Migrating From Obsidian Spaced Repetition

If you are coming from the Obsidian Spaced Repetition plugin, LearnKit automatically detects and converts your existing SR-format cards during sync. No manual reformatting is required.

What Gets Migrated

LearnKit recognises three SR syntax styles and converts them into its canonical pipe-delimited format:

Single-Line Cards

SR single-line basic and reversed cards share the same :: / ::: syntax that LearnKit uses as its preferred shorthand:

Paris::Capital of France

expands to:

Q | Paris |
A | Capital of France |

Paris:::Capital of France

expands to:

RQ | Paris |
A | Capital of France |

Multi-Line Cards (`?` / `??`)

SR multi-line blocks use standalone ? (basic) or ?? (reversed) as a separator between question and answer:

What is the capital of France?
?
Paris

This is merged into What is the capital of France?::Paris before parsing and expands identically to the single-line form.

What is the capital of France?
??
Paris

This is merged into What is the capital of France?:::Paris and becomes a reversed card.

Cloze Deletions (`==text==`)

SR-style cloze deletions using ==…== are converted automatically:

The capital of ==France== is ==Paris==

becomes:

cloze::The capital of {{c1::France}} is {{c2::Paris}}

Hints and sequence numbers are also supported:

The capital of ==France==^[country] is ==Paris==[^1]

SR Syntax	LearnKit Equivalent
`==text==`	`{{c1::text}}` (auto-numbered)
`==text==^[hint]`	`{{c1::text::hint}}`
`==text==[^1]`	`{{c1::text}}` (fixed group)
`==text==^[hint][^2]`	`{{c2::text::hint}}`

How Migration Works

Write your SR-format cards as you normally would (or leave existing ones in place).
Sync your vault — LearnKit’s sync engine pre-processes SR syntax before the main parser runs.
Expand — on the first sync, SR shorthand lines are expanded to canonical pipe-delimited format (with Q |, RQ |, or CQ | headers and ^learnkit- anchors).

The conversion happens transparently. After sync your notes will contain LearnKit’s canonical format, and scheduling data is preserved.

Preferred Shorthand (Going Forward)

Once migrated, LearnKit’s preferred shorthand for new cards is:

Card Type	Shorthand	Example
Basic	`::`	`Question::Answer`
Reversed	`:::`	`Question:::Answer`
Cloze	`cloze::` / `cq::` / `CQ::`	`cloze::The {{answer}} is here`

The SR ? / ?? / ==text== syntax is only used during migration. For new cards, stick to ::, :::, and cloze::.

For full details on creating flashcards, see Creating Flashcards.

What Is Never Treated As A Card

LearnKit’s parser intentionally skips certain lines to avoid false positives:

Markdown Headings

Lines that begin with #, ##, ### (up to ######) are never parsed as flashcards, even if they contain ::, :::, cloze::, ==text==, or standalone ? separators. Your section titles are safe.

Code Fences

Content inside fenced code blocks (``` or ~~~) is never scanned for cards. You can safely document LearnKit syntax inside code fences without creating accidental flashcards.

Existing LearnKit Cards

Lines that already contain LearnKit pipe-delimited headers (Q |, RQ |, CQ |, etc.) or ^learnkit- anchors are skipped by the SR pre-processor.

Known Limitations

Accidental `::` In Prose

When :: appears between two words in running prose (e.g. email::address), it will be treated as a basic card. This matches Obsidian Spaced Repetition’s behaviour and cannot be distinguished from legitimate shorthand like synonym::antonym. If you have prose that accidentally triggers this, reword the line or wrap the :: in backticks.

After Migration

Review your cards in the Flashcard Library to confirm everything looks correct.
Check Decks & Organisation if you want to assign groups or decks.
Run a Study Session to verify scheduling transferred properly.