Tonic for Anki

Your reviews open
your apps.

Anki tracks the cards. Tonic protects the streak: your distraction apps stay locked until you've put in today's review minutes, then they open on their own.

Anki
Today's reviews unlock the feed
your minutes in Anki, counted automatically
18 of 25 min
then they open: Reddit Instagram
Anki
Or bank it for light days
review minutes roll over into light days
32 min banked
32 min reviewed today

Why people quit Anki

Missing a day is easy.
Coming back is the hard part.

Skip a few days and the due cards pile up, and a big pile is a lot easier to keep avoiding than a short daily session. The habit holds when the deck comes before the feed, not after it. Tonic makes that the default, on the days you feel like reviewing and the days you don't.

Your rules

Two ways Anki people set it up.

The reviews always come first. You pick the shape of the deal.

The daily gate

Reviews first

Until today's minutes with the deck are in, your scroll apps stay locked. Reddit, Instagram, whatever eats the review time. Clear it, and they open on their own for the rest of the day.

Anki 25 min of reviews → Apps all day

The bank

Earn & spend

Review minutes become scroll minutes, and the balance rolls over. A heavy Sunday session pays for the week's light days, and the balance ticks down while you scroll.

🧠 30 min reviewed → 30 min banked

How locked is "locked"? Either way, you pick.

A pauseA short wait before it opens, a little longer each time.
A pause that growsYou can push through, but it pushes back harder with every visit.
Full lockNo way in until the reviews are done.

For the moment you reach for the feed

Sent to the deck, not stopped at a wall.

Locking an app is only half of it. Set Anki as your redirect, and reaching for a locked app opens the deck instead of the feed. No reminder to ignore, no willpower needed: the reviews are just what shows up.

A locked app you reach for a locked app
opens
Anki the deck is what opens

Your decks, your add-ons, your scheduler: all untouched. Tonic only ever sees the minutes, never a single card.

Anki people set up things like this.

Quick answers

Does Tonic see my decks or my retention?

No. Tonic counts the minutes Anki is open in front of you, using Apple's Screen Time system, on your phone. Apple's design goes further than that: the app you pick is an opaque token, so Tonic can't even see that it's Anki. Decks, cards, ease, retention: all invisible to us.

How does it know my reviews are done?

It doesn't read your due count, and we won't pretend it does. Tonic counts time with the deck open, and only while it's actually in front of you: backgrounded time doesn't count. You pick the daily minutes that match your load, and you can change the bar whenever your deck changes.

I do most of my reviews on my desktop.

Then the gate won't see those sessions: Tonic counts time on the device it's installed on, so desktop and AnkiWeb reviews don't move the bar. Plenty of people run it the other way around: desktop for the heavy lifting, and a small daily bar on the phone to keep the habit honest on days you never sit at the desk.

What about exam crunch and light days?

Bank mode fits that rhythm: heavy days bank extra scroll time, light days spend it, and the balance rolls over. Or just lower the daily minutes. The deal is yours to tune, and changing it takes seconds.

What does it cost?

Free to start: gate two apps behind one habit, for as long as you like. Tonic Unlimited covers your whole phone for $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month, with the first 7 days free.

More questions answered at Support →

Start with two apps and tonight's reviews.

1
Pick the apps that talk you out of itReddit, Instagram, the one that eats the half hour you meant to review in.
2
Pick the dealFull lock until the minutes are in, banked minutes that roll over, or a pause that grows. Your call.
3
Do the reviews, not the feedThe reviews happen, the pile never builds up, and the apps are simply open when you're done.
Get Tonic free Free to start · no account needed

Tonic is an independent companion and isn't affiliated with Anki, AnkiMobile, or Ankitects.