Anki add-ons you don't need in Encodr
Heatmap, leaderboard, gamification and AI card-maker add-ons, mapped to what Encodr has built in - plus the Anki add-ons Encodr has no answer for.
Half of setting up Anki is installing add-ons: one for a heatmap, one for a leaderboard, one to make it feel less like a chore. They are great, and they are also the reason a fresh Anki install doesn't feel finished. When I built Encodr I put the ones I kept installing into the app itself.
Here is the honest mapping: what each common add-on does, what Encodr has instead, and the add-ons Encodr has no replacement for.
Built in, no add-on needed
| What the add-on gives you | In Encodr |
|---|---|
| Review heatmap - a calendar of the days you studied, with your streak | Activity heatmap and streak on your profile, with streak freezes for the days you miss |
| Leaderboard - compare reviews and streaks with friends | Friends leaderboard; add friends by username and nudge the ones who fall behind |
| Gamification - points, levels, something to chase | XP, levels, three daily quests, and a celebration when your streak goes up or a set is done |
| Sessions in bites - break a long review into chunks | Every session is cut into sets of 15-25 answers, with a break screen between them |
| AI card generation - turn notes into cards | Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your account and it writes the cards into Encodr (setup) |
| Mobile review - AnkiMobile is a paid iPhone app | The Encodr iPhone app is free, and studying works offline |
| Shared deck syncing - get updates from a deck's author | Decks shared by link stay linked; "Update from original" pulls the author's changes |
There is also one thing Anki has no add-on for: the feed. Instead of opening a review session, your due cards show up in a scroll, and every card you answer there counts in the schedule. If your problem is starting, not the cards, that is the part that matters - why I built it that way.
Add-ons Encodr has no answer for
- Image occlusion. Not supported. Imported occlusion cards are skipped. If your deck is built on labelled diagrams, keep it in Anki.
- Custom card templates and styling. Encodr has fixed card types (question and answer, cloze, multiple choice, true or false, typed, ordering) with one look.
- Scheduler tuning (FSRS settings, custom steps). Encodr has one fixed interval ladder and no settings for it.
- Audio and images on cards. Encodr cards are text today.
- Anything niche. Anki has thousands of add-ons. Encodr has none, on purpose: what's in the app is what everyone gets, and nothing breaks on an update.
Moving over
If your decks are mostly text and cloze, you can bring them with you: export the .apkg from Anki with "Support older Anki versions" ticked and import it on encodr.app. What comes across and what doesn't has the details.
Encodr is free in your browser at encodr.app and on the App Store.
Encodr turns this into a habit: study anything in a feed, and it schedules the rest.
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