise mode, level
Open Dashboard → Settings to tune how cards are generated and reviewed.
Proficiency level (CEFR)
Pick A1 through C2. AnkiVocab uses your level to control example-sentence complexity — A1 keeps things short and simple, C2 allows complex clauses and nuanced vocabulary. The level is also used as a fallback when a card was originally generated for a different level: a fresh, level-appropriate example is auto-generated and shared with everyone at that level (free, served from cache after the first time).
Voice mode
- • Random: a different voice on each generation, drawn from your selected pool.
- • Specific voice: always use the same voice for every card.
Click the ► play button next to any voice to preview a sample before saving. You can also add your own ElevenLabs voice IDs in the My voices block; once added, they show up alongside the curated voices in both the Random pool and the Specific selector.
Exercise mode
- • Gap-fill (default): see the definition + cloze with [...], try to recall, click Show answer, then rate yourself 1–4.
- • Multiple choice: pick the correct word from four options (the right answer plus three distractors from your own library). Auto-rated based on whether you got it right.
Auto-play audio
When on, audio plays automatically as soon as the answer side is revealed. Turn it off if you'd rather hear pronunciations on demand.
7 Decks and Trash
Decks
Decks are how you group cards by topic, source, or any other dimension that matters to you. Visit Dashboard → Decks to create, rename, or delete a deck.
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Hierarchy — use the
::separator to create sub-decks (e.g. English::Phrasal verbs). Anki recognises the same convention on import. - • Assign a card — click Add to deck on any library tile or in the edit modal. A card can belong to more than one deck.
- • Review by deck — the deck dropdown in the review screen filters reviews to that deck (and its sub-decks).
Trash
Cards you trash from the library or the review toolbar move to Dashboard → Trash. They stay there for 30 days, then are auto-purged. Hit Restore any time before that to put a card back in your library — its review history is preserved.
8 Credits and plans
One credit = one new card in your library. Looking up a card you already have, or that another user has already generated globally, is free.
When credits are charged
- •1 credit — first time a word lands in your library (cache hit or miss).
- •Free — viewing a card already in your library, level-specific cloze auto-fill.
- •First 2 free, then 1 credit each — manual image or audio regeneration on a single card.
- •1 credit — re-generating a card you previously trashed (it's a new library entry).
Plans
See /pricing for the current credit packs (one-time, no expiry) and monthly subscriptions. Subscriptions top up credits on the same balance you spend from credit packs — nothing else to track.
9 Export to Anki
Go to Decks and find the deck you want to export.
Click the Export button. AnkiVocab generates an .apkg file with all cards and their media (images + audio).
Open the downloaded .apkg file in Anki (desktop or mobile). All cards import with their media.
:: separator (e.g. English::Travel) will export including all sub-deck cards when you export the parent.
