Messed up deck by switching a card type to basic

[sabrinaedean]

I accidentally switched on card from cloze to basic and it messed up my whole deck. My browse says “My data base seems to be in an inconsistent state” i have tried a bunch fo different things but it will not work. The change note types is not an option because the greys out will not let me highlight. PLEASE HELP!!!

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Here’s how you can try to recover things and get rid of the “database seems to be in an inconsistent state” message.

Because this is serious, do these in order and don’t skip the backup step.

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1. Make a backup before anything else

1. In Anki Desktop, go to:
   File → Export
2. Export All Decks as a .colpkg file with:
   • Include scheduling information: checked
   • Include media: checked

Save that file somewhere safe. This is your safety net.

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2. Run Anki’s built‑in database check

1. Go to Tools → Check Database in Anki Desktop.
2. Let it run and see:
   • Does the error go away?
   • Do the decks/cards reappear correctly?

If it still says the database is inconsistent after this, continue below.

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3. Restore from an automatic backup (usually best in this situation)

Since switching note types seems to have corrupted things, the cleanest fix is often to roll back to just before the change.

1. In Anki Desktop: File → Switch Profile…
2. Choose your profile (if prompted), then click Open Backups.
3. You’ll see a list of backups by date/time.
   • Pick one from right before you changed the cloze card to basic.
4. Restore that backup and open Anki.
5. Check:
   • Are the cards back to normal?
   • Does the “database inconsistent” error disappear?

If that works:

• Disable AnkiHub sync temporarily until you’re sure everything is stable:
  • Anki → Tools → Add-ons → AnkiHub → Config (or right-click AnkiHub) and pause sync if possible.
• Then do a full AnkiHub sync:
  • In the AnkiHub add‑on, choose to Download from AnkiHub (not upload) so you don’t push any broken state to the shared deck.

If you’re not sure which direction to sync, stop here and let me know what you see in the AnkiHub add‑on; I’ll guide you.

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4. Why “Change Note Type” is greyed out

“Change Note Type…” is disabled when:

• No cards/notes are selected in the Browse window, or
• You’re in a filtered/special view that doesn’t allow that change

Make sure:

1. Open Browse.
2. In the left pane, click the specific deck or note type (not “Whole Collection” if it’s empty).
3. In the right pane, click any card row (or press Ctrl/Command+A to select all).
4. Then try Notes → Change Note Type… again.

If it’s still grey:

• The deck may be partially corrupted; in that case, restoring from a backup (step 3) is the safer path than forcing note‑type changes.

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5. Very important for AnkiHub users

Because you’re using AnkiHub:

• Do not immediately upload your current broken collection to AnkiHub. That can corrupt the shared deck.
• After you restore a healthy backup:
  • Use the AnkiHub add‑on to download from AnkiHub so your local copy matches the shared deck.
  • Only after confirming everything looks normal should you resume normal bidirectional sync.

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What I need from you next

If this doesn’t fix it, please reply with:

1. What happened when you:
   • Ran Tools → Check Database
   • Restored from a backup
2. A screenshot (or text) of the exact AnkiHub add‑on sync options you see (e.g., “Upload local changes” vs “Download deck from AnkiHub”).

That will let me give you a very specific, step‑by‑step rescue plan without risking your deck or the shared AnkiHub deck.

[MarcosZan]

Hello,

Just to make sure we’re on the same page: which deck did you apply that to? Was it the AnKing Step Deck, another AnkiHub deck, or your personal flashcards?

[sabrinaedean]

I was adding cards to the AnKing MCCAT deck

[sabrinaedean]

I got it to be fixed by going to an original backup, but when i sync it gets messed up again

[sabrinaedean]

When i ran tools–> check data base after i restored from a sync nothing pops up. When i go to sync this is what pops up. But when I do download from ankihub my problem comes back.

[MarcosZan]

Hello! You just need to restore from a backup to get it fixed, and when it asks whether to download or upload to AnkiWeb, click upload. Note that this is AnkiWeb (Anki’s cloud backup service), not AnkiHub. If you click download, you will only be downloading the same broken version.

Restore from a backup again to fix it, click upload to AnkiWeb, and the issue should be resolved.