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Card–flash distinction

In Tsunagi you don't write flashes directly: you write a card, and flashes are generated from it automatically. This distinction might look like a small detail, but it directly shapes your day-to-day usage.

The card carries the content; the flash is what's generated from it​

A card contains one or more fields depending on the card type you chose (for example "Front" and "Back" in the Basic type, or a single text field in the Cloze type). Once you fill in these fields, Tsunagi generates one or more flashes from that card based on the card type you selected.

For most types this relationship is one-to-one or one-to-two: in the Basic type, one card produces a single flash; in Basic (reversed), one card produces two flashes. In the Cloze type it can be one-to-many: however many distinct blank numbers you mark within a card, that many separate flashes get generated. Each blank becomes its own flash, and while studying it the other blanks stay visible as context rather than showing up as an answer.

A concrete example​

Suppose you write a single card in the Cloze type:

The organelle known as the powerhouse of the cell is the ⟦c1::mitochondrion⟧,
and the organelle where photosynthesis occurs is the ⟦c2::chloroplast⟧.

This single card enters the study queue as two separate flashes:

  • First flash: "The organelle known as the powerhouse of the cell is the [...], and the organelle where photosynthesis occurs is the chloroplast." → answer: mitochondrion.
  • Second flash: "The organelle known as the powerhouse of the cell is the mitochondrion, and the organelle where photosynthesis occurs is the [...]." → answer: chloroplast.

Both flashes come from the same card, but in the study queue they have two fully independent schedules: you might find one easy and the other hard, and each progresses at its own pace.

Why this distinction works​

It has two concrete benefits:

  • Fix it in one place. Say you notice, in the example above, that you accidentally typed "chlroplast" instead of "chloroplast." You open the card and fix it, changing one word in one place. The second flash generated from that card (the one asking about the chloroplast) updates automatically; you don't have to hunt down a separate flash and fix it by hand. The more flashes a card generates, the bigger this advantage gets.
  • One card can be the source of several flashes. This is especially clear with the Cloze type: write one long paragraph, mark five different concepts in it as separate blanks, and that single card turns into five separate flashes, but since they all share the same source, editing that source once is enough.

Effect on your daily workflow​

In practice, this shifts your mindset a little: instead of thinking "I'm creating a flash," you start thinking "I'm writing a card, and the flashes show up on their own." While putting a topic into cards, you don't need to think much about flash count or format: as long as you pick the right card type, the flashes emerge naturally from the card's content.

Each card type's fields and further examples are covered one by one in the Card Type Guides section. How to write your cards, meaning the editor's features, is covered in detail in the Editor section. Now let's look at how you work day-to-day with the flashes generated from your cards: the study screen.