How to set up SillyTavern (2026): install, connect an API, import characters

SillyTavern is a chat interface, not a chatbot. It started as a fork of TavernAI and is maintained by a community of contributors; its own docs describe it as a front end for power users that embraces a steep learning curve. What it gives you is control: you choose the model, edit every part of the prompt, keep your chats on your own machine, and use the same characters with any backend. What it does not give you is a model. Until you connect one, it has nothing to talk with.

Before you start

You need two free tools, Node.js and Git, and a few minutes at a terminal. The docs recommend the release branch for almost everyone; the staging branch gets new features several times a day and can break. By default SillyTavern keeps its settings and chats inside its own folder (the docs call this standalone mode), so deleting the folder removes everything, and backing it up keeps everything.

Install on Windows

1. Install Node.js (the LTS version) and Git for Windows.
2. In File Explorer, open or create a folder that Windows does not control, such as one in the root of your drive. Do not use Program Files or System32.
3. Click the address bar, type cmd and press Enter to open a command prompt in that folder.
4. Run git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
5. Open the new SillyTavern folder and double-click Start.bat. Do not run it as administrator.

The first start downloads what it needs, then a browser tab opens with SillyTavern in it. Windows 7 is not supported, because it cannot run Node.js 20. If you would rather avoid the command line for cloning, the docs also describe a GitHub Desktop route, and there is an official SillyTavern Launcher with its own installer.

Install on macOS and Linux

Install Git and Node.js with your system's usual method (on a Mac, Homebrew is the docs' suggestion). Then, in a terminal:

git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
cd SillyTavern
./start.sh

If the script is not marked as executable, bash start.sh does the same thing. The Launcher route also works on both systems.

Install on Android with Termux

SillyTavern runs natively on Android inside Termux, a terminal app. Get Termux from F-Droid or from its GitHub releases page; the docs warn that the Google Play build is no longer maintained. Then:

1. Run termux-change-repo and pick a mirror group close to you.
2. Run pkg update && pkg upgrade
3. Run pkg install git nodejs-lts nano
4. Run git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
5. Run cd ~/SillyTavern and then bash start.sh, and open the address it prints in your phone's browser.

On 32-bit Android the docs add one step, pkg install esbuild, before installing. Phones have less memory than computers, so the docs suggest turning on lazyLoadCharacters and turning off useDiskCache in config.yaml, which you can edit with nano.

iPhone, iPad and other devices

There is no iOS install. The supported way to use SillyTavern from an iPhone is to run it on a computer at home and open it in the phone's browser. That needs two changes in the config.yaml in the SillyTavern root folder: set listen: true, and add your home network's address range to the whitelist, then restart. The docs are blunt about the risk: never put an instance on the open internet without proper security, and use a VPN or a tunnel such as Tailscale rather than port forwarding if you want access away from home.

Connect an API

Click API Connections in the top bar. The first choice is the API type. Chat Completion sends your conversation as a series of messages, the way ChatGPT-style services expect. Text Completion sends it as one long text for the model to continue, which suits many local models. SillyTavern builds the prompt for you either way.

There are three broad routes:

• Free with no account: AI Horde works out of the box. It runs on volunteers' graphics cards, so wait times and available models vary. The quick-start guide says you can enter a key of ten zeros to begin, or register for a free key.
• Cloud APIs with a key: OpenAI, Claude, Google AI Studio, Mistral, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Cohere, NovelAI and many more are listed. Create a key on the provider's site, choose the matching source, paste it and click Connect. Most bill per use, and each applies its own content rules.
• Local models: KoboldCpp, llama.cpp, Ollama, Text Generation WebUI and TabbyAPI all connect, as does any OpenAI-compatible server such as LM Studio. These are private and have no usage charges, but the models are large downloads and need capable hardware.

If Connect fails, the usual causes are a key pasted into the wrong source, a local server that is not running yet, or the wrong port in the server URL.

Import character cards

SillyTavern is built around character cards: a card holds a character's description, personality, scenario, first message and example dialogue. Open Character Management at the right of the top bar. Import Character loads a card file (PNG, JSON, YAML, CHARX or BYAF); a PNG card looks like a picture but carries the character inside it. External Import takes a URL, and the source code handles pages from Chub, JannyAI, Pygmalion, RisuRealm, AICharacterCards and Perchance. To test your connection first, the built-in character Seraphina is already there. You can also create a character from scratch, and the docs' character design guide explains each field.

Update it

Updates are one command when you installed with git: open a terminal in the SillyTavern folder and run git pull, then start it again. On Windows, UpdateAndStart.bat in the same folder does both.

SillyTavern or a hosted app?

SillyTavern suits people who want to pick their own model, see and edit the whole prompt, and keep chats on their own device. The price of that control is setup, upkeep and paying a model provider directly if you choose a cloud API. Hosted character sites run the model for you and work on sign-in. Janitor AI sits closest to SillyTavern, since it also lets you connect your own model provider through a proxy. SpicyChat and CrushOn AI are character platforms with large community libraries, their own models and paid plans, and Character AI is the largest mainstream option, with voice and a strict content policy. If the setup above looks like more than you want to maintain, one of those is the simpler place to start.