[WSL]

WSL Setup

Running Tango in WSL with Anki on Windows requires extra configuration because WSL2 and Windows run in separate network namespaces.

The problem

AnkiConnect binds to 127.0.0.1:8765 by default. This means it only accepts connections from the same machine. From inside WSL2, localhost does not reach Windows services -- they are on different virtual networks.

Fix 1: Change AnkiConnect bind address

In Anki, go to Tools -> Add-ons -> AnkiConnect -> Config. Change:

"webBindAddress": "127.0.0.1"

to:

"webBindAddress": "0.0.0.0"

Restart Anki after saving. This makes AnkiConnect listen on all network interfaces, including the one visible from WSL.

Fix 2: Find your Windows host IP

From inside WSL, run:

ip route | grep default

The IP shown (e.g. 172.28.144.1) is your Windows host as seen from WSL.

Test the connection:

curl http://172.28.144.1:8765

You should see {"apiVersion": "AnkiConnect v.6"}.

Fix 3: Update your .env

ANKI_HOST=http://172.28.144.1:8765

Replace the IP with your own from step 2.

Note on IP stability

The WSL gateway IP can change when Windows restarts or WSL is reset. If Tango stops connecting to Anki after a restart, re-run ip route | grep default and update ANKI_HOST in your .env.

A permanent fix is available on Windows 11 23H2 and later using WSL mirrored networking mode, which makes localhost work transparently between WSL and Windows. Enable it by adding networkingMode=mirrored to %USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig and restarting WSL.

Auto-import limitation

The auto-import prompt at the end of a pipeline run sends the .apkg file path to AnkiConnect using the Linux path format (/mnt/c/...). Windows AnkiConnect cannot read this path. Import the file manually instead: File -> Import in Anki, then navigate to the output/ folder in your project directory.