SillyTavern

A locally installed chat front end for power users of language models, best known for character roleplay, with deep control over prompts and many extensions.

35.2k stars, 6.6k forks JavaScript On GitHub since February 2023

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is SillyTavern?

SillyTavern began in 2023 as a fork of TavernAI and grew into a highly configurable interface for chatting with language models. It connects to many back ends, from hosted APIs like OpenAI and Claude to local servers such as KoboldCpp and Text Generation WebUI. Users load character cards, run group chats, keep world information that the model can draw on, and fine-tune every part of the prompt. Extensions add speech, image generation and more.

Good fit if

  • You write interactive fiction or roleplay with AI characters.
  • You want full control over prompts, sampling settings and context.
  • You switch between local and hosted back ends often.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a simple assistant for work tasks: Jan or Open WebUI.
  • You need a multi-user service for an organization: LibreChat.

Before you adopt it

SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0 and fully community-run, with no company or paid version behind it. It runs on Node.js or Docker on your own machine; it is designed as a personal tool rather than a public service.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

SillyTavern health: is it still maintained?

62 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    42 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 14 September 2026.
    20 / 30
  • Contributors
    28 people wrote the 42 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 29% of them.
    20 / 20
  • Releases
    6 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, 1.19.0, on 14 September 2026.
    17 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 0% of recent issues.
    0 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

SillyTavern license: is it open source?

SillyTavern uses AGPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. February 2023First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayAGPL-3.0.

How to run SillyTavern yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker/docker-compose.yml: 1 service
Setup effort
1 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
14 languages

Install instructions: sillytavern.app or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to SillyTavern

  • DocsGPTPrivate AI platform for agents, assistants and enterprise search. Built-in Agent Builder, Deep research,… 84 health · MIT · 18.4k stars
  • HarborStop configuring your AI stack. Start using it. One command brings a complete pre-wired LLM stack with… 80 health · Apache-2.0 · 3.3k stars
  • OnyxOpen Source AI Platform - AI Chat with advanced features that works with every LLM 77 health · MIT · 33.1k stars
  • Hermes AgentThe agent that grows with you 76 health · MIT · 259k stars
  • Open WebUIUser-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...) 76 health · Open WebUI License · 157k stars

All 36 projects in AI chat & local LLMs

Questions about SillyTavern

Is SillyTavern open source?

Yes. SillyTavern is published under AGPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is SillyTavern still maintained?

Its health score is 62 of 100 (actively developed). It had 42 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 14 September 2026, and its latest release came out on 14 September 2026.

How do I run SillyTavern?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to SillyTavern?

Close alternatives in the AI chat & local LLMs category include DocsGPT, Harbor, Onyx.