The CLI

loci (crates/loci-cli) is the engine on the command line. It works on a collection directory with the app’s layout (collection.sqlite, media/, backups/).

From a checkout:

cargo run -p loci-cli -- import deck.apkg --dir .loci-dev
cargo run -p loci-cli -- due --dir .loci-dev

or build the binary once (cargo build -p loci-cli, which writes target/debug/loci) and call it directly. The examples below write loci for either.

Global options

Options can come before or after the command, and --name=value works as well as --name value.

To work on the app’s own collection, point --dir at the app-data directory from Getting started, with the app closed so only one program writes to the file.

Before every command except integrity and serve, the CLI opens the collection and runs its integrity check. If the check fails, it prints the problems, suggests integrity or a backup, and exits with status 2.

import

loci import <file> [--replace] [--no-scheduling]

Imports an Anki .apkg or .colpkg, or a Loci full-backup .zip. By default it merges by note guid, and an existing note is replaced only if the incoming one was edited more recently.

• --replace replaces the whole collection instead of merging (a pre-restore backup is written first). A Loci full backup must be imported with --replace; it cannot be merged.
• --no-scheduling imports the cards as new, without due dates or review history.

loci import ~/Downloads/collection.colpkg --dir ~/loci-test

It prints what was added: notes (with how many were updated or skipped), cards, reviews, media files, decks, the time taken, and any warnings. On a terminal it also shows progress on standard error.

export

loci export <out.apkg> [--deck <name>] [--no-scheduling] [--no-media]

Writes a legacy .apkg that Anki 2.1 to 26.x and AnkiDroid import.

• --deck <name> exports one deck with its subdecks. The name is the full name, with :: between levels. Without it, the whole collection is exported.
• --no-scheduling exports every card as new, for sharing.
• --no-media leaves the media files out.

loci export arabic.apkg --deck "Languages::Arabic" --no-scheduling

due

loci due

Prints the deck tree with today’s new, learning and due counts and an estimate in minutes for each deck, then the totals.

loci due --dir ~/loci-test

study

loci study --auto <N> [--deck <name>]

Answers up to N due cards with Good, each with an answer time of 8 seconds, and prints each card’s id with the interval it was given. --auto is required and must be at least 1. --deck limits the session to one deck; without it, the session covers every deck. If fewer than N cards are due, it stops and says so.

loci study --auto 5 --deck Default

stats

loci stats [--deck <name>]

Prints today’s answers, time and accuracy; card counts (new, learning, young, mature, suspended, buried); true retention by period; the due counts for the next seven days; momentum (days studied of the last 30, the current run and the longest); and the insights.

loci stats --json > stats.json

backup

loci backup

Writes a manual backup into <dir>/backups/ and prints its name, size and card count. Manual backups are never deleted by rotation.

loci backup --dir ~/loci-test

integrity

loci integrity

Runs the full integrity check and repairs what is safe to repair (see Import, export and backups). It prints OK, with a list of anything repaired, or the problems it found. It exits with status 1 when problems remain.

loci integrity --dir ~/loci-test

serve

loci serve [--port 5741] [--multi-session]

Serves the engine’s RPC over HTTP on 127.0.0.1 (port 5741 by default). For development and the end-to-end tests; not shipped in the app.

With --multi-session, every distinct x-loci-session header gets its own empty collection in a temporary directory, for the Playwright suite. Without it, one engine serves --dir. Requests are handled one at a time.

loci serve --dir .loci-dev

Then, in apps/loci, pnpm dev serves the interface on port 5740 and talks to it.

Exit status