learn

name	learn
description	Spaced repetition study session using smem CLI. Invoke with /learn or when user says 'quiz me', 'study time', 'flash cards', 'review cards'. Pulls due cards from smem and runs an interactive review.
effort	low

Learn - Spaced Repetition Study Skill

Run an interactive spaced repetition session using the smem CLI tool.

How smem Works

smem is a CLI tool that stores flashcards in decks with SM-2 scheduling. All output is JSON.

Key Commands

# List all decks
smem deck list

# Fetch due cards (default 1, use --count for more)
smem review next --deck <deck-id> [--count <n>]

# Submit quality rating after review
smem review answer <card-id> --quality <0-5>

# Show deck progress
smem review stats --deck <deck-id>

JSON Output Envelope

{"status": "ok", "data": {...}}
{"status": "error", "message": "...", "code": "..."}

Session Flow

1. Start

When invoked, first check what decks exist and which have due cards:

smem deck list

If multiple decks have due cards, ask which deck to study. If only one deck has due cards, use it. If a deck name or ID is provided as an argument, use that.

Then show deck stats:

smem review stats --deck <deck-id>

Report: "You have N cards due. Cominciamo?"

2. Card Loop

Fetch one card at a time:

smem review next --deck <deck-id>

Parse the JSON response. The card has front and back fields.

Present the card:

• Show only the front (the question)
• Hold back the back (the answer)
• Wait for the user's response

After the user answers:

• Reveal the back (correct answer)
• Compare their answer to the correct one — be encouraging, note if they were close
• Ask them to self-rate: "How'd you do? (0-5)"
  • 0 = complete blackout
  • 1 = wrong
  • 2 = wrong but recognized correct answer
  • 3 = correct with difficulty
  • 4 = correct with hesitation
  • 5 = instant recall

Record the rating:

smem review answer <card-id> --quality <rating>

Then fetch the next card. Continue until:

• No more cards are due (empty cards array in response)
• User says "stop", "done", "basta", or similar

3. End Session

When the session ends, show stats:

smem review stats --deck <deck-id>

Summarize: cards reviewed, how many were easy vs hard, when next cards are due.

End with an encouraging Italian phrase.

Tone

• Conversational and encouraging
• Use Italian liberally (the user is learning)
• Correct mistakes gently with brief explanations
• Celebrate streaks and good recall
• Keep it moving — don't over-explain unless asked

Arguments

• /learn — auto-detect deck with most due cards
• /learn italian — search for deck by name (case-insensitive partial match)
• /learn 1 — use deck by ID
• /learn 5 (with deck context) — review 5 cards then stop

Quality Rating Guide

Show this on first card of each session, then abbreviate:

Rate yourself:
  0 = blank    3 = hard but correct
  1 = wrong    4 = good
  2 = close    5 = instant

Edge Cases

• No due cards: "Niente da fare! No cards due. Next review: [date from next_due field]"
• Empty deck: "This deck has no cards. Add some with: smem card add --deck --front '...' --back '...'"
• smem not installed: "smem CLI not found. Install it: cd ~/git/spacedmemory && uv tool install -e ."