Choose a card type and write cards
Basic, reversed, cloze, type-the-answer and image occlusion cards. What each one is for, how to write it, and the formatting a card can use.
A note is what you write. It makes one or more cards, and each card is one thing you review. The type decides how many cards a note makes and how you answer.
Write a card
- Open a deck and choose Add card. You can also use + then New card on the Flashcards page, or New flashcard in the command palette.
- Pick the type at the top of the editor, and the Deck if you have several.
- Fill in the fields. The Preview shows the card as you review it.
- Choose Add, or press Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Linux) to add it and start the next one.
Add tags labels the card: separate tags with spaces or commas. A field holds up to 20,000 characters. To change a card later, click it in the deck's Cards list, or press E during a review.
The five types
| Type | Cards it makes |
|---|---|
| Basic | One: a question, then its answer |
| Reversed | Two: front to back, and back to front |
| Cloze | One for each number in the text |
| Type the answer | One: you type the answer and Prior compares it with the right one |
| Image occlusion | One for each group of masks on a picture |
Cards of the same note are not introduced on the same day: the reverse of a card, or the next blank of a cloze, waits for another day.
Cloze cards
A cloze card hides words inside a sentence. Wrap each answer in {{c1::...}}:
Paris is the capital of {{c1::France}} and sits on the {{c2::Seine}}.This note makes two cards. On the first, France is hidden. On the second, Seine is. Add a hint after the answer, {{c1::France::a country}}, and it shows in place of the blank. Words with the same number are hidden together.
You do not have to type the braces. Select words and choose […] (Cmd+Shift+C) to use the next number. Add Alt to the shortcut to reuse the last number. Typing {{c1:: also switches the type to Cloze. The Extra (optional) field shows under the answer.
Type-the-answer cards
Write the question in the front and the exact, short answer in the back. In a review you type your answer, then see it compared letter by letter: what is right, what is wrong, what is missing. Capitals, accents and extra spaces do not count. Prior outlines the rating it suggests, Good for a match and Again if not, and you still choose. Use it for spellings, formulas, commands and dates.
Image occlusion cards
Hide parts of a picture, one card per part. It suits anatomy, maps and diagrams.
- Choose Image occlusion, then drop, paste or choose an image (PNG, JPG, SVG or WebP, at most 8 MB).
- Draw over what you want to hide. Shape switches between Box and Oval. Each mask is one card.
- Select a mask to move it, resize it, or give it a Label, the text shown with the answer. Shift or Cmd/Ctrl selects several, and Delete removes them.
- Group hides several masks together on one card. Ungroup splits them.
- Choose a Mode: Hide all, where every mask covers the picture and you guess one, or Hide one, where only the asked mask is covered.
A note needs an image and at least one mask to be saved.
Format a card
Fields are Markdown, as in notes.
| You write | You get |
|---|---|
**bold**, *italic*, ~~strike~~ | Bold, italic, strikethrough |
==text== | A highlight. Select words and use the Ab button, or Cmd+Shift+H. |
[text]{.red}, [text]{.bg-green} | Colored text, or a colored highlight: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink or gray |
$x^2$, $$\frac{a}{b}$$ | Math in LaTeX |
| A table or a chart | The same table or chart as in a note |
 | A picture from the web |
A block that starts with three backticks and mermaid draws a diagram. One that starts with three backticks and svg and holds an <svg> element is drawn as a picture. Prior AI and Claude use these to put small figures on cards.
Good to know
- A card needs a front, and a back as well unless it is a cloze card. The editor tells you what is missing.
- Pictures from an Anki import, from Claude and from the occlusion editor are stored with your account like note attachments.
- For advice on writing cards that stick, read Write better flashcards.
Updated 5 November 2026