flashcards-mcp

A spaced repetition flashcard MCP server for Claude. Uses the FSRS-5 algorithm (successor to Anki's SM-2) with an interactive card UI, text-to-speech, and image support.

Install

npx (quickest)

npx flashcards-mcp

Add to ~/.claude/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flashcards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["flashcards-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

curl (auto-configures Claude)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zcsabbagh/flashcards-mcp/main/install.sh | bash

Homebrew

brew tap zcsabbagh/tap
brew install flashcards-mcp

Then add to ~/.claude/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flashcards": {
      "command": "flashcards-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Usage

After restarting Claude, try:

"create a deck called Algorithms" — creates a new deck
"add a card: What is Big O? / A notation for algorithm time complexity" — adds a card
"get due cards" — opens the interactive flashcard UI
"get due cards for deck 1" — filters to a specific deck

Keyboard shortcuts (in the flashcard UI)

Key	Action
Space / Enter	Flip card
1-4	Rate (Again, Hard, Good, Easy)
Arrow Left/Right	Previous/Next card
V	Toggle voiceover (requires ElevenLabs API key)

Images

Cards support images on front and back faces:

"add a card with front_image from /path/to/image.png"
"set card 5 front image to https://example.com/photo.jpg"

Text-to-Speech

Add your ElevenLabs API key to the MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flashcards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["flashcards-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ELEVENLABS_API_KEY": "sk_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Tool	Description
`create_deck`	Create a new deck
`list_decks`	List all decks with stats
`add_card`	Add a single card (supports markdown, images)
`bulk_add_cards`	Add multiple cards at once
`get_due_cards`	Get due cards with interactive UI
`review_card`	Submit a rating (1-4)
`search_cards`	Search cards by keyword
`get_deck_stats`	Mastery distribution, retention rate
`get_card_image`	Lazy-load card images
`set_card_image`	Add/replace card images
`tts`	Text-to-speech via ElevenLabs
`delete_card`	Delete a card
`delete_deck`	Delete a deck and all its cards
`get_review_history`	Card scheduling history

How it works

FSRS-5 algorithm schedules reviews based on stability, difficulty, and elapsed time
SQLite stores everything locally at ~/.claude/mcp-servers/flashcards/data/flashcards.db
MCP App UI renders an interactive flashcard widget directly in Claude's chat
Images stored as base64 in the database, lazy-loaded one at a time
Markdown supported in card content (code blocks, lists, headers, etc.)

License

MIT