How to Install Anki on Arch Linux

1. Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure your system is up‑to‑date:

sudo pacman -Syu                                     # Update core system packages
sudo pacman -S base-devel git                       # Install build tools

If you plan to use Snap later, you’ll also need:

sudo pacman -S --needed go squashfs-tools

2. Method A: Installing via AUR

ArchWiki recommends using the AUR packages anki or anki-bin:

1. Choose your helper (we’ll use yay below):

   sudo pacman -S yay                                # Install yay from [community]
   

2. Install the binary bundle (no local build):

   yay -S anki-bin                                  # Binary AUR package :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
   

   Or, build from source:

   yay -S anki                                      # Compiled AUR package :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
   

3. Run Anki:

   anki
   

2.1 Troubleshooting AUR Builds

• aqt.run() missing After a Python upgrade, you may see:

  AttributeError: module 'aqt' has no attribute 'run'
  

  Fix by reinstalling the protobuf binding:

  sudo pacman -S python-protobuf --asdeps           # Rebuild dependency :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
  yay -S anki --rebuild                            # Force rebuild against new Python
  

• Rust rsbridge compile error If makepkg -s dies building the Rust bridge, ensure you have rust and cargo installed:

  sudo pacman -S rust cargo                         # Provides Rust toolchain :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
  yay -S anki                                      # Retry build
  

3. Method B: Official Tarball

Anki upstream only supports the Linux tarball. This method always matches the latest release:

1. Download the .tar.zst from AnkiWeb:

   cd ~/Downloads
   wget https://apps.ankiweb.net/anki-2.1.57-linux-qt6.tar.zst  # adjust version :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
   

2. Install dependencies:

   sudo pacman -S zstd libxcb-xinerama libxcb-cursor nss    # Required libs :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
   

3. Extract & run installer:

   tar xaf anki-*-linux-qt6.tar.zst
   cd anki-*-linux-qt6
   sudo ./install.sh                                       # Installs into /usr/local :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
   

4. Launch:

   anki
   

4. Method C: Snap Package

Snap isolates Anki and auto‑updates, with rollback support:

1. Enable snapd:

   git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/snapd.git
   cd snapd && makepkg -si                               # Build snapd from AUR :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
   sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
   sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap
   

2. Install Anki:

   sudo snap install anki-desktop                         # Official snap :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
   

3. Run:

   snap run anki-desktop
   

5. Post‑Install Tips

• Add‑ons and Profiles Your Anki profile lives in ~/.local/share/Anki2/. Back it up regularly.

• Auto‑update AUR package Use a cron or systemd timer to run yay -Syu --aur --noconfirm.

• Flatpak alternative If you face AUR issues, consider Flatpak:

  flatpak install flathub net.ankiweb.Anki
  

6. Further Reading

• ArchWiki: Anki ‹https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Anki› (Arch Wiki)
• Anki Manual: Linux Installing ‹https://docs.ankiweb.net/platform/linux/installing.html› (docs.ankiweb.net)
• Snapcraft: Anki on Arch ‹https://snapcraft.io/install/anki-desktop/arch› (Snapcraft)

Happy memorizing!