Lauta and Peter: Future of Mnemosyne and long-term viability

[Henrik in Oslo]

Hi,

Mnemosyne is by far my most important tool for language learning and other forms of learning. I use it every day and have built up a collection of more than 25,000 carefully created cards over many years. I have used it on Mac, without any problems. I do not use Android. The database — and the learning history connected to it — represents a very substantial investment of time and effort, and a promise of future rewards. 

After a recent macOS update, I received the following warning when starting Mnemosyne:

“Support Ending for Intel-based Apps. This version of Mnemosyne will not be able to open in a future version of macOS. Check for an updated version for Apple silicon.”

Apple now states that general Rosetta support will remain available in macOS 27, but will no longer be available for most applications from macOS 28 onwards. Unless Mnemosyne receives an Apple-silicon-native or Universal version, it therefore appears that the current Mac application has a limited future.

This has made me concerned about the longer-term viability of Mnemosyne itself. Peter has stepped down as maintainer, and I understand that Lauta has taken over. At the same time, both the user forum and the visible development activity seem rather quiet.

Before I consider anything as drastic as migrating many thousands of cards to another system, I would be very grateful for clear information about the following:

1. Is Mnemosyne still under active development and maintenance?

2. Is an Apple Silicon or Universal version planned before Rosetta support ends?

3. If so, is there an approximate timetable, or at least a confirmed intention to produce one?

4. Can the current Python/PyQt version of Mnemosyne already be installed natively on Apple Silicon through pip, even though the packaged Mac application is Intel-based? If so, are there reliable instructions suitable for ordinary users?

5. Who currently has responsibility for releases, bug fixes and long-term maintenance? Is Lauta the sole maintainer, or are other developers involved?

6. Could recent advances in AI-assisted software development create new possibilities for a small open-source project such as Mnemosyne? For example, could these tools reduce the work required to port and package Mnemosyne, update dependencies, write tests and documentation, and handle routine maintenance? Has the project considered making systematic use of such tools?

7. If development were to stop, how secure and portable are users’ databases, scheduling histories, card types, media and tags? What would be the safest migration or archival strategy?

I am not asking for guarantees from people contributing their time to a free and open-source project. I am very grateful to Peter and everyone else who has created and maintained Mnemosyne. It has been enormously valuable to me.

However, for users who have made Mnemosyne central to their daily learning over many years, some honest indication of the project’s direction would be extremely helpful. Should we confidently continue investing in Mnemosyne, contribute to a transition, or begin making contingency plans?

I hope that I am not the only Mnemosyne user left. 

Best regards,

Henrik Giæver (Oslo)

[Peter Bienstman]

I'm afraid that after transferring all ownership to Lauta, he has not been replying to my emails... Also, Google will delist the Android app unless updates are made soon. 

So, I have to admit this does not look good. However, it should be possible to import all your cards into Anki. 

Kind regards, 

Peter 

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[Michael Nedzelsky]

Hi,

I'm also a user of Mnemosyne (I also use Anki, but I do prefer more minimalistic design of Mnemosyne). I use it on MacBook Pro M5 without any problem. I've also checked the github repository and source code for Mnemosyne and I'm sure you will be able to use it on macOS 28 via pip. The problem is only with  the native .app packaging, it requires some fixes.

I'm pretty sure I will continue using Mnemosyne for years to come, so if you have specific questions about running it on MacBook (Apple Silicon), you can ask me.

Kind regards,
  Michael

[Peter Bienstman]

Great, thanks!

Peter 

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