How to Preserve Review History and FSRS Data When Switching

You preserve the best chance of keeping progress by separating three jobs: make a recoverable Anki copy, export a package with scheduling information, and test the destination on a copy. An .apkg can contain review history when its scheduling option is enabled. That does not mean every app will use those logs or reproduce Anki’s FSRS scheduling.

Key takeaways

• Anki says a deck APKG can export scheduling information, including review history; a COLPKG exports the whole collection with scheduling (Anki Manual: Exporting, accessed 2026-08-11).
• FSRS parameters are fitted to review history in Anki, so history, parameters and a future due date are related but are not the same data (Anki Manual: Deck Options, accessed 2026-08-11).
• Treat each receiving app’s documentation as the limit of what is promised. Keep the original Anki collection untouched until the imported sample passes your checks.

The safe question is not “Does this app support FSRS?” It is “Which exact data does it read from my file, and what does it do with it after import?” An app can accept cards yet start a new schedule, retain a due date without using your old logs, or convert the records into a different scheduler.

1. Preserve a recovery copy outside the move

Make a whole-collection .colpkg with media before importing anything elsewhere. Anki documents that a COLPKG contains the entire collection and scheduling; importing one into Anki replaces the current collection. Put the file in a second location and do not use the destination import as your only backup (Anki Manual: Exporting, accessed 2026-08-11).

Anki’s automatic backups omit sound and image files, so they are useful recovery points but not a replacement for a media-inclusive package (Anki Manual: Backups, accessed 2026-08-11). Avoid syncing Anki’s live data folder directly with a third-party file-sync service; Anki warns that doing so can damage a collection while it is in use (Anki Manual: Managing Files, accessed 2026-08-11).

2. Export the data Anki can carry

For a deck-level migration, export an .apkg and enable Include Scheduling Information, Include Deck Presets, and Include Media. Anki explicitly says scheduling information includes review history; turning the option off removes scheduling information, including marked and leech tags. Media and presets have separate export options (Anki Manual: Exporting, accessed 2026-08-11).

Use a small representative deck first: one recent review, one overdue card, a lapse, an image or audio card, a cloze, and a card using the FSRS preset you care about. Record its card count, due state, last-review information and visible preset settings before import. A deck package is added to an Anki collection when re-imported, whereas a COLPKG replaces it (Anki Manual: Exporting, accessed 2026-08-11).

3. Identify what “FSRS data” means before comparing apps

In Anki, FSRS uses review history to fit parameters to your memory and material. Parameters and desired retention are preset-specific; the optimizer can use the history of decks using that preset (Anki Manual: Deck Options, accessed 2026-08-11). That is why copying a preset name, a parameter list, or today’s due date alone is not equivalent to moving your scheduling context.

Missing historical reviews are also meaningful: Anki documents a Historical Retention setting for cases where history is incomplete, including an import from a different SRS program (Anki Manual: Deck Options, accessed 2026-08-11). Do not manually copy FSRS parameters from another person or assume an app with an FSRS label reads Anki’s records in the same way.

4. Check the destination’s documented scope

Anki

• Documented scope: An APKG may carry scheduling information and review history; Anki can import it, and recent versions offer an option not to import learning progress (Anki Manual: Packaged Decks, accessed 2026-08-11).
• Do not infer: another app will make identical future intervals.

RemNote

• Documented scope: RemNote says it can import Anki flashcards and review history from an APKG, and tells users to include scheduling information, presets and media (RemNote: Importing from Anki, accessed 2026-08-11).
• Do not infer: CSS, custom JavaScript, some TTS and every card model; RemNote lists those limits itself.

Quizlet

• Documented scope: Quizlet’s documented set-import workflow is pasted text with term-definition separators (Quizlet: Creating sets by importing content, accessed 2026-08-11).
• Do not infer: APKG review-history or FSRS preservation; that page does not document it.

StudyDaily

• Documented scope: StudyDaily imports APKG files and accepts modern COLPKG collection packages. Current code and tests retain scheduling data when an imported package contains it.
• Do not infer: broad imported-review-history equivalence, preserved FSRS behaviour, or identical future intervals. Those claims remain uncertain; keep your Anki backup and test your own copy.

This is not a ranking. Documentation can change, and a successful import of cards is narrower than a verified migration of progress.

5. Run a reversible import test

1. Keep the original Anki profile and COLPKG unchanged.
2. Import only the sample APKG into the destination, using a new account, workspace or test collection where possible.
3. Compare card count, fields, clozes, tags, media and templates first.
4. For each sampled reviewed card, compare the visible due state, review log or progress view, and any displayed scheduling settings.
5. Check one card again only if you accept that this creates new destination-side history. Record the before-and-after state instead of trying to force matching intervals.
6. If an important item differs, stop the migration. Your Anki copy remains the source of record while you choose a workaround or a different destination.

Common mistakes

• Calling a file export a successful migration. The file may contain history; the importer decides whether and how it is used.
• Confusing review history with an FSRS preset. Anki’s optimizer uses history, while presets are shared option groups and are not retroactive (Anki Manual: Deck Options, accessed 2026-08-11).
• Testing in the only collection. A COLPKG import replaces an Anki collection; use a disposable target.
• Assuming media proves scheduler fidelity. It only shows that one feature moved correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Does an APKG preserve review history?

It can preserve the data in the export when Include Scheduling Information is enabled. Anki names review history as included scheduling information. Whether a destination imports, shows or schedules from it is a separate question (Anki Manual: Exporting, accessed 2026-08-11).

Can I preserve FSRS exactly when moving to another app?

Do not assume exact preservation. FSRS behavior depends on review history, fitted parameters, desired retention and the receiving scheduler. Verify the destination’s current documentation and test your own representative sample.

Does StudyDaily preserve my imported review history?

There is no approved public claim that it does. StudyDaily can import APKG files, but its product-truth register marks broad imported-history equivalence as uncertain. Keep your Anki backup and do not switch on the basis of an assumed FSRS or history transfer.

Keep Anki as the recovery path

Your completed task is a verified backup plus a documented test, not a forced one-way migration. Keep the original collection until the destination has proved suitable for your cards and schedule. For the full sequence, see the complete guide to moving from Anki without losing your work.