Can Claude work with your flashcards?
Yes. Cirello runs a remote MCP server, and Claude can connect to it. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI assistant use tools in another product. Once Claude is connected, you can talk to your library in plain language: ask it to build a deck from a pasted note, tell you what is due, find duplicate cards or split an overloaded one. Changes are saved to your account exactly as if you had made them in the app.
The server address is:
https://api.cirello.app/mcp
There is nothing to install, nothing to host and no API key to copy. The full tool list and permission model are on the Cirello MCP server page; this page is the Claude-specific guide. Using another assistant? See ChatGPT, Gemini or the AI flashcards hub, which covers every client we have checked.
Set up Cirello in Claude in under five minutes
Claude on the web and the desktop app
- Open Customize > Connectors.
- Click + Add, then Add custom connector.
- Enter a name such as Cirello and the URL
https://api.cirello.app/mcp, then click Continue. - Review the detected authentication settings and click Add.
- Sign in to Cirello in the browser window that opens and approve the permissions you want to give.
On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds the connector under Organization settings first, and members then connect from Customize > Connectors.
Claude Code
Run this in your terminal:
claude mcp add --transport http cirello https://api.cirello.app/mcp
Then open Claude Code, type /mcp, select Cirello and follow the browser steps to sign in.
Menus change often, so if a step does not match what you see, Anthropic's help pages on custom connectors have the current details.
What to ask Claude
These are requests the connected tools can really do:
- "Here are my notes from today's lecture. Turn them into small question-and-answer cards in a deck called Cell Biology." The assistant creates the deck and the cards, up to 50 cards per request.
- "What is due today, and how is my week going?" It reads your queue, statistics and weekly rhythm.
- "Find duplicate cards in my library." It shows groups of cards with the same front or back, and you decide whether to merge them.
- "Split this card into three." One plain-text card becomes two to ten smaller ones that keep their review progress.
- "Quiz me on my Spanish deck." It can ask you cards in chat and record a grade, but only for a card you actually tried to answer, and you can undo a grade within one minute.
- "Pause my Chemistry deck for two weeks" or "Move these cards to Biology."
Claude drafts, you decide. Skim what it creates and remove anything vague; how to write good flashcards is a good checklist.
What stays in Cirello
Claude does not replace your review. Real review sessions, with their modes, drill and exam plans, happen in Cirello, where cards are scheduled by FSRS-6. The chat quiz is for a quick check, not for your scheduled reviews. Built-in decks are read-only for adding, editing or moving cards.
Permissions and privacy
On the consent screen you choose what Claude may do, with presets for common cases. Tools you did not permit are not exposed to the assistant at all. Deleting cards, decks, folders and sources is off unless you switch it on. Your password, email address, account settings and sign-in sessions are never sent to the assistant. You can disconnect any time in the web app under Account - Security - Connected apps, and access ends immediately. The details are in section 6 of the privacy policy.
Once data reaches Claude, Anthropic processes it under its own terms, so check your Claude privacy settings before connecting.
Cirello MCP compared with a local Anki MCP server
Community MCP servers exist for Anki. At the time of writing, the popular ones talk to Anki through the AnkiConnect add-on, so they need Anki installed and running on your own computer, and a Node.js runtime for the server. That is a fine setup if your cards already live in Anki and you are comfortable with it. Here is how the two approaches differ.
| Cirello MCP | Local Anki MCP server | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the server runs | Hosted by Cirello, one URL | On your computer, started by your AI client |
| What you install | Nothing | Anki, the AnkiConnect add-on and a Node.js or Python runtime |
| Anki or Cirello must be open | No | Anki must be open |
| Sign-in | OAuth in the browser | No Cirello-style account sign-in; it connects to Anki on your machine |
| Permissions | Per-tool consent you can switch off, delete off by default | Set by the server you install |
| Works from a phone or another computer | Yes, wherever your client supports remote MCP | Only on the machine running Anki |
| Scheduler | FSRS-6 with refit to your history | Anki's own scheduler |
| Where it is weaker | Cirello is a web app today; fewer plugins and no cloze cards | Large ecosystem, add-ons and apps on every platform |
If you are weighing the two apps rather than the MCP servers, the Anki alternative page and the comparison of spaced repetition apps go into more depth.
Limits to know about
Cirello is a web app today, with iOS and Android apps planned. Clients that only support local MCP servers cannot connect. There are no cloze deletion cards yet. The MCP server is part of the free beta.