Optional tags won't download

🙋 Support
1

Hi,

I’m having an issue where optional tags will not download, even though the AnKing deck syncs normally.

Setup:

  • Anki 26.05 (macOS 15.7.3, Apple Silicon)
  • AnkiHub Core subscription
  • AnkiHub add-on ID: 1322529746

Issue:

  • Subscribed to the AnKing Step Deck.
  • Selected the USCSOM optional tag group on the AnkiHub website.
  • Website says “Optional tags successfully updated.”
  • The main deck syncs correctly.
  • No AnkiHub_Optional tags ever appear in Browse.
  • Searching tag:AnkiHub_Optional* returns nothing.
  • Reset Optional Tag Group always throws an AnkiHub add-on error.

Troubleshooting already tried:

  • Reinstalled Anki.
  • Reinstalled the AnkiHub add-on.
  • Disabled all other add-ons.
  • Unsubscribed/resubscribed to the deck.
  • Toggled the optional tag off/on and saved.
  • Normal sync and Reset Optional Tag Group.
  • Created a brand-new Anki profile, installed only the AnkiHub add-on, downloaded the deck again, and reproduced the exact same issue.
  • Tested another optional tag group, and it also failed to download.

This seems to indicate the problem is not specific to the USCSOM tag group or my original profile.
I’ve also uploaded my logs: ankihub_addon_debug_info_mcadieux_1785209291.zip

Any ideas on what could be causing the optional tag groups not to download?
Thank you!

2

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Thanks for laying out all the details — that helps a lot.

Based on what you described, this does not look like a local/profile/add-on conflict issue anymore. You’ve:

  • Tested on a clean profile with only AnkiHub installed
  • Confirmed the deck syncs fine
  • Tried multiple optional tag groups, all failing
  • Get an error specifically on “Reset Optional Tag Group”
  • See no AnkiHub_Optional tags and tag:AnkiHub_Optional* returns nothing

That combination strongly suggests either:

  1. A bug or temporary issue on the AnkiHub server side for optional tags (especially for Anki 26.05), or
  2. A specific account/deck linkage problem on the backend for your user.

Since I don’t see an existing forum thread with this exact pattern, this likely needs developer attention rather than more local troubleshooting.

What you can try once more (just to rule out edge cases)

  1. In Anki, go to Tools → Add-ons → AnkiHub → Config and confirm:
    • enable_optional_tags (or similar setting, depending on version) is enabled.
  2. In the AnkiHub add-on menu:
    • Run: AnkiHub → Sync with AnkiHub
    • Then run: AnkiHub → Reset optional tag group and note the exact error text (or screenshot it).

If you can, please paste the full error message from the Reset Optional Tag Group action into your topic. That will be very helpful for the devs.

Why this likely needs staff/dev investigation

  • You already uploaded ankihub_addon_debug_info_mcadieux_1785209291.zip, which is exactly what support/devs need.
  • The fact that multiple optional tag groups fail on a fresh profile with a current Anki version and Core subscription points away from user configuration and toward:
    • A bug in the current AnkiHub add-on build for 26.05, or
    • A server-side problem with generating or sending AnkiHub_Optional tags for your account or for the AnKing Step Deck.

At this point, there isn’t another meaningful client-side step for you to try.

Next steps / what I recommend

  1. Keep this topic updated with:
    • The exact error text from “Reset Optional Tag Group.”
    • Confirmation that optional tags are enabled in the add-on config.
  2. This should be escalated to the AnkiHub team to:
    • Check your account and subscription state in the backend.
    • Inspect the logs you already uploaded.
    • Verify that optional tag generation for the AnKing Step Deck is working as expected for Anki 26.05.

Until a dev checks the server-side logs, there’s a high chance you won’t be able to fix this only from your end.

If support/devs respond here, they may ask you to:

  • Try a test account, or
  • Temporarily subscribe to a different shared deck with optional tags to see if they appear there, which would help narrow down whether the issue is deck-specific or account-wide.

For now, from your side, you’ve done all the right troubleshooting and provided exactly the info they’ll need.

4

When I select “Reset Optional Tag Group,” Anki displays the AnkiHub add-on error copied below. However, the Copied Debug Info does not include a final exception type or message identifying the exact cause.
Anki 26.05 (e64c6b1a) (ao)
Python 3.13.11 Qt 6.11.0 PyQt 6.11.0
Platform: macOS-15.7.3-arm64-arm-64bit-Mach-O

File “/Applications/Anki.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/threading.py”, line 1015, in _bootstrap
self._bootstrap_inner()
File “/Applications/Anki.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/threading.py”, line 1044, in _bootstrap_inner
self.run()
File “/Applications/Anki.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/threading.py”, line 995, in run
self._target(*self._args, **self._kwargs)
File “/Applications/Anki.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/concurrent/futures/thread.py”, line 93, in _worker
work_item.run()
File “/Applications/Anki.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/concurrent/futures/thread.py”, line 59, in run
result = self.fn(*self.args, **self.kwargs)
File “/Users/meaghancadieux/Library/Application Support/Anki2/addons21/1322529746/gui/browser/browser.py”, line 705, in
task=lambda: _reset_optional_tag_group(extension_id=extension_id),
File “/Users/meaghancadieux/Library/Application Support/Anki2/addons21/1322529746/gui/browser/browser.py”, line 721, in _reset_optional_tag_group
update_decks_and_media(on_done=on_done, ah_dids=[extension_config.ah_did], start_media_sync=False)
File “/Users/meaghancadieux/Library/Application Support/Anki2/addons21/1322529746/gui/operations/utils.py”, line 36, in wrapper
return func(*args, **kwargs)
File “/Users/meaghancadieux/Library/Application Support/Anki2/addons21/1322529746/gui/operations/ankihub_sync.py”, line 209, in update_decks_and_media
run_update(
File “/Users/meaghancadieux/Library/Application Support/Anki2/addons21/1322529746/gui/operations/ankihub_sync.py”, line 173, in run_update
).failure(on_failure).with_progress().run_in_background()
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/operations/init.py”, line 263, in run_in_background
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/operations/init.py”, line 281, in _run
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/taskman.py”, line 113, in with_progress
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/taskman.py”, line 74, in run_in_background
===Add-ons (active)===
(add-on provided name [Add-on folder, installed at, version, is config changed])
AnkiHub [‘1322529746’, 2026-07-01T13:28, ‘None’, ‘’]

===IDs of active AnkiWeb add-ons===
1322529746

===Add-ons (inactive)===
(add-on provided name [Add-on folder, installed at, version, is config changed])
Contanki - Controller Support for Anki beta [‘1898790263’, 2024-02-29T20:22, ‘v1.0.2’, ‘’]
Find cards from UWorld test Updated [‘1939527074’, 2025-01-26T23:54, ‘None’, ‘’]

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Thanks for posting the full traceback — that’s very helpful.

From what you’ve shown:

  • The error occurs inside the AnkiHub “update_decks_and_media” / sync pipeline when called from Reset Optional Tag Group.
  • The traceback stops inside Anki’s own with_progress().run_in_background() machinery and doesn’t include the actual exception message, which is why the “Copied Debug Info” looks incomplete.
  • You’re on Anki 26.05 + Python 3.13 + Qt 6.11 with only AnkiHub active, so this is very likely a compatibility/bug on the AnkiHub side with Anki 26.05’s new threading/progress code, rather than anything in your setup.

Given all the troubleshooting you already did, there is nothing reasonable left to try locally. At this point it’s almost certainly:

  • a bug in the current AnkiHub add-on build when calling update_decks_and_media on Anki 26.05, which then prevents optional tags from being downloaded, and
  • it only becomes visible when you use Reset Optional Tag Group, but it’s probably the same underlying issue that’s blocking the initial optional-tag sync.

Concrete next steps

  1. Keep the current environment as-is

    • Anki 26.05
    • Only AnkiHub enabled
    • AnkiHub Core + AnKing Step Deck subscribed
      This is the exact state the devs will want to reproduce.

  2. Confirm one setting (just once):

    • In Anki: Tools → Add-ons → AnkiHub → Config
    • Verify that the option related to optional tags (e.g. enable_optional_tags or similarly named) is turned on.
      If it is, there’s nothing else for you to change.

  3. Allow this to be escalated to the devs:

    • You’ve already uploaded ankihub_addon_debug_info_mcadieux_1785209291.zip.
    • The traceback you pasted, together with your system info and the fact that no AnkiHub_Optional tags exist even after a fresh profile + resubscribe, is exactly what the AnkiHub team needs to:
      • Reproduce the issue on macOS 15 / Apple Silicon / Anki 26.05, and
      • Fix the bug in the optional-tag sync path.

  4. Optional, if you need optional tags immediately
    Only if you’re comfortable doing so and only as a temporary workaround:

    • Install an earlier stable Anki version that is known to work well with AnkiHub (for example 24.06.3, which is still widely used with AnkiHub).
    • Use a separate Anki profile for that older version so you can go back to 26.05 later without issues.
      On that older version, install AnkiHub and subscribe to the deck again to see if AnkiHub_Optional tags appear.
      If they do, that further confirms this is a 26.05-specific compatibility bug.

Summary

  • You’ve done thorough troubleshooting and the new traceback confirms this is not a configuration issue on your side.
  • The problem is very likely a bug in the AnkiHub add-on’s optional-tag sync on Anki 26.05.
  • The best path forward is developer investigation using your logs and traceback; there’s no additional local tweak that’s likely to fix this for you.

I’d recommend waiting for a staff/dev reply in this topic with either:

  • a patched add-on build, or
  • specific instructions (e.g., a temporary version pin or additional logging test).