# Hashcards 13 Hacker News commenters recommended Hashcards and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Plain-text, offline, open-source spaced repetition app keeping cards in markdown under git, with few settings. Caveat: reviews follow a fixed scheduler. ## Why people recommend it - Plain text cards in git (4 comments): "enjoyed its simplicity and the fact that it all stays forever in raw markdown files and versioned git" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46862665)) "Plain text, offline, open source. It checks a lot of boxes that I personally look for in software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283656)) "finally a SRS implementation I can use for my plain text files" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272258)) - Simple with no fiddly settings (2 comments): "enjoyed its simplicity and the fact that it all stays forever in raw markdown files and versioned git" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46862665)) "Once set up, it's pretty simple (e.g., no fiddly settings) which helps a lot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46380157)) - Idea seen as good or perfect (2 comments): "I think the overall idea is good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269135)) "This would seem perfect to me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46271511)) ## What people warn about - SQLite database despite no-database claim (2 comments): "Your performance and review history is stored in an SQLite database in the same directory as the cards." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46270178)) "It seems weird to have 'no database' as the selling option for the main system" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46273534)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Anki](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anki.md): 136 recommend - [AnkiDroid](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ankidroid.md): 23 recommend - [Mochi flashcard app](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mochi.md): 9 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Hashcards", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hashcards/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).