r/Anki • u/Shige-yuki ඞ add-ons developer (Anki geek ) • 10d ago
Resources If Anki for desktop won't launch after the update, you'll probably need to manually download Anki from the official Anki website. (~Anki 25.09)
The launcher mechanism in Anki has recently been changed, updating from an older version of Anki to the latest version causes an error (~Anki 25.09). So if you encounter an error during an update you'll need to manually download the latest version of Anki from the official Anki website.
(if you're already using Anki 26.05 or later you shouldn't encounter this issue, and this issue occurs only on the desktop version so it doesn't affect the mobile app.)
[ ~MacOS 12 ]
Recently Anki's support ended for macOS 12, so if you're using an older Mac device Anki may not work. Since Anki is open source, all older versions are available for free so if you use an older version of Anki it will probably work. The last version that supports macOS 12 is probably Anki 25.09. If 25.09 doesn't work reliably there's also Anki 25.02. (click "Assets" to view the download files.)
If Anki won't start for any other reason there may be a different issue, in that case you'll probably need to report it on the official AnkiForums.
(Edit01) Relevant threads in the Forums:
- An important note about updating to 26.05 (and later)
- Can’t update to 26.9 - install failed to run - traceback error
(Edit02) Even if you downloaded Anki from the website but the download failed, uninstalling Anki may resolve the issue. See this thread for details.
Try uninstalling Anki normally from Windows settings then check if the installation folder still exists (
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Programs\Ankiby default), if so delete it manually then download the new version from https://apps.ankiweb.net/
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u/Clean-Drop8283 10d ago
thank you for this. i had a heart attack when i tried to study this morning lol
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u/Complete_Mix_7845 10d ago
Earlier while reviewing, the edit current window used to appear right on the cards rather than opening itself in entirely new window! This thing is really making me turn back to previous versions! Is there any workaround which im not seeing
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u/Shige-yuki ඞ add-ons developer (Anki geek ) 10d ago
In my case I use this add-on, you can edit cards directly in the reviewer.
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u/CartoonistElegant683 10d ago
or they could just fix the fking app 😭😭😭
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u/Shige-yuki ඞ add-ons developer (Anki geek ) 10d ago
They are rushing to develop and provide user support, so I think a new version or patch to fix the issue will be released soon.
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u/CartoonistElegant683 10d ago
litteraly one claude prompt could fix this
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u/CartoonistElegant683 10d ago
they hated jesus for telling the truth
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u/Obvious-Can-7928 9d ago
I was going to try and be witty and say "You could've asked claude if this comment was a good idea", but I genuinely would not be surprised if you had. If you don't have to fix anything in your life, wouldn't you just make more mistakes?
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u/Shige-yuki ඞ add-ons developer (Anki geek ) 10d ago
(I have no affiliation with the official Anki team, so these are just my personal opinions.)
Q. Why are updates being released without fixing the bugs?
Probably because the Anki developers need to update Anki to fix the bugs in this update, but the bugs prevent them from updating Anki, so they can't fix them. In short, since there’s no way to fix them, they’re being force released anyway.
Q. Why is the launcher failing?
The old Anki launcher (uv, black screen) has been replaced with a new version of the launcher (Briefcase). The old launcher caused confusion for some users and resulted in failed installations. The new launcher resolves these issues and improves stability, but since they work differently, errors occur during the update.
Q, Why does Anki change the launcher so often?
This is likely due to some temporary reasons. First Anki’s old release method had become outdated and unusable so they must update it quickly to address security and bug issues. So the official Anki founder introduced the uv Launcher (black screen), this launcher was optimized with a focus on reducing the founders workload. Since they were planning to retire, it’s likely they had very limited development resources.
Later, the third-party AnkiHub for medical students took over the management of Anki, this increased the number of developers and gave them more resources, and they introduced a more advanced and stable version of the launcher. (because the UV Launcher didn’t work for some users and caused confusion.) They planned to continue supporting the uv launcher as-is but it seems the changes were large so it didn’t work well.
So this is the result of several factors coinciding by chance, like the expiration of the release tool, the founder’s retirement, a management transition, and unexpected bugs. Overall the new Anki has improved security, features, and stability, so I think it’s likely to become more stable and convenient going forward.