True Recall

The next-gen spaced repetition system for Obsidian.

Create flashcards inside your notes, review them with FSRS v6 scheduling, and track progress with comprehensive analytics — all without leaving Obsidian.

Documentation · Pricing · Sponsor on GitHub

Features

• FSRS v6 Algorithm — State-of-the-art spaced repetition with 21 trainable parameters. Optimizes to your personal memory patterns after 400+ reviews.
• AI Card Generation — Select text, get instant flashcards. Supports Basic, Cloze, Reversed, and Image Occlusion card types. Multiple models via OpenRouter (Gemini, GPT, Claude, Llama).
• Local-First Storage — All data in a portable SQLite database inside your vault (.true-recall/true-recall.db). Your data stays with you.
• Projects System — Organize cards across notes with many-to-many relationships. Review by topic, inherit FSRS presets from parent projects.
• Anki Compatible — Import .apkg decks and export to Anki or CSV/TSV.
• Analytics & Widgets — Dashboard, statistics, calendar heatmap, forecast charts, and 25+ inline codeblock widgets you can embed in any note.
• Card Browser — Powerful query syntax for finding cards by state, properties, source note, and more.
• Type-in Mode — Type answers with AI semantic grading or diff-based checking.

Installation

Via BRAT (Recommended)

1. Install BRAT from Obsidian Community Plugins
2. Settings → BRAT → Add Beta Plugin → enter pieralukasz/true-recall
3. Enable True Recall in Settings → Community plugins

Manual

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Copy main.js, styles.css, and manifest.json into <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/true-recall/
3. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community plugins

From Source

git clone https://github.com/pieralukasz/true-recall.git
cd true-recall
bun install
bun run build
cp main.js styles.css manifest.json <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/true-recall/

Requirements

• Obsidian 1.7.2+
• Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux). True Recall is marked desktop-only in manifest.json.

Quick Start

1. Open a note and select some text
2. Use the selection toolbar to generate flashcards with AI
3. Open the Flashcard Panel to see and collect your cards
4. Start a review session — rate cards as Again, Hard, Good, or Easy
5. Track progress in the Statistics view or embed widgets in your notes

For a complete walkthrough, see the documentation.

Privacy & Background Activity

True Recall is local-first. It does not send telemetry or analytics. Network access is limited to the explicit feature paths below.

Periodic timers (setInterval) — all local, no network:

• Database safety-flush — writes pending changes to the local SQLite file in your vault.
• Optional background backup — writes a backup file inside your vault when enabled in settings.
• Device-lock heartbeat — updates a small lock file inside your vault to prevent two Obsidian Sync clients from corrupting the database when both are open. Local file write only.
• UI status polling — reads in-memory state to refresh diagnostics/backup panels.

Network requests — only on explicit user action or one-time per release:

• Update check — when the plugin version differs from the last seen version, a single requestUrl call is made to the GitHub Releases API to fetch release notes. Runs once per version, not on a timer.
• AI / RAG features (opt-in) — flashcard generation, semantic grading, image-occlusion detection, and knowledge-base chat require a configured AI provider. Depending on settings, requests can go to OpenRouter, ai.truerecall.app for True Recall Pro, a local LM Studio/Ollama endpoint, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint you enter.
• Local API server (desktop, opt-in) — binds to 127.0.0.1 only, used by the optional companion CLI and MCP server. It is disabled by default and does not expose a public network listener.
• External links — documentation, pricing, sponsorship, Discord, and Anki shared-deck links are opened only when you click UI links.

Storage: All flashcards and review data live in .true-recall/true-recall.db inside your vault. Backups and lock files live in the same .true-recall/ folder. Device identity and optional device labels use localStorage so multiple synced devices can avoid database conflicts.

Vault and clipboard access:

• Vault reads/writes are core to the plugin: True Recall reads selected/current notes, creates or updates notes for projects/imports, and stores its SQLite database and backups inside the vault.
• Vault enumeration is used for note pickers, project discovery, media lookup, export/import, and optional RAG indexing.
• Clipboard writes happen only from explicit copy actions. Clipboard paste/drop handlers are used only in image/media workflows initiated by the user.

Bundled runtime components:

• The plugin embeds @sqlite.org/sqlite-wasm so SQLite works locally in Obsidian. This is the expected .wasm module in the bundle.
• Base64 encoding is used to pass selected vault images to configured AI vision providers for image-occlusion region detection. It is not used to hide network destinations or source strings.

License

Source-available under the PolyForm Strict License 1.0.0 (SPDX: PolyForm-Strict-1.0.0).

Permitted: noncommercial use, including personal study, research, hobby projects, and use by charitable / educational / public-research / government organizations. Fair-use rights are preserved.

Not permitted under this license: redistribution, modification and derivative works, commercial use, hosting as a service, or building a competing product.

Commercial licensing. A separate commercial license is required for any use beyond what PolyForm Strict allows — including production deployments inside a business, paid services built on True Recall, or distributing derivative works. Contact [email protected] to discuss terms.