Extract text from Flashcard decks (CARDS)
To convert CARDS Flashcards to another format, you need Mnemosyne Project or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Spaced Repetition Deck" file type, you need software like Mnemosyne Project or a similar tool.
.CARDS files are digital flashcard decks utilized by spaced repetition study software like the Mnemosyne Project and iFlash. These files package question-and-answer pairs, learning history metadata, and often embedded media like images and audio clips into a single archive for sharing or backup.
The primary disadvantage of the .CARDS format is vendor lock-in. Because the extension is shared by completely different, incompatible applications (a ZIP archive for Mnemosyne versus a PLIST structure for Apple-centric apps like iFlash), standard text editors and web browsers cannot open them natively. If you switch study platforms, your learning data remains trapped in a proprietary container.
Users frequently need to convert .CARDS to open tabular formats like CSV or TXT, or to APKG to migrate their decks into Anki. Converting extracts the raw text pairs, though you will inevitably lose specific spaced repetition scheduling history (like ease factors) and may break embedded media links.
Because this file format is heavily fragmented and tied to specific software, standard online converters often fail to process it. However, convert.guru can still help. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects the underlying ZIP or PLIST structure, we can help you extract the embedded database and media files safely.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CARDS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted APKG, ANKI, FDK and BOOK files.
If you want to convert CARDS file to BOOK, you can use Mnemosyne Project or similar software from the "Flashcard Deck Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to CARDS, try Mnemosyne Project or another comparable tool in the "Flashcard Deck Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CARDS converter.