SubMiner/docs/anki-integration.md

Anki Integration

SubMiner uses the AnkiConnect add-on to create and update Anki cards with sentence context, audio, and screenshots.

Prerequisites

1. Install Anki.
2. Install the AnkiConnect add-on (code: 2055492159).
3. Keep Anki running while using SubMiner.

AnkiConnect listens on http://127.0.0.1:8765 by default. If you changed the port in AnkiConnect's settings, update ankiConnect.url in your SubMiner config.

Auto-Enrichment Transport

SubMiner supports two auto-enrichment transport modes:

1. polling (default): polls AnkiConnect at ankiConnect.pollingRate (default: 3s).
2. proxy (optional): runs a local AnkiConnect-compatible proxy and enriches cards immediately after successful addNote / addNotes responses.

In both modes, the enrichment workflow is the same:

1. Checks if a duplicate expression already exists (for field grouping).
2. Updates the sentence field with the current subtitle.
3. Generates and uploads audio and image media.
4. Fills the translation field from the secondary subtitle or AI.
5. Writes metadata to the miscInfo field.

Polling mode uses the query "deck:<your-deck>" added:1 to find recently added cards. If no deck is configured, it searches all decks.

Proxy Mode Setup (Yomitan / Texthooker)

"ankiConnect": {
  "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8765", // real AnkiConnect
  "proxy": {
    "enabled": true,
    "host": "127.0.0.1",
    "port": 8766,
    "upstreamUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:8765"
  }
}

Then point Yomitan/clients to http://127.0.0.1:8766 instead of 8765.

When SubMiner loads the bundled Yomitan extension, it also attempts to update the default Yomitan profile (profiles[0].options.anki.server) to the active SubMiner endpoint:

• proxy URL when ankiConnect.proxy.enabled is true
• direct ankiConnect.url when proxy mode is disabled

To avoid clobbering custom setups, this auto-update only changes the default profile when its current server is blank or the stock Yomitan default (http://127.0.0.1:8765).

For browser-based Yomitan or other external clients (for example texthooker in a normal browser profile), set their Anki server to the same proxy URL separately.

Field Mapping

SubMiner maps its data to your Anki note fields. Configure these under ankiConnect.fields:

"ankiConnect": {
  "fields": {
    "audio": "ExpressionAudio",    // audio clip from the video
    "image": "Picture",             // screenshot or animated clip
    "sentence": "Sentence",         // subtitle text
    "miscInfo": "MiscInfo",         // metadata (filename, timestamp)
    "translation": "SelectionText"  // secondary sub or AI translation
  }
}

Field names must match your Anki note type exactly (case-sensitive). If a configured field does not exist on the note type, SubMiner skips it without error.

Minimal Config

If you only want sentence and audio on your cards:

"ankiConnect": {
  "enabled": true,
  "fields": {
    "sentence": "Sentence",
    "audio": "ExpressionAudio"
  }
}

Media Generation

SubMiner uses FFmpeg to generate audio and image media from the video. FFmpeg must be installed and on PATH.

Audio

Audio is extracted from the video file using the subtitle's start and end timestamps, with configurable padding added before and after.

"ankiConnect": {
  "media": {
    "generateAudio": true,
    "audioPadding": 0.5,         // seconds before and after subtitle timing
    "maxMediaDuration": 30       // cap total duration in seconds
  }
}

Output format: MP3 at 44100 Hz. If the video has multiple audio streams, SubMiner uses the active stream.

The audio is uploaded to Anki's media folder and inserted as [sound:audio_<timestamp>.mp3].

Screenshots (Static)

A single frame is captured at the current playback position.

"ankiConnect": {
  "media": {
    "generateImage": true,
    "imageType": "static",
    "imageFormat": "jpg",        // "jpg", "png", or "webp"
    "imageQuality": 92,          // 1–100
    "imageMaxWidth": null,       // optional, preserves aspect ratio
    "imageMaxHeight": null
  }
}

Animated Clips (AVIF)

Instead of a static screenshot, SubMiner can generate an animated AVIF covering the subtitle duration.

"ankiConnect": {
  "media": {
    "generateImage": true,
    "imageType": "avif",
    "animatedFps": 10,
    "animatedMaxWidth": 640,
    "animatedMaxHeight": null,
    "animatedCrf": 35            // 0–63, lower = better quality
  }
}

Animated AVIF requires an AV1 encoder (libaom-av1, libsvtav1, or librav1e) in your FFmpeg build. Generation timeout is 60 seconds.

Behavior Options

"ankiConnect": {
  "behavior": {
    "overwriteAudio": true,         // replace existing audio, or append
    "overwriteImage": true,         // replace existing image, or append
    "mediaInsertMode": "append",    // "append" or "prepend" to field content
    "autoUpdateNewCards": true,     // auto-update when new card detected
    "notificationType": "osd"       // "osd", "system", "both", or "none"
  }
}

AI Translation

SubMiner can auto-translate the mined sentence and fill the translation field. By default, if a secondary subtitle track is available, its text is used. When AI is enabled, SubMiner calls an LLM API instead.

"ankiConnect": {
  "ai": {
    "enabled": true,
    "alwaysUseAiTranslation": false,  // true = ignore secondary sub
    "apiKey": "sk-...",
    "model": "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
    "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api",
    "targetLanguage": "English",
    "systemPrompt": "You are a translation engine. Return only the translation."
  }
}

Translation priority:

1. If alwaysUseAiTranslation is true, always call the AI API.
2. If a secondary subtitle is available, use it as the translation.
3. If AI is enabled and no secondary subtitle exists, call the AI API.
4. Otherwise, leave the field empty.

Sentence Cards (Lapis)

SubMiner can create standalone sentence cards (without a word/expression) using a separate note type. This is designed for use with Lapis and similar sentence-focused note types.

"ankiConnect": {
  "isLapis": {
    "enabled": true,
    "sentenceCardModel": "Japanese sentences"
  }
}

Trigger with the mine sentence shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd+S by default). The card is created directly via AnkiConnect with the sentence, audio, and image filled in.

To mine multiple subtitle lines as one sentence card, use Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S followed by a digit (1–9) to select how many recent lines to combine.

Field Grouping (Kiku)

When you mine the same word multiple times, SubMiner can merge the cards instead of creating duplicates. This is designed for note types like Kiku that support grouped sentence/audio/image fields.

"ankiConnect": {
  "isKiku": {
    "enabled": true,
    "fieldGrouping": "manual",         // "auto", "manual", or "disabled"
    "deleteDuplicateInAuto": true      // delete new card after auto-merge
  }
}

Modes

Disabled ("disabled"): No duplicate detection. Each card is independent.

Auto ("auto"): When a duplicate expression is found, SubMiner merges the new card into the existing one automatically. Both sentences, audio clips, and images are preserved. If deleteDuplicateInAuto is true, the new card is deleted after merging.

Manual ("manual"): A modal appears in the overlay showing both cards. You choose which card to keep, preview the merge result, then confirm. The modal has a 90-second timeout, after which it cancels automatically.

What Gets Merged

Field	Merge behavior
Sentence	Both sentences preserved, labeled [Original] / [Duplicate]
Audio	Both [sound:...] entries kept
Image	Both images kept

Keyboard Shortcuts in the Modal

Key	Action
1 / 2	Select card 1 or card 2 to keep
Enter	Confirm selection
Esc	Cancel (keep both cards unchanged)

Full Config Example

{
  "ankiConnect": {
    "enabled": true,
    "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8765",
    "pollingRate": 3000,
    "proxy": {
      "enabled": false,
      "host": "127.0.0.1",
      "port": 8766,
      "upstreamUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:8765"
    },
    "fields": {
      "audio": "ExpressionAudio",
      "image": "Picture",
      "sentence": "Sentence",
      "miscInfo": "MiscInfo",
      "translation": "SelectionText",
    },
    "media": {
      "generateAudio": true,
      "generateImage": true,
      "imageType": "static",
      "imageFormat": "jpg",
      "imageQuality": 92,
      "audioPadding": 0.5,
      "maxMediaDuration": 30,
    },
    "behavior": {
      "overwriteAudio": true,
      "overwriteImage": true,
      "mediaInsertMode": "append",
      "autoUpdateNewCards": true,
      "notificationType": "osd",
    },
    "ai": {
      "enabled": false,
      "apiKey": "",
      "model": "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
      "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api",
      "targetLanguage": "English",
    },
    "isKiku": {
      "enabled": false,
      "fieldGrouping": "disabled",
      "deleteDuplicateInAuto": true,
    },
    "isLapis": {
      "enabled": false,
      "sentenceCardModel": "Japanese sentences",
    },
  },
}