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Show HN: NotesAnkify – Convert PDF Notes to Anki Flashcards Automatically(No AI)
Inspired by Steph Ango's "File over app" philosophy [https://stephanango.com/file-over-app https://stephanango.com/file-over-app], I built NotesAnkify to address a frustration with modern note-taking apps: their ephemeral, locked-in flashcard features.
While apps like GoodNotes and Notability keep building and rebuilding flashcard features that come and go with updates, Anki has remained a reliable, open-source spaced repetition system for over 16 years. Its plain text deck format and open API make it more aligned with the "file over app" ethos - your flashcards remain accessible and portable.
NotesAnkify bridges this gap. It lets you export flashcards in your notes from any note-taking app (GoodNotes, Notability, OneNote, Nebo, etc.) and converts them into Anki flashcards that you own and can take anywhere.
What it does:
- Automatically processes PDFs from any note-taking app (GoodNotes, Notability, OneNote, Nebo etc.)
- Detects flashcards using either QUESTION/ANSWER markers or dimensions.
- Maintains proper deck hierarchy based on folder structure.
- Prevents duplicates using SHA-256 content hashing.
- Works on MacOS, Windows, and Linux
Tech stack:
- Go for the backend processing.
- Fyne framework (https://fyne.io/ https://fyne.io/) for GUI.
- Integration with AnkiConnect API.
- Ginkgo for testing framework.
The entire project is open source [https://github.com/kpauljoseph/notesankify https://github.com/kpauljoseph/notesankify]
Documentation: [https://notesankify.com/docs https://notesankify.com/docs]
- pmdulaney 2y agoI love that "No AI" is a selling point for this product. It isn't, IMO, that AI must be avoided at all costs (a futile endeavor, surely), but it is to be avoided as a matter of course.
- pauljo 2y agoThanks for the comment! I should clarify - the "No AI" header wasn't meant to be rude or as a stance against AI, but rather to set clear expectations about what NotesAnkify does. There are several excellent tools that use LLMs to automatically generate flashcards from entire notebooks, but NotesAnkify has a different focus: it simply helps you extract and transfer flashcards you've already created into Anki.
- pmdulaney 2y agoNo, I didn't mean to project my view onto you!