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Start here: make your first deck and study it

5 min · Last checked: October 2026

OutLearn is a flashcard app. A flashcard has a question on the front and the answer on the back. The app shows you your cards again and again, at the right moments, so you remember them.

This guide takes you from nothing to your first study session. OutLearn is free to use. You do not need Pro to follow it.

How to read the pictures: the red frame shows what to tap, and its number is the number of the step.

Step 1: Make a folder

A folder is like a binder. It keeps your decks together, for example one folder for "Spanish" and one for "History". More about this in Folders and decks.

  1. At the bottom of the screen, tap the Folders icon (it looks like a folder).
  2. Tap the round button at the bottom right (a small folder with a plus on it).
  3. Type a name for your folder and confirm.
The Folders screen, with the Folders icon at the bottom and the round new-folder button at the bottom right marked in red
The Folders screen. 1 is the Folders icon, 2 is the round button.

Step 2: Make a deck

A deck is one set of flashcards, for example "Chapter 1 words". Decks live inside folders.

  1. Tap the name of your folder to open it.
  2. Tap the round + button at the bottom right.
  3. Tap Deck.
  4. Three choices appear. For a new deck that you fill yourself, tap Blank deck.
  5. Type a name in the box Deck Name.
  6. Look at Public Deck. When it is on, other students can find and use your deck. If you want the deck only for yourself, switch it off.
  7. Tap Create.
The list of folders, with one folder marked in red
1: tap the name of your folder.
Inside a folder, with the round plus button at the bottom right marked in red
2: the round + button.
The menu that opens from the plus button, with Folder and Deck; Deck is marked in red
3: tap Deck.
The three choices: Generate with AI, Import and Blank deck; Blank deck is marked in red
4: Blank deck. The other two choices are explained below.
The New Deck window, with the Deck Name box, the Public Deck switch and the Create button marked in red
5: the name. 6: Public Deck. 7: Create.

The other two choices: Import brings in cards you already have. See Move your sets over from Quizlet and Move your decks over from Anki. Generate with AI makes cards from your notes. See Make cards with AI.

Step 3: Add your cards

  1. Tap the name of your deck to open it.
  2. Tap the pencil at the top right of the screen. This opens the deck so you can write in it.
  3. Each card has a front side and a back side. Tap a box and type: the question on the front, the answer on the back.
  4. To add another card, tap the + between two cards.
  5. When you are done, tap the save button at the top right.
Inside a folder, with a deck marked in red
1: tap the name of your deck.
A deck, with the pencil at the top right marked in red
2: tap the pencil.
The deck open for writing, with the front side box, the back side box, the plus between cards and the save button marked in red
3: the front side and back side boxes. 4: the + between cards. 5: save.

You do not have to type every card. Already have cards in Quizlet or Anki? See Move your sets over from Quizlet or Move your decks over from Anki. Want cards made from your notes? See Make cards with AI.

Step 4: Study

Open your deck. Under "Learning" you will see two big buttons, and under "Test yourself" a third one.

  • Binge Learn (more): go through all the cards in the deck, one after the other. Good when you want to practise a lot right now.
  • Long Term (more): the app shows each card again just before you would forget it, so what you learn stays. Good when you study a little every day.
  • Exam Mode (more): a test on your cards. Good to check what you really know.
  1. Tap Binge Learn to start.
  2. Read the front of the card and try to remember the answer, then tap Show Answer to check.
  3. Tap Good if you knew it, or Again if you did not. The app uses this to decide when to show the card again.
A deck with the three study buttons marked in red: Binge Learn, Long Term and Exam Mode
1: Binge Learn. The two buttons beside and below are Long Term and Exam Mode.

What next?

  • Learn which study mode to pick: The three study modes.
  • Find decks other students made: Public decks.
  • Print your cards on paper: Print your cards.
  • Use OutLearn on your phone and your computer: Your account, sync and offline.
  • Your streak and your progress show on the Home tab, the house icon at the bottom left.
  • Stuck on anything? Email with a photo of your screen, and I will help you.