carddown is a command-line flashcard application designed for users who maintain their notes in text files. It extracts questions and answers from existing documents rather than requiring a separate collection of flashcard decks.
The application combines an interactive terminal review interface with local scheduling and progress tracking. Study information is maintained separately from the original notes, allowing the documents to remain readable and editable using conventional tools.
carddown is particularly useful for learners who want to incorporate active recall into an established note-taking workflow. Its support for several scheduling algorithms and configurable review sessions provides flexibility without introducing a complex card management environment.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Extracts flashcards from Markdown, plain-text and Org files.
- Supports single-line and multiline question-and-answer cards.
- Recognises flashcards using markers including #flashcard.
- Interactive terminal interface for reviewing cards.
- SM2, SM5 and Simple8 spaced repetition algorithms.
- Review quality grades ranging from 0 to 5.
- Configurable limits on review session duration and card count.
- Incremental scanning processes only modified files.
- Content hashing allows cards to survive file moves and edits.
- Filter review sessions using topic tags.
- Cram mode ignores normal scheduling restrictions.
- Optionally reverse questions and answers during revision.
- Audit facilities for orphaned cards and frequently failed cards.
- SQLite storage for card data, review history and scanning information.
- Per-vault configuration with optional external storage for learning state.
- Import and export facilities for backing up and transferring study data.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux and macOS.
Website: github.com/martintrojer/carddown
Support:
Developer: Martin Trojer
License: MIT License
carddown is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Terminal-Based Flashcard Software | |
|---|---|
| hashcards | Plain text-based spaced repetition system for flashcards |
| repeater | Like a lightweight, text-based Anki you run in your terminal |
| mdfc | Learn with flashcards and spaced repetition |
| hascard | Minimal command-line utility for reviewing notes |
| HardV | Billed as a powerful cross-platform flashcard program |
| Vocage | Minimalistic terminal-based vocabulary-learning tool |
| Flashdown | Spaced repetition using flashcards in Markdown |
| carddown | Spaced repetition for markdown notes |
| terminal-anki | Keyboard-driven flashcards with spaced repetition and Anki imports |
| GoCard | Markdown-based flashcard system with spaced repetition |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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