Docs / Basics
Studying & the four buttons
What each answer does, how a card moves from new to mature, and the study modes.
The four buttons
After you reveal the answer, grade how well you remembered it. Each button shows when the card would come back.
| Button | Press it when | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| You forgot, or got it wrong. | The card goes back to its first (re)learning step, usually a few minutes. | |
| You got it, but only with real effort. | A shorter step or interval than Good. | |
| You remembered after a moment. The normal answer. | The next step, or a longer interval. | |
| The answer came instantly. | The card skips ahead with an even longer interval. |
A card’s life
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | Never studied. Introduced up to your daily new-card limit. |
| Learning | Going through same-day learning steps (by default 1m 10m). |
| Young | Graduated to day-long intervals, under 21 days. |
| Mature | An interval of 21 days or more. These are memories that stick. |
| Relearning | A review card you forgot. It goes through relearning steps (by default 10m) and comes back with a shorter interval. |
Daily limits
Each deck preset sets how many new cards are introduced per day (default 20) and the maximum number of reviews per day (default 200). Learning cards are always shown, since skipping a step would break it. Limits reset when your study day rolls over (4 AM by default). Choosing limits you can keep up with: Managing your workload.
Leeches
A card you keep forgetting is a leech. When a card reaches the preset’s leech threshold (default 8 lapses) it gets the leech tag, and again every half-threshold after that. If the preset’s leech action is Suspend, it is also taken out of reviews until you unsuspend it. Leeches usually need rewriting, not more reviews: what to do about them.
The study page
The study page lets you choose exactly what to study: pick decks (a parent deck includes its subdecks), then start today’s cards or open Custom study for another mode, tags and a card count.
| Mode | What it studies | Changes scheduling? |
|---|---|---|
| Today’s cards | Today’s queue: learning cards, due reviews and new cards within daily limits. | Yes |
| Quick study | Up to 20 of today’s cards, the ones you’re closest to forgetting first. | Yes |
| Extra new cards | New cards beyond today’s limit. | Yes |
| Review ahead | Review cards due in the next few days. | Yes |
| Forgotten cards | Cards you pressed Again on in the last few days. | Yes |
| Cram | Any cards from your selection, for a quick refresher. | No, answers are not saved |
You can also set the order (mixed: learning cards first, then reviews and new cards together; by due date; or random) and how many cards to include. Every option, the tag filter and session links are covered in Custom study & tags.
During a session
- Undo (Z) takes back your last answer and restores the card exactly as it was.
- Later (L) moves a card to the end of this session without changing its schedule.
- Edit (E) fixes a typo without leaving the session.
- Bury (B) hides a card until tomorrow.
- Suspend (S) hides a card until you unsuspend it on the Decks page.
Cards you answer Again come back later in the same session once their step is due. If nothing else is left, cards due within your learn-ahead limit (default 20 minutes) are shown early.