Use AnkiMCP with MCP Warp: One Tunnel for Anki and Every Other MCP Server

AnkiMCP ships its own managed tunnel, and for most people that’s the right way to reach Anki from a web or mobile AI. But if you already run MCP Warp to expose other MCP servers, you don’t need a second tunnel: add AnkiMCP to your MCP Warp config and the same mcpwarp up covers Anki too.

MCP Warp is a separate product by the same author as AnkiMCP. It works like ngrok, but built for MCP: every local MCP server you list gets its own public address, protected by OAuth sign-in, so there is no anonymous access. Unlike the AnkiMCP tunnel, it isn’t tied to one server — Anki sits next to your notes server, your database server, or whatever else you’ve plugged in.

Which tunnel should you use?

If Anki is the only MCP server you care about, stick with the managed tunnel — it needs no config file and no extra CLI. The rest of this page is for people who run MCP Warp anyway.

What you need

• Anki open on the computer that runs MCP Warp. Both tunnels only relay to a running Anki; neither is a cloud copy of your cards.
• The MCP Warp CLI installed and signed in. Follow Get started: install, run mcpwarp login, and pick a username at web.mcpwarp.io — the CLI refuses to start a tunnel without one (USERNAME_REQUIRED).
• One of the two AnkiMCP servers, below. Not sure which you have? See Add-on vs CLI.

Time: about 5 minutes if MCP Warp is already set up.

Step 1: Add AnkiMCP to your MCP Warp config

MCP Warp reads ~/.mcpwarp/config.json. It can expose two kinds of server, and AnkiMCP comes in both shapes.

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "name": "anki",
      "kind": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3141/"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "name": "anki",
      "kind": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ankimcp/anki-mcp-server", "--stdio"],
      "env": { "ANKI_CONNECT_URL": "http://localhost:8765" }
    }
  ]
}

The name becomes part of your public address, so keep it short and lowercase (anki works).

Step 2: Start the tunnel

mcpwarp status   # validates the config
mcpwarp up

mcpwarp up prints one public URL per server. Yours looks like:

https://anki-yourname.tunnel.mcpwarp.io/mcp

Keep that terminal open, and keep Anki open. Close either one and the AI loses its way to your cards.

Step 3: Connect your AI

Any client that speaks Streamable HTTP can use the URL. The ones people ask about:

claude.ai and the Claude mobile apps. Add a custom connector on the web: enter a name and your *.tunnel.mcpwarp.io/mcp URL, click Continue, keep Sign in now and Register automatically selected, click Add, and finish the OAuth sign-in. Connectors you add on claude.ai show up in the Claude iOS and Android apps the next time you sign in there — so you set it up once on the web and review from your phone. Full steps: Connect Claude on the MCP Warp docs.

ChatGPT. Add the same URL as a connector, exactly as in Connect ChatGPT to Anki, substituting the MCP Warp address for the AnkiMCP tunnel address.

Claude Code.

claude mcp add --transport http anki https://anki-yourname.tunnel.mcpwarp.io/mcp
claude mcp login anki

Check it worked

With Anki open and mcpwarp up running, ask your assistant: “List my Anki decks.” If it names your decks, the whole chain works.

Fix common problems

USERNAME_REQUIRED when running mcpwarp up. Sign in at web.mcpwarp.io and choose a username first. The username is part of every public URL, so the CLI can’t start without it.

The assistant connects but sees no tools, or times out. Check that Anki is open. For the add-on, open http://127.0.0.1:3141/ in your browser. For the CLI, open http://localhost:8765 — you should see AnkiConnect.

The server keeps restarting (CLI). MCP Warp gives up after 10 crashes in a row without a 60-second healthy run. Run the command from your config by hand in a terminal to see the actual error — usually Node.js is too old or AnkiConnect isn’t installed.

Common questions

Is this instead of the AnkiMCP tunnel? It’s an alternative, not a replacement. The AnkiMCP tunnel stays the simplest path when Anki is all you expose. MCP Warp earns its place when it’s already carrying your other MCP servers.

Is it safe? Every MCP Warp address requires OAuth sign-in, so nobody reaches your Anki without your account. The add-on keeps its DNS-rebinding protection on, because MCP Warp talks to it over the local address; you don’t open any port or allow-list any hostname.

Does my collection go through MCP Warp’s servers? Requests and responses pass through the tunnel in real time, the same way they do with the AnkiMCP tunnel. Your collection stays in your Anki. See MCP Warp’s docs for its data handling.

Will there be a tighter Anki integration in MCP Warp? Nothing to announce. Today AnkiMCP is just another server in your config, which is the point.

Next steps

• New to MCP Warp? Start with Get started and Expose a STDIO server.
• Why a STDIO server needs a bridge to become a web address at all: From STDIO MCP server to HTTP.
• Want Anki reachable without keeping your laptop on? That’s Hosted Anki, which no tunnel can give you.
• Prompts for reviewing and making cards once you’re connected: Anki AI prompts.

Disclaimer: “Anki” is a registered trademark of Ankitects Pty Ltd. AnkiMCP is an independent, community-built project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Ankitects. MCP is an open standard originated by Anthropic; AnkiMCP and MCP Warp are likewise not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.