Features / Spaced repetition
Spaced repetition, with no cards to make
Each phrase you save turns into a flashcard on its own and is scheduled with FSRS — the same modern algorithm family Anki uses. A few minutes a day, and each word comes back just before you'd forget it.
How does review work?
A card exists for every phrase in your library from the moment its content is built. There is no card-making step, ever.
You see the phrase, recall it, then answer with one of four ratings: Again, Hard, Good, Easy. Each button shows when that card would return if you pick it, so the schedule is never a black box. FSRS takes your answer and picks the next moment for that specific card.
The card carries the whole phrase — meanings, translations, IPA, example sentences, pronunciation audio and audio for the examples. On the back, a short animated scene acts the word out, so the meaning sticks as a picture, not a definition. Every action has a keyboard shortcut, rating included, so a session runs without touching the mouse.
What comes up first?
Queue order is deliberate. Phrases you are still learning and anything overdue go first, then the reviews due today, then new cards — and new cards appear only while review budget remains. When reviews pile up, new material waits, so a backlog never snowballs into an unusable queue.
Daily limits are yours to set: 20 new cards a day by default, with the review limit scaling from that number. Days roll over on your own timezone.
Can I review one collection at a time?
Yes. The queue can be filtered to a single collection, smart collections included — the week an exam or a trip matters, cram exactly that subset and nothing else.
Progress, and where you can review
A stats page keeps the count: your current streak, a daily activity heatmap, and how your vocabulary has grown over time.
Reviewing needs a connection — there is no offline mode. On a phone, Nightspar runs as an installable web app: add it to your home screen and it opens full-screen with its own icon. A native app is planned but not built.
Common questions
What is FSRS?
A modern scheduling algorithm that models your memory of each card separately and picks the moment to show it again — the same family as the scheduler in current Anki. If you already run an Anki setup that works for you, keep it; this is for people whose problem was building the cards.
How many cards will I see a day?
By default 20 new ones, plus whatever reviews come due; the review limit scales with your new-card setting. Both are adjustable in settings, and the day boundary follows your timezone.
Can I review just one collection?
Yes — pick a collection and the queue is limited to its phrases. Smart collections work here too, so a description like "work vocabulary" gives you a review session for that topic.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, in the browser, and you can install it to your home screen as a web app — it opens full-screen with its own icon. There is no offline mode, so reviews need a connection, and a native app is still planned rather than built.