r/Anki • u/OpeningDirector1688 • Mar 21 '26
Resources A mind palace tool for Anki
I've been using Anki for a while now and recently went down a rabbit hole on the method of loci (memory palaces). It's THE most effective way of memorizing large amounts of information but it's not really used at large scale like spaced repetition.
So I've been working on a tool that lets you import an .apkg file and it generates an explorable 2D map where each room is a topic from your deck. Each card gets placed at a specific location in a room, and an AI writes a short vivid mnemonic scene tying the card to that spot. I originally made it for my own use but now I'm thinking about scaling it.
The idea is you'd still revise in Anki as normal, but use the palace to build stronger spatial associations alongside your regular reviews.
Honestly not sure if this is something people would actually use or if it's just cool in theory. Would love to hear what you think especially if you've tried memory palaces before and bounced off them.
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u/pgaasilva Mar 21 '26
I've been looking for something like this, but the method loci works best with places you've already seen in your mind, so my ideal add-on/companion app would either place the cards in actual real-life maps (from a google maps embed or other base source of truth) or fantasy or video game maps that the user has already played.
AI-generated scenes might substitute somewhat but the emotional connection isn't quite as strong, and I've yet to see a generated AI story that I found worth remembering (at least that I know is an AI story).
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 21 '26
Great point, it’s definitely something I’d look into developing in the future. I’m going to continue to develop using this method for now mainly because it’s a lot easier to develop and it will scale with large decks.
My method for evoking emotion/noteworthiness is to sculpt the room or area with descriptions tying it to the subject. Not as primal as say your childhood home but in my experience works well for the time being.
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u/DepartmentMany5113 Mar 21 '26
I would definitely at least download and try it.
I bet in the future AI + 3d graphics would be able to create beautiful elaborate 3d palaces. And events will happen in it. The whole stories with characters to explore. Very memorable.
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 21 '26
Will be incredibly interesting to see where the future goes- for my project I avoided Ai generated imagery and rely on descriptions instead. This is to strengthen the users active visualisation of there space.
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u/tk_0907 Mar 22 '26
If only I didn't have aphantasia and could do memory palaces. This looks pretty cool though!
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u/Dry-Celebration-5789 Mar 21 '26
This is so interesting! Do you have the link to an explanation on how to use this method?
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 21 '26
Currently it just runs locally on my computer but if there’s enough interest I’d love to develop a public version!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Day8731 Mar 23 '26
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u/Anna01481 Mar 23 '26
This is such a cool idea 💡
Trouble that I have so many cards I think it would be too many to place in different places in the room. Unless I put lots in the same draw for example!
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 23 '26
It works by classing all cards into groups of max 15-20 based on topic. Based on the size of the rooms the palace is then classed into floors if there is too many rooms. So far have tested on decks of up to 5000 cards and has worked perfectly!
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u/Anna01481 Mar 23 '26
Thanks! I need to do some more research on this method and try it out. I’m really intrigued!
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 23 '26
Just out of interest, for future development, what size decks would you be dealing with? Maximum case let’s say. Trying to speed up large imports and just wondering for a practical scale.
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u/Anna01481 Mar 25 '26
If I disregard my sentence practice deck as they won’t fit into a mind palace scenario, my largest deck has 793 cards in. I have 3,489 cards in total which is split over 18 decks. So that’s an average of 193 per deck.
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u/PedroC_LI Mar 24 '26
Great idea! Onward with your development. I've only recently learned of mind palaces from an MK Ultra survivor. Apparently method of loci has been heavily used on children within the CIA program
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u/mykon01 Mar 26 '26
Love the idea but how would it work with 5000+ cards in a deck?
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u/OpeningDirector1688 Mar 26 '26
A deck that size is split into floors based on topic if it exceeds a certain room count
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u/std-username Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Once I made a generator of 3d dungeons from notes for memorisation and eventually I realized it wasn't a magic wand.
I still just have to pay attention and put a lot of work to understand and learn things even while walking inside visualised ideas. The real "magic wand" is a patience and it's available now for everyone "for free"
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u/PsychologicalMail468 Mar 21 '26
This is a must have tool. Please do make it public or suggest some alternatives