EngramQuest
approvedby bahfahh
This plugin has not been manually reviewed by Obsidian staff. Turn notes into gamified Quest Maps, visual Memory Maps (Canvas), and flashcard Review Decks powered by AI Skills. Supports Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Cursor. Features FSRS spaced repetition, active recall, memory retention, and AI hints.
🗺️ EngramQuest
Carve your notes into memory.
Not just records — traces in your mind.
Generate flashcard decks and quest maps from your Obsidian notes — AI deepens memory connections, FSRS spaced repetition makes the knowledge truly last.

💡 Why EngramQuest?
Anki solves when to review. EngramQuest solves how to actually remember.
- L2 Contextual Anchor — AI searches your vault, finds what you already knew when you first learned this topic, and rebuilds that moment of understanding. No other flashcard tool does this.
- FSRS algorithm — newer and more accurate than Anki's SM-2. Intervals adapt to your actual recall performance, not fixed multipliers.
- Quest Maps — turn dense long notes into game-like island challenges. You engage with the material instead of re-reading it.
✨ Features
🃏 Review Deck — Remember More, Study Less

A three-stage recall system that builds real memory — not just familiarity:

| Stage | What it does |
|---|---|
| L1 Active Recall | Question only — forces your brain to search first, before any hint |
| L2 Contextual Anchor ⭐ | AI finds related notes in your vault and rebuilds the moment you first learned this. Anki can't do this. |
| L3 Narrowing Hint | A keyword direction as last resort — never gives the full answer |
- FSRS scheduling — intervals adapt to your actual recall, not preset multipliers
- AI cards stay separate — generated cards live in
engram-review/, AI never touches your source notes - Edit writes back — Highlight and Edit tools write changes directly to your source note, keeping it the single source of truth
- Auto-detection — any note tagged
#flashcards/topicis picked up automatically - Source note link — jump from any card to its origin note mid-session, then return right where you left off
🗺️ Quest Map — Turn Notes into Challenges


Transforms any note into a game-like island map, embedded directly in your vault as a .md file.
- 15 challenge types: quiz, true/false, cloze, input, ordering, matching, countdown, snapshot, auction, timeline, chain, memory palace, image quiz, image occlusion, and iframe HTML simulations.
- Persistent progress: completed nodes, progress, and best scores are stored separately from quest YAML, so AI can update a quest without wiping your progress.
- Difficulty tiers: Easy / Medium / Hard — ask your AI for the level you need
- 5 visual themes: Sky Island, Sci-Fi, RPG, Ocean, Minimal
- Boss Battle — a chapter mastery test at the end of each stage
🏆 Achievements

Track your learning milestones with 3D-rendered icons and rarity tiers.
- 10 milestones: from your first card to 2,000 total reviews, 30-day streaks, 50 mastered cards, and more
- Rarity tiers: Uncommon (UC) → Rare (R) → Legendary (LEG) — rarer achievements glow with special borders
- Click any achievement card for your progress data, activity calendar, and daily review records
🧠 Memory Map — See the Big Picture

Visualizes abstract concepts using Obsidian Canvas.
- AI generates a visual knowledge graph — analogies, contrasts, and contextual anchoring make abstract topics stick
- Any file named
{note-name}-memory.canvasis auto-detected in Hub → Memory Map - During review, the Memory Map button finds and opens the matching canvas automatically
🌙 Dark Mode

Seamless automatic theme detection — no manual toggle. Hub, review session, and achievements all switch between light and dark assets automatically.
⚡ Quick Start (AI Path)
- Install Plugin — Open directly in Obsidian, search EngramQuest in Community Plugins, or download from GitHub Releases.
- Install Skills — go to
Settings → EngramQuest → AI Skillsand click Install for your tool (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, or Codex).
- Ask AI — "Turn
Note.mdinto a quest-map medium" or "Build a review deck from notes tagged with math." - Open Hub — click the EngramQuest ribbon icon, switch to the relevant tab, and start learning.
✍️ Write Cards Yourself (No AI Required)
Add a #flashcards/topic tag and pick a format. Three formats are freely mixable in one note:
| Format | Best for | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
🟢 Q:/A: Q&A ⭐ | Recommended daily format. Multi-line answers, images, tables, code blocks | Q: question → A: — two blank lines end the card |
🔵 --- fenced Q&A | Existing notes where blank lines appear inside answers | Wrap Q:/A: with --- lines |
🟡 %%card%% long answer | Pasted AI output that may contain its own --- separators | Wrap one card between two %%card%% lines |
🧩 {{c1::}} Cloze | Fill-in-the-blank, Anki-compatible | {{c1::answer}} or {{c1::answer::hint}} |
⚪ :: one-liner | Quick single-line Q&A only | question :: answer |
See card format examples
#flashcards/math
Q: What is a derivative?
A: The instantaneous rate of change of a function at a point.
Formally: lim(h→0) [f(x+h) − f(x)] / h
Q: What does this diagram show?
![[architecture.png]]
A: The architecture of a microservice system.
---
Q: What is Stripe's core model?
A: Stripe is essentially a Saga system.
It handles payment_intent state machine, retry / failure handling,
and fund consistency. You only receive the result.
---
%%card%%
Q: How should I explain agentic testing?
A:
Agentic testing checks whether an AI system can complete a task reliably.
---
This separator stays inside the answer.
%%card%%
{{c1::Calculus}} is built on limits, derivatives, and integrals.
Pythagorean theorem :: a² + b² = c²
Tip: Press
Ctrl+/(orCmd+/) on an empty line — Obsidian inserts%% %%and places the cursor inside. Typecardand you get%%card%%instantly.
🔬 Why It Works
EngramQuest is built on four pillars of cognitive science:
| Principle | Feature |
|---|---|
| Spaced Repetition | FSRS schedules reviews at the moment of near-forgetting |
| Retrieval Practice | L1 forces active recall before any hint is shown |
| Contextual Anchoring | L2 anchors each card to knowledge already in your vault |
| Elaborative Encoding | Memory Map builds visual structure for abstract concepts |
❓ FAQ
Q: Do I have to use AI?
No — many users don't. Write cards with ::, Q:/A:, or {{c1::}}, add a #flashcards/topic tag, and the plugin picks them up automatically.
Q: Where is my progress stored?
Scheduling data lives in engram-review/sr/ inside your vault as JSON files. AI-generated cards are in engram-review/ai-cards/. Neither touches your source notes.
Q: Does EngramQuest support Anki?
Partially. The :: and {{c1::}} formats are Anki-compatible — pair them with the Obsidian_to_Anki community plugin. The Q:/A: format is EngramQuest-native (rich multi-line answers) and does not sync to Anki.
Q: How do I make AI always follow a specific pattern when building decks?
Mark key answers in your notes using ==highlight== or **bold**, then add a rule to your AI config file (CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md, or AGENTS.md):
IMPORTANT: When building a Review Deck, every highlighted ==text== must be turned into a review card.
☕ Support
If EngramQuest is useful to you, consider supporting its development:
Built for lifelong learners. Made with ❤️
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