OPEN AN .APKG ONLINE
Klappa opens Anki .apkg files in any web browser, with no Anki install. Sign in free, drop the file into the Anki Portal, and browse or study its cards with their images, audio and schedule.
THE SHORT ANSWER
To open an .apkg file online, sign in to Klappa, open the Anki Portal and press Import .apkg. Klappa reads the package in your browser and turns it into a deck you can browse card by card and study right away.
An .apkg is an Anki Deck Package: a zip file holding a small database of notes and cards plus the deck's images and audio. You cannot read it by double-clicking it on a computer without Anki. Klappa is the viewer and the study app in one, and it is free, with no paid tier.
Klappa needs an account because the deck is saved to it. That is what lets you close the tab and find the same deck later on the website or in Klappa for Mac.
STEP BY STEP
Klappa opens an .apkg on its website, so there is nothing to install. Any current web browser works.
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FILE
Klappa parses the .apkg in your browser, in a background worker, using a database reader bundled with the app. The file itself is not sent to a server to be unpacked.
What gets stored is the result. For most decks, the images and audio are uploaded to Klappa's cloud storage, stored once by their content, so the same file is not uploaded twice. The notes, cards, note types and schedule are saved to your Klappa account, which is how the deck reaches your other devices.
Packages of 250 MB or more take a different route on the website: Klappa streams the file instead of loading it whole, checks there is enough free space first, and keeps that deck's media on the device you imported on. Notes and scheduling still sync to your account, but those images will not show on other devices.
WHAT YOU SEE
Klappa renders cards through its own implementation of Anki's template syntax, so fields, cloze, conditionals and custom CSS carry over and a deck looks like the deck its author built, not a stripped text dump. Scripts inside card templates do not run. For the full list, see what comes across from Anki.
| Inside the .apkg | In Klappa |
|---|---|
| Notes, cards and note types, including custom templates and CSS | Imported and rendered. Template scripts do not run |
| Deck and subdeck hierarchy | Kept as a nested deck tree |
| Images and audio | Imported and attached to their cards |
| Cloze cards | Imported |
| Image Occlusion cards | Imported, with masks drawn |
| Each card's interval, due date, ease, reviews and lapses | Imported, so in the normal case a card due tomorrow in Anki is due tomorrow in Klappa |
| FSRS stability, difficulty and last review date | Imported when Anki stored them |
| Suspended and buried cards | Kept suspended or buried |
| The per-answer review log | Not imported. Klappa starts its own log from your first review |
SIZE LIMITS
On the Klappa website, one .apkg can be up to 1.9 GB, and the collection inside it must also fit within 1.9 GB once decompressed. A deck past that limit gets one plain message instead of a failed upload.
Klappa for Mac does not use the website's upload cap and reads the collection with a native reader. It runs on macOS 11 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel; get it from the download page. The iPhone and iPad app is submitted to Apple and not yet on the App Store.
For scale: a 39.1 MB pathology deck with 3,605 cards and 556 media files reached its first studyable card in 47.3 seconds in our own timed run on the website.
MORE THAN A VIEWER
In Klappa, an Anki Portal deck studies as flashcard review on each card's imported schedule, with custom study, filtered decks and a card browser. How Klappa times reviews is explained on the scheduling page.
From a portal deck's menu, Add to Klappa Library copies the cards into a new private Klappa deck. That copy starts its own schedule and studies four ways: Flashcards, Learn (multiple choice), Write for typed answers and Test for a graded pass. The original Anki deck is never changed.
You can also start a brand-new deck from an .apkg: Klappa turns Basic, Cloze and multiple-choice note types into cards you can edit right away. And if you want the deck back in Anki, Export .apkg in the deck's menu writes it out again, with review history optional. Coming from Anki for good? Read why people switch to Klappa.
QUESTIONS
Yes. Klappa opens .apkg files in any current web browser. Sign in, open the Anki Portal, press Import .apkg and drop the file in. You can then browse every card and study the deck without installing Anki.
Yes. Klappa saves the imported deck to your account so you can come back to it, so the importer only runs when you are signed in. The account is free.
Klappa unpacks the file in your browser. For most decks it then uploads the images and audio to Klappa's cloud storage and saves the notes, cards and schedule to your account. For packages of 250 MB or more, media stays on the device you imported on.
Yes, if the file was exported with Include scheduling information ticked. Klappa imports each card's interval, due date, ease, reviews and lapses. The per-answer review log is not imported. The import guide walks through the export settings.
The Klappa website importer takes .apkg files only. In Anki, use File, then Export, choose Anki Deck Package (.apkg) and pick the deck you want; its subdecks come with it.
Up to 1.9 GB per file, with the collection inside also under 1.9 GB once decompressed. Klappa for Mac does not use the website's upload cap. More answers are in the Klappa FAQ.