I built a flashcard app because Quizlet and Anki didn’t feel right to me
At some point I had to prepare for technical interviews, and my first approach was just dumping everything into docs and rereading it.
Pretty quickly I realized it doesn’t really work. You don’t actually test yourself, there’s no fast recall, and asking someone else to quiz you is awkward and time-consuming.
So I tried apps like Quizlet and Anki.
They’re both solid, but neither really clicked for me. With Quizlet I often felt like I was just recognizing answers instead of actually recalling them, especially with multiple choice. Anki, on the other hand, is super powerful, but I kept bouncing off the interface. It feels like you need to learn the tool before you can start learning your material.
So I ended up building something super simple for myself.
The core idea is just this flow:
a card shows up → you think of the answer → flip it → then swipe it to “correct” or “wrong”.
That interaction is actually the main thing. I wanted it to feel smooth and a bit satisfying, almost like a tiny loop you don’t mind repeating. Not just “study”, but something you can keep doing without friction.
Right now it’s pretty minimal. You can create decks, run through cards in a shuffled learning mode, and there’s a simple “mistakes practice” where you retry only the cards you got wrong in that session. I also added a way to generate cards from documents with AI.
It’s web-based but works nicely on mobile, so you can just swipe through cards.
The goal wasn’t to compete feature-by-feature, but to make something that’s easy to start and actually pleasant to use.
The 'built it for myself' origin story is the most reliable one. You already know the exact friction that existing tools create, so you're not guessing at the problem. The gap between Quizlet (too social/gamified) and Anki (powerful but steep learning curve) is real — a lot of people fall through it. What's the one thing your app does that made you think 'why doesn't every flashcard app do this'?
the Anki problem you described is real -- you end up studying the tool instead of the material. I hit the same wall. the core recall loop you built (see card, think, flip, swipe) is actually closer to how retrieval practice works than most apps get. recognition and recall are genuinely different cognitive things and Quizlet conflates them. curious what you found with retention -- are people coming back after a few days or mostly one-session use?
Nice approach. I’m also building a tool and struggling with making it simple enough for users.
Did you validate this with other users before building, or was it mainly for yourself first?
I've always had this problem with flashcards where I end up recognizing the answer rather than actually knowing it. It sticks in short term memory but never really clicks long term. So the approach here makes sense to me.
One idea — have you considered letting AI rephrase the questions on different passes? If the wording changes each time, it's harder to just pattern-match the answer and forces you to actually understand the material. Could help with that recognition vs real learning problem.
I really resonate with the 'interface friction' point. I had the same experience with Anki—it’s powerful, but the UI can feel like a chore before you even start learning.
I’m a product designer and I’m currently soft-launching Spellkitt, which actually solves a similar problem but for kids' spelling lists. Like you, I found that existing tools were either too clunky or over-stimulating, so I focused on a clean, 'satisfying' flow to reduce that friction.
Quick question on your 'swipe' interaction: Did you build that custom or use a specific library? Getting that 'smooth' feel on a web app for mobile can be tricky, but it makes a huge difference in whether people actually stick with the habit!
The recognition vs recall gap you're pointing at is a real thing in cognitive science. Multiple choice trains pattern matching, not actual retrieval. That's why people ace Quizlet sessions then blank on the real test.
The swipe mechanic is a smart call too. Low cognitive overhead, stays in flow. There's a reason that interaction pattern stuck.
One thing worth experimenting with: a simple confidence signal after the flip. Not a full 5-point scale, just "got it" vs "had to think". Even that basic signal lets you weight card resurfacing without the full Anki scheduling complexity. 80% of the benefit with none of the interface overhead.
What subject areas are your current users mostly using it for?
Love this — especially the “recognition vs recall” point. That’s exactly where most tools fail.
The swipe flow you described actually sounds way more natural than traditional flashcards. Making learning feel frictionless is underrated.
I’ve been working on simple utility-based tools too:
Randoms object generator .com
Mine world .com .tr
Curious — are you planning to keep it minimal, or add spaced repetition later?
The swipe-based recall flow is a smart UX choice — it removes the multiple-choice crutch that makes you recognize answers instead of actually retrieving them. That's the whole point of active recall and most flashcard apps get it wrong.
The AI card generation from documents is interesting too. How are you handling quality control on the generated cards? In my experience the biggest drop-off with AI-generated study material is when the cards test surface-level facts instead of conceptual understanding.
FlashDeck is an interesting product because it tackles a very real problem—the time and friction involved in creating effective study materials. Instead of manually building flashcards, it automates the process using AI, which can significantly improve learning efficiency.
This looks interesting, especially the focus on simplicity and workflow.
Lately I’ve been trying a few tools in the AI creation space, and one thing I noticed is that relying on a single model can feel limiting over time. I’ve been experimenting with something similar where multiple models are available in one place, and the difference in output can be quite noticeable depending on the use case.
Curious how you’re thinking about flexibility vs depth here — do you see this more as a focused tool, or something that could expand into a broader multi-model workflow over time?
I was looking for a tool like that for my previsous interview, but didn't find any! Thanks man for building this. Is it only for technical dev interviews?
It’s not limited to dev interviews
You create your own cards, so you can use it for anything - languages, exams, concepts, whatever you’re learning.
You can also generate cards from a file and then edit them manually
Good to know! Thanks for sharing
Nice approach. I’m also building a tool and struggling with making it simple enough for users.
Did you validate this with other users before building, or was it mainly for yourself first?
Started with myself
I needed something simple for interview prep and couldn’t find the right tool, so I built it.
Now I’m validating it with others and iterating based on feedback
I totally get the frustration with Anki and Quizlet. One feels like software from 2005 and the other feels like a giant ad-delivery machine. I’m taking a similar 'minimalist' approach with a social site I'm building—strictly zero-JS on the frontend and self-hosted. Are you planning to keep this app completely client-side (local storage), or are you looking into a lightweight backend for syncing? Sometimes 'less' really is 'more' for focus-heavy tools like this.
I already have a backend - mostly for syncing and storage. Still trying to keep the overall experience simple and not over-engineered
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