How to Import Anki Decks into Deck Duck (.apkg Guide)

Already built the perfect deck in Anki? You don't have to start over. Deck Duck imports standard Anki deck packages (.apkg) directly — fronts, backs, and even images and audio — so you can keep every card you've made and study it with adaptive practice, AI stories, and live battles.

The whole process takes about two minutes. Here's exactly how to do it.

What you'll need

• The Anki desktop app (Windows, Mac, or Linux) with the deck you want to move
• A free Deck Duck account

That's it. There are no plugins to install and no spreadsheets to reformat.

Step 1: Export your deck from Anki as an .apkg file

1. Open Anki on your computer.
2. In the deck list, click the gear icon next to the deck you want to export (or right-click the deck) and choose Export.
3. Keep the export format as Anki Deck Package (.apkg) — this is the default.
4. If your cards use pictures or audio, leave Include media checked so they come along.
5. Click Export and save the .apkg file somewhere easy to find, like your Desktop.

Tip: You can export a single subdeck the same way — click the gear next to the subdeck instead of the parent deck.

Step 2: Import the .apkg file into Deck Duck

1. Log in to Deck Duck and go to Dashboard → Decks.
2. Click New deck.
3. Give your deck a name and choose its visibility (private, friends, or public).
4. Choose Import cards from… → Anki.
5. Click the file picker, select the .apkg file you just exported, and confirm.

Deck Duck unpacks the file, reads your notes, and creates a card for every front/back pair. Images and audio attached to your cards are uploaded automatically.

What gets imported

A few practical limits to know:

• Imports are capped at 5,000 cards per deck.
• Up to 600 media files (images and audio) are carried over per import — media past that point is skipped, but the card text still imports.
• Anki's scheduling history doesn't transfer. Your cards start fresh in Deck Duck's spaced-repetition system, which adapts to you as you review.

Step 3: Start studying

Once the import finishes, your new deck works like any other Deck Duck deck. From here you can:

• Create a practice room for spaced-repetition review that automatically resurfaces cards when they're due.
• Battle with your own cards — quiz yourself against the clock or challenge a friend using your imported vocabulary.
• Generate stories that weave your deck's vocabulary into graded reading practice with comprehension quizzes.

Troubleshooting

My .apkg file won't upload. Make sure you exported using Anki's Anki Deck Package (.apkg) format, not "Notes in Plain Text" or a .colpkg collection backup. Collection backups contain your entire Anki profile and aren't supported — export the individual deck instead.

Some images or audio are missing. Check that Include media was ticked during export. Very large decks may also hit the 600-media-file cap; the cards themselves still import.

My deck has more than 5,000 cards. Split it into smaller subdecks in Anki and export each one separately.

My cards use cloze deletions or multi-field templates. Deck Duck imports each note's first two fields as front and back. Complex templates are flattened, so double-check a few cards after importing.

Import from Quizlet too

Coming from Quizlet instead? The process is just as quick — see our companion guide: How to Import Quizlet Sets into Deck Duck.

Ready to move your decks? Create a free Deck Duck account and import your first Anki deck in the next two minutes.