First steps
Decks, cards, and the review loop.
This guide covers the three ideas the flashcards module is built on: decks hold cards, sessions review them, and the scheduler decides when.
Decks
A deck is a container for cards that belong together, usually one subject or one course. Prefer a few broad decks over many narrow ones; the scheduler works per card, so splitting a subject into twenty decks only adds bookkeeping.
Writing cards that work
The quality of your reviews is set the moment you write the card:
- One fact per card. If the answer has three parts, make three cards.
- Ask, do not describe. A card should pose a question your brain can genuinely try to answer before the reveal.
- Write in your own words. Copied sentences test recognition; your own phrasing tests recall.
The review loop
A session shows you each due card, waits for you to recall the answer, then asks how it went. That self-grade drives the schedule: hard cards return quickly, easy ones stretch out over days, then weeks, then months.
Missing a day is fine. Due cards wait, and the schedule adapts; it is a rhythm, not a debt collector.
Related
- Your first session if you have not run a review yet.
- Notes first steps for capturing material before it becomes cards.