Self-made subdecks disappearing in Anking MCAT deck

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When I unsuspend a set of cards tagged by uworld i put them into a subdeck i make and put under its section. For some reason after reopening anki, the subdecks are disappearing. What do i do?

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CleanShot 2024-09-29 at 08.56.43@2x
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This usually happens when the deck hierarchy is being changed by AnkiHub sync or deck updates, or when the cards aren’t actually in the subdeck you think they are.

Here are the main things to check and try:

1. Make sure you’re moving cards, not just viewing them by tag

  1. Go to the Browse window.
  2. Filter by your UWorld tag (e.g. tag:uworld::something).
  3. Select the cards you want → Right‑click → Change Deck…
  4. Choose your custom subdeck (e.g. AnKing MCAT::UWORLD::Your Subdeck).

If you don’t actually change the deck (only filter by tag), the cards won’t stay grouped the way you expect.

2. Put custom subdecks under the recommended parent decks

For the AnKing MCAT deck, create your subdecks as children of the main deck, for example:

  • AnKing MCAT
    • 01 – Biochem
    • UWORLD – Custom ← your deck under the main AnKing MCAT deck

Avoid putting your subdecks inside any of the special “control” or temporary decks that might be overwritten or cleaned up by updates.

3. Check if AnkiHub is reverting deck structure

If this only happens after you sync AnkiHub / accept updates:

  1. Open the AnkiHub add‑on → go to your AnKing MCAT deck page in the add‑on.
  2. In the deck settings, look for anything related to:
    • “Reset local changes”
    • “Undo local changes”
    • “Restore deck structure”
  3. Make sure you’re not restoring deck structure in a way that would delete or merge your custom subdecks.

AnkiHub will not delete cards you added yourself, but it can overwrite deck structure if you tell it to reset to the shared version.

4. Confirm that the subdeck really disappears (and isn’t just empty)

After reopening Anki, check:

  • Does the subdeck name still exist with 0 cards?
  • Or is the subdeck completely gone from the deck list?

If it’s just empty, that means the cards got moved back to another deck. If it’s completely gone, something (often a restore/reset) is deleting the deck itself.

5. Safe test

To narrow it down:

  1. Create a test subdeck: AnKing MCAT::TEST UWORLD.
  2. Move a few tagged UWorld cards into it via Browse → Change Deck.
  3. Close Anki, do NOT run AnkiHub sync or accept any updates.
  4. Reopen Anki.
    • If the deck is still there → the issue is likely with AnkiHub sync/update behavior.
    • If it’s gone even without syncing → something else is changing deck structure (e.g. another add‑on, profile issue).

6. If you’re still stuck

Please reply with:

  • A screenshot of your deck list showing where you’re creating the subdeck.
  • A screenshot of the Browse window for those cards (showing the Deck column and tags).
  • Whether the disappearance happens only after AnkiHub sync / applying an update or even if you just close and reopen Anki without syncing.

With that info I can give more precise steps tailored to your setup.

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Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 7.43.05 AM
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decks are being deleted

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Thanks for the screenshot—that helps.

What you’re seeing is almost certainly AnkiHub (or another sync) re‑applying the original deck structure of the AnKing MCAT deck and removing any custom child decks you create directly under it.

In other words:
Your cards are still there, but the custom subdecks you add inside the shared deck hierarchy get wiped when updates/sync apply.

What to do instead

1. Keep all custom decks outside the AnKing MCAT hierarchy

Instead of:

  • AnKing MCAT Deck::Behavioral::UWorld – My Subdeck :cross_mark:

Use a separate parent deck for your own organization, e.g.:

  • My MCAT – Custom :white_check_mark:
    • My MCAT – Custom::Behavioral – UWorld
    • My MCAT – Custom::Biochem – UWorld

AnkiHub only manages the AnKing MCAT Deck structure.
Anything outside that tree is safe.

2. Move cards via Browse → Change Deck

  1. Open Browse.
  2. Filter by the tag you’re using for those cards (e.g. tag:uworld::behavioral).
  3. Select the cards → Right‑click → Change Deck…
  4. Choose your custom deck (e.g. My MCAT – Custom::Behavioral – UWorld).

Those cards will now live in your custom deck and won’t be shuffled by deck-structure updates to AnKing MCAT.

3. Check AnkiHub settings so you don’t reset structure

In the AnkiHub add‑on:

  • Open the AnKing MCAT deck page.
  • Don’t use options like “reset local changes / restore deck structure” unless you really intend to undo all local structural tweaks. Those actions can remove local deck changes under the shared deck.

4. Verify what’s happening to your cards

After your custom decks disappear:

  1. In Browse, search for one of the affected notes (by text or tag).
  2. Look at the Deck column.
    • If the deck is now something like AnKing MCAT Deck::Behavioral::Ch 13..., your cards were just moved back there when the deck tree was restored.

If you’d like, reply with:

  • A screenshot of your full deck tree showing where you originally put your custom subdeck.
  • A screenshot from Browse of one example card before and after syncing.

Then I can suggest a precise deck layout that will be safe with AnkiHub updates.

6

Hello,

I would be happy to help. :slight_smile:

Just to make sure I’m on the same page: I see the image you shared there, though just trying to make sure I’m understanding. Which deck is it that’s disappearing?

I see the image you shared, though not having anything to compare it against may make it a bit more difficult to understand well what changes are occurring

Similarly from there: are you seeing any error indications, or pop-up messages or similar?

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Hi Brian,
As I go through the UWorld book chapters and study the Anking cards tagged with it , I move the cards and create sub deck with the chapter name under Anking deck . When I synced the account , those sub decks I have created disappeared.
Can you please help me with this?

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I am helping with this. That’s what we’re doing. :slight_smile:

It’s hard to give much insight, without being able to see which decks are being deleted, and how you’ve determined that/if you’re missing cards

Can you share a bit more detail about the specific difficulties you’re running into?

The more context you can share the easier it may be to be of help. Screenshots are ideal, if you can, just so I can see what you’re seeing

Similarly from there: are you seeing any error indications, or pop-up messages or similar?

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Hello Brian, I am not seeing any error or pop up messages, my main concern is when I add new cards, they are being removed once i sync with ankihub. Is there any way to keep the cards that I made into the anking deck after syncing. I am not worried about retrieiving old cards made.

Let me know if you need additional informtion

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Yep, I’d be happy to be of help. The below information from our previous exchange would be great to have, so we can best help try to figure out what’s happening for you:

Additionally, if you can clarify a bit: in your initial message you mentioned that this is happening when you unsuspend cards, though you also mentioned ‘adding’ cards, so I’d just like to make sure I understand precisely what’s going on

Additionally, when you say that the cards are being ‘removed’ if you can help me understand in detail what exactly you’re seeing on your end

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I don’t have screenshots because the sub decks disappeared now . I am trying to explain
Once I review the cards based on UWorld chapter tags , I create a sub deck with the chapter name under the Anking MCAT deck and move those cards to the sub deck I created.
But after I synced my account with Anki hub , those sub decks disappeared.
How can I let those sub decks or sub sections appear again and for this not to happen again?
I don’t know how to explain my issue better than this

14

I’m sorry to say I’m not sure. I can’t say that I’ve heard of an issue like this before, so I’m hard-pressed to offer much in the way of solutions, sadly

I can’t think of a reason that Anki, or AnkiHub, would automatically delete any subdecks. It is almost certainly the case that AnkiHub does not have the capacity to unilaterally delete your subdecks, so I could venture a guess that it’s not likely to be occurring on the AnkiHub side at the very least

I wish that I could be of more help than that, but given the info in front of us it pains me to say that I don’t have an immediate explanation for you, other than I suspect that it’s not related to AnkiHub

It is possible that the issue is related to the Anki software, though, or the AnkiWeb servers, and you might be able to find more insight or support over at the official Anki forums, where they have a bit more expert advice on their end of things: https://forums.ankiweb.net/

If there is anything else we can help with, though, or any other questions we can try to help answer for you, please let me know and happy to do my best to be of help. :mending_heart:

1 Like
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No problem, thanks for your help

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