Anki/docs/windows.md

Windows Quick Start Guide

A simplified and beginner-friendly version of Anki’s official Windows documentation. Ideal for first-time contributors building Anki on Windows.

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Minimum Requirements

• 64-bit Windows 10 (version 1703 or newer)
• Administrator access to install software

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Step 1 – Install Rust (rustup)

Anki uses the Rust programming language for parts of its codebase.

1. Visit the official Rust website
2. Download and install rustup
3. During installation, accept the default options

Windows ARM users
After installing rustup, run the following command in a terminal, inside the project folder:

rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc

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Step 2 – Install Visual Studio

1. Download Visual Studio Community Edition
2. Open the installer
3. Select:
   • Desktop Development with C++
4. Leave the advanced options unchanged

Note

This step is required to compile native parts of the project. On Windows, compiling native code requires Microsoft's MSVC toolchain and the Windows SDK (system headers and libraries), which are typically installed via Visual Studio or Visual Studio Build Tools.

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Step 3 – Install MSYS2

1. Visit the MSYS2 website
2. Install it in the default location
3. After installation, open the MSYS2 terminal
4. Run the following command:

pacman -S git rsync

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Configure the PATH Environment Variable

1. Open Windows Environment Variables
2. Edit the PATH variable
3. Add the following path:

C:\msys64\usr\bin

4. Reboot your computer

Important note
If you already have native Windows apps relying on Git (for example, posh-git in PowerShell), they may conflict with the MSYS2 Git.

• In that case, prefer using Git for Windows over msys2.
• Ensure that rsync is available some other way

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Step 4 – Choose a Good Source Code Location

To avoid build issues:

• Avoid long directory paths
• Avoid spaces in folder names

Recommended:

C:\anki

Problematic:

C:\Users\Your Name\Documents\Projects\Anki Source Code

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Audio Support (Optional)

To play and record audio during development, ensure the following executables are available in your PATH:

• mpv.exe
• lame.exe

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Common Problems

Build errors

• Make sure Visual Studio was installed with Desktop Development with C++

git command not found

• Verify that the PATH variable is configured correctly

Issues caused by spaces in paths

• Move the project to a shorter path, such as C:\anki

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Next Steps

For advanced topics such as running tests or building wheels, see:

• development.md

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