How To Suspend Anki Cards: Desktop, Mobile, And Keyboard Shortcuts Guide

Master the process of suspending Anki cards across Desktop, iOS, and Android platforms to optimize your study queues without losing scheduling data. Suspending temporarily freezes cards, moving them out of active rotation while maintaining their exact ease factors, intervals, and historical review metrics. Learn how to execute single-card toggles, batch operations, and automated leech suspensions in under two minutes.

Pre-Configuration & Card Management Prerequisites

Before executing card suspensions, you must understand how Anki handles card states in its underlying database architecture. Suspending a card changes its internal queue state to negative one (queue = -1). This operation leaves the note field, card history, ease factor, and calculated repetition interval completely intact, distinguishing it sharply from card deletion or interval resets.

Properly managing card states requires zero financial investment and minimal technical setup. However, establishing correct study workflows demands familiarity with Anki’s platform-specific interface layouts and core card parameters.

• Platform Compatibility Requirements:
  
  
  • Anki Desktop: Versions 2.1.x, 23.x, or 24.x (Windows, macOS, Linux).
  • AnkiMobile: iOS/iPadOS 14.0 or higher.
  • AnkiDroid: Android 6.0 or higher.
• Mandatory Knowledge Standards:
  
  
  • Distinction between Card actions (affects a single test format) and Note actions (affects all sibling cards generated from the underlying prompt).
  • Awareness of Anki Scheduler engines (V2 vs. V3 scheduling behavior regarding suspended items in custom study decks).
• Estimated Execution Time Benchmarks:
  
  
  • Single-card review suspension: 1 to 2 seconds via hotkey.
  • Batch suspension (1,000+ cards): 10 to 30 seconds via the Card Browser.
  • Automated leech suspension configuration: 60 seconds within Deck Options.

Step-by-Step Workflows for Suspending Anki Cards Across Platforms

Step 1: Suspend Cards During Active Review on Anki Desktop

When reviewing decks on Windows, macOS, or Linux, you can instantly suspend an unproductive or out-of-scope card without breaking your study momentum.

1. Open Anki and select your target deck to begin your review session.
2. When an unwanted or low-yield card appears on screen, press the designated keyboard shortcut:
   
   
   • Windows / Linux: Press Ctrl + J
   • macOS: Press Cmd + J
3. Alternatively, click the More button located in the bottom right corner of the review interface, then select Suspend Card from the popup menu.
4. Observe the brief on-screen indicator. The text color of the card answer or header will shift yellow or display a top-level alert confirming the suspension. The current card is immediately removed from the active queue, and Anki automatically serves the next card in line.

Pro-Tip: If you accidentally suspend a card during a fast-paced review session, immediately press Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (macOS) to undo the action and restore the card to its active queue state.

Step 2: Batch Suspend Cards via the Anki Card Browser

Batch suspending is the most efficient method for hiding entire sub-decks, specific tags, or imported third-party cards that fall outside your current academic or professional curriculum.

1. Launch Anki and press B on your keyboard (or click Browse at the top of the main profile screen) to open the Card Browser.
2. Navigate to the left sidebar menu and select the target deck, tag, or note type. You can also type a specific filter query into the top search bar (e.g., deck:"Medical::Pathology" tag:high_yield).
3. Select the cards you intend to suspend in the central table panel:
   
   
   • To select a contiguous block of cards, click the first card, hold Shift, and click the last card.
   • To select non-contiguous individual cards, hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS) while clicking each entry.
   • To select all cards matching your search query, click anywhere inside the card list panel and press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (macOS).
4. Execute the suspension command:
   
   
   • Press Ctrl + J (Windows) or Cmd + J (macOS).
   • Or right-click any selected card, scroll to Toggle Suspend, and left-click.
5. Verify the visual status change: All selected cards will immediately display a distinct yellow background highlight in the browser list panel, confirming that their active status has been toggled off.

Warning: Selecting cards in the browser operates on a Card basis by default. If your note type generates multiple cards (e.g., Front/Back and Back/Front, or multiple Cloze deletions), suspending one card will not automatically suspend its sibling cards unless you explicitly select all card instances or suspend the parent note.

Step 3: Suspend Cards on AnkiMobile (iOS)

Managing card states on iPhone and iPad requires utilizing touch shortcuts or navigation toolbars built into the iOS client.

1. Open AnkiMobile and launch your review session.
2. While viewing a card, tap the Gear icon (Tools) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Suspend from the quick-action menu overlay.
4. To batch suspend via AnkiMobile Browser:
   
   
   • Tap Search on the main deck screen.
   • Enter your criteria or select a deck filter.
   • Tap Select in the top navigation bar, tap individual cards to select them (or tap Select All), tap Actions at the bottom, and choose Suspend.

Step 4: Suspend Cards on AnkiDroid (Android)

AnkiDroid provides customizable action bars and gestures to streamline card suspension during daily study routines.

1. Open AnkiDroid and begin reviewing a deck.
2. Tap the Three Dots Menu icon in the upper right corner of the review screen.
3. Tap Suspend card from the drop-down listing.
4. To batch suspend via AnkiDroid Card Browser:
   
   
   • Tap the top-left menu icon and select Card browser.
   • Long-press the first card to enter multi-select mode, then tap additional cards to add them to your selection.
   • Tap the three-dots menu in the top right corner and tap Suspend.

Step 5: Search for and Unsuspend Cards

Reactivating suspended material when preparing for comprehensive exams or re-integrating modules requires using Anki's search syntaxes.

1. Open the Card Browser (B).
2. Type is:suspended into the top search bar and press Enter. This action filters your entire collection to display exclusively suspended cards.
3. To narrow down suspended cards within a specific deck, combine operators: deck:"Language::Japanese" is:suspended.
4. Highlight the target cards using Ctrl + A or individual selection clicks.
5. Press Ctrl + J (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + J (macOS), or right-click and select Toggle Suspend. The yellow highlight will vanish, and the cards will return to their previous active scheduling slots.

Comparative Technical Specs: Card State Management Options

Understanding when to suspend versus using alternative Anki queue-management options prevents database bloat and algorithm corruption.

Resolving Card Suspension and Queue Anomalies

Issue 1: Cards Remain Active in Custom Study Decks Despite Suspension

• Root Cause: In legacy Anki schedulers or specific custom study configurations (Filtered Decks), cards pulled into a dynamic buffer prior to suspension may bypass standard queue filters if the dynamic deck option "Rebuild" has not been executed.
• Actionable Fix: Open the Card Browser, select the custom study deck, right-click, and select Empty. Alternatively, navigate to your Filtered Deck settings screen and click Rebuild. Ensure your custom search string includes -is:suspended (e.g., deck:"Pathology" is:due -is:suspended) to explicitly exclude suspended cards from being pulled into future custom study sessions.

Issue 2: Accidental Note Suspension Disabling Sibling Cards Unexpectedly

• Root Cause: Executing note-level operations (such as pressing Ctrl + Shift + J or utilizing third-party add-ons configured for Note actions) flags all child cards belonging to that note structure as suspended.
• Actionable Fix: Open the Card Browser, search for is:suspended, right-click the central column headers, and enable Note and Card display fields. Filter by the specific Note Type. Select all affected entries, navigate to the top browser menu bar, click Notes, and check for note-level toggles, or simply execute standard card unsuspension (Ctrl + J / Cmd + J) on the full batch.

Issue 3: Automated Leech Actions Continuously Suspending Cards

• Root Cause: Anki's default threshold automatically suspends cards after 8 review lapses (failures). If you consistently fail a difficult card, the system tags it as leech and strips it from the review queue to save time.
• Actionable Fix: To adjust or disable this automation, click the gear icon next to your deck name on the main screen, select Options, and scroll to the Advanced or Leeches section. Change the Leech action setting from Suspend Card to Tag Only. To locate cards previously suspended by this threshold, search tag:leech is:suspended in the browser, review the card formatting for clarity, correct the prompt details, and press Ctrl + J / Cmd + J to restore them.

Issue 4: Keyboard Shortcuts Fail to Suspend Cards in Browser or Reviewer

• Root Cause: Keybinding collisions caused by installed third-party Anki add-ons (e.g., Customize Keyboard Shortcuts, AnKing Overhaul utilities) or OS-level global system hotkeys intercepting Ctrl + J or Cmd + J.
• Actionable Fix: Restart Anki in Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key while launching the application (this temporarily disables all add-ons). Test the native shortcut. If it functions correctly, re-enable add-ons one by one to identify the conflicting extension, or navigate to Tools > Add-ons > Config to rebind conflicting shortcut strings within the culprit add-on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the exact difference between suspending and burying a card in Anki?

Suspending hides a card indefinitely until you manually unsuspend it in the Card Browser. Burying temporarily delays a card or its siblings until the next calendar day (or daily reset time), at which point Anki automatically reinstates it into your active review queue without manual intervention.

Will suspending a card reset its review history or interval?

No. Suspending a card freezes its exact mathematical state within the Anki scheduler. The card retains its current ease factor, accumulated interval length, and entire historic log of review repetitions. When unsuspended, it resumes scheduling exactly where it left off.

How do I search for and list all suspended cards in my Anki collection?

Open the Card Browser by pressing B, click into the top search bar, type is:suspended, and press Enter. This query displays every suspended card across all decks in your profile. To limit the scope to a single deck, search deck:"Your Deck Name" is:suspended.

Can I set Anki to automatically suspend leech cards after a certain number of lapses?

Yes. Navigate to Deck Options by clicking the gear icon beside any deck, find the Leeches section, set the Leech threshold to your preferred number of lapses (default is 8), and set the Leech action dropdown menu to Suspend Card.

Does suspending a card on Desktop sync automatically to AnkiDroid or AnkiMobile?

Yes. Card suspension modifies the database record state for that specific card ID. As long as you run a successful sync operation (by clicking Sync or opening the application while connected to the internet) across your devices, the suspended status will seamlessly update across Desktop, iOS, Android, and AnkiWeb.

Maximize Your Anki Mastery and Spaced Repetition Efficiency

Optimizing your card management workflows is essential for maintaining sustainable, long-term spaced repetition habits without burnout. Implement these exact keyboard shortcuts and search syntaxes today to keep your review queues streamlined and focused on your highest-priority learning goals.