Anki Desktop in Docker

This project is inspired by pnorcross/anki-desktop-docker, with a few tweaks. It provides a Dockerfile that uses linuxserver/docker-baseimage-kasmvnc as the base image to run the desktop version of Anki inside a container.

Why? Because it makes automating Anki (with addons like AnkiConnect) easier.

The Anki desktop app runs in a browser (via VNC) on port 3000. Your Anki data is stored in anki_data mounted as a volume at '/config` inside the container.

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Requirements

• Docker
• Docker Compose (usually bundled with newer Docker versions)
• Ubuntu (focus is on Linux, but Docker can work on Windows too with a slightly different setup)
• cron (for scheduling tasks)
• AnkiConnect addon (to enable scripting Anki via port 8765)

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Files in This Repo

Dockerfile

Builds the container with Anki 25.07.5 You can change the Anki version, but compatibility may vary.

docker_installation

Contains commands to install Docker on Ubuntu.

cleanup

Helps clean up system resources. Anki seems to have a memory leak—on systems with only 1GB RAM, the container might become unresponsive after ~1 day. You can use cron to run cleanup every 12h.

backup

Uses curl to call AnkiConnect (on port 8765) to create a backup. Schedule this with cron for daily backups.

sync

Also uses curl to call AnkiConnect. It forces a sync and optionally reschedules cards (useful with FSRS + AnkiDroid combo).

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How to run

If you want you can run this using the image mlcivilengineer/anki-desktop-docker which is automatically built using Github Actions in this repo. Use the following command:

docker run -d \
    --name anki-desktop \
    -e PUID=1000 \
    -e PGID=1000 \
    -v "$(pwd)/anki_data:/config" \
    -p 3000:3000 \
    -p 8765:8765 \
    mlcivilengineer/anki-desktop-docker:main

Then open your browser and head to:

http://localhost:3000

Press Enter after Anki is installed for the first time. Now you can use it as normal. In order to sync with the other clients, put your sync information in the Sync tab.

Docker Compose Setup

If you prefer docker compose instead, use the docker-compose.yml in the root of the repo:

services:
  anki-desktop:
    image: mlcivilengineer/anki-desktop-docker:main
    build:
      context: ./
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
    volumes:
      - ./anki_data:/config
    ports:
      - 3000:3000  # Web UI
      - 8765:8765  # AnkiConnect

To get started:

git clone <this-repo>
cd anki-desktop-docker
docker compose up -d

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AnkiConnect Configuration

If you want to expose the Anki client to http requests, make sure to install the AnkiConnect Add-on and to configure the Add-on with:

{
    "apiKey": null,
    "apiLogPath": null,
    "ignoreOriginList": [],
    "webBindAddress": "0.0.0.0",
    "webBindPort": 8765,
    "webCorsOrigin": "http://localhost",
    "webCorsOriginList": ["*"]
}

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Cron Example

Open your crontab:

crontab -e

And add:

0 8 * * * (~/anki-desktop-docker/sync && date) >> ~/sync.log 2>&1
0 9 * * * (~/anki-desktop-docker/backup && date) >> ~/backup.log 2>&1
0 10,22 * * * (~/anki-desktop-docker/cleanup && date) >> ~/cleanup.log 2>&1

This sets up:

• 8:00 UTC — Sync
• 9:00 UTC — Backup
• 10:00 & 22:00 UTC — Cleanup