How to download and install Anki on Mac

Which version to download

Anki has separate builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. To know which one you need:

1. Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
2. If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, take the build for Apple Silicon. If you see Processor with Intel, take the one for Intel.

The current Anki needs macOS 13 Ventura or later. Older releases for older systems are linked from the same page. Download Anki only from apps.ankiweb.net: apps with similar names in the App Store are made by other developers.

How to install Anki

1. Open the downloaded Anki .dmg in your Downloads folder.
2. In the window that opens, drag Anki to the Applications folder.

3. Eject the Anki disk: click the eject button next to it in the Finder sidebar.
4. Open Anki from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.

To update Anki later, quit it and install the new version over the old one the same way: your cards stay.

What to set up after the first launch

• Sync. Create a free account on ankiweb.net, then click Sync at the top of Anki’s main window and sign in. Your cards and progress then sync with AnkiMobile or AnkiDroid on your phone.
• Your collection. Cards, review history and media live in ~/Library/Application Support/Anki2. Decks with images and audio make it grow. Anki also keeps automatic backups there.
• Add-ons. They come from the add-ons section of AnkiWeb and are written by other people: install only the ones you trust.
• The installer. Move the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash once Anki runs.

If Anki won’t install or open

• «Anki is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from apps.ankiweb.net.
• Anki doesn’t start on an older Mac. Check your macOS version in About This Mac: the current Anki needs macOS 13 or later. Take an older release from the same page.
• Anki stopped opening after you added an add-on. Hold down Shift while you open Anki: it starts with add-ons turned off, and you can remove the one that breaks it.