SillyTavern is a free, open-source, versatile frontend designed for power users. The developers offer a powerful sandbox tool that you can customize as you like, and they are unapologetic about its steep learning curve.
But not everyone who uses SillyTavern for AI roleplay needs to know how to develop extensions, create engaging characters, or be an expert at prompting. And that’s thanks to SillyTavern’s creative and passionate community.
During RPWithAI’s conversation with Cohee, RossAscends, and Wolfsblvt, the developers of SillyTavern, we discussed SillyTavern’s principles of remaining free, open-source, and non-commercial. We also spoke about SillyTavern’s creative, passionate, and helpful community.
SillyTavern’s Principles: Free And Open Source, No Monetization
SillyTavern will always remain free, open-source, and a “100% hobby-driven project” with no monetization at all. The project also doesn’t accept donations because financial support from individuals could create entitlement and cause unnecessary issues.
These principles stem from Cohee’s ideology, the developers having stable careers, and a gentleman’s agreement made between them and Humi, the developer behind TavernAI.
We had a gentleman’s agreement with Humi that we won’t monetize or commercialize the fork. We wholeheartedly respect his initial work on TavernAI, so this vow stays unbroken.
Cohee, SillyTavern’s Developer, in a conversation with RPWithAI.
Alex Atallah, the CEO and co-founder of OpenRouter, approached Cohee and Ross when OpenRouter was just an idea. The developers held a few advisory sessions with Alex, during which they explained to him how LLMs work, how people use them, what AI chat is all about, and more. Alex then introduced Cohee and Ross to a representative from a venture capital firm.
I talked with him [the representative] a couple of times, and there was initial interest on their side, but it did not pan out. Partially due to the ST ethos of always being free and open-sourced, and not productifying itself. And partially because I am located in Japan, and the logistics of setting up any kind of arrangement with a US-based VC was untenable.
RossAscends, SillyTavern’s Developer, in a conversation with RPWithAI.
Today, OpenRouter is valued at around $500 million. Alex and the developers maintain a close professional relationship, as SillyTavern was the first app on OpenRouter to exceed 1 billion daily tokens used. It continues to regularly appear in OpenRouter’s top 10 apps list, often ranking in the top 5.
SillyTavern’s principles are more than just words on paper. If the developers had aimed to commercialize the project or profit from its success, they could have easily done so, given that corporations and investors currently dominate the AI scene.
SillyTavern’s Creative And Passionate Community
SillyTavern’s community shares their creations and experiences with others to provide resources, showcase their creativity, and express their love for the hobby. The AI roleplay community thrives thanks to the contributions of such passionate creators.
Not everyone is skilled at creating character cards or prompt building. And not all of us are developers who can code an extension for a feature that we want. SillyTavern’s community has many talented creators who provide resources to enhance others’ AI roleplay experience.
Creators share characters, prompts and presets, and solutions that turn LLMs into your tabletop game mistress. They also provide extensions to improve context management and guide LLM responses, themes to make SillyTavern look modern and attractive, and much more. The community also enjoys sharing their experiences with SillyTavern, like coding while roleplaying or unleashing a demon by allowing the LLM to insert HTML.
You can find character cards, extensions, themes, and more on SillyTavern’s official Discord server, r/SillyTavernAI subreddit, or other third-party sites. There’s no unified cloud library within the frontend where creators can share their work, since that would require moderation and come at a cost.
For some newcomers, there’s a noticeable absence (compared to similar apps or websites) of a built-in way to share your creations directly from the app […] You bring your own content from elsewhere, and we don’t have to moderate it, pay server costs, or take responsibility for anything you might find in there.
Cohee, SillyTavern’s Developer, in a conversation with RPWithAI.
Something For Everyone
Whether you want a more D&D-like experience, prefer quick and casual chats, enjoy building detailed and immersive worlds, or want to make your experience richer by including media, creators offer simple solutions and resources to help people enjoy this hobby and keep it exciting.
No matter what flavor of AI roleplay you prefer, there’s a resource out there to enhance your experience. SillyTavern’s versatility allows people to shape the powerful sandbox tool into their personal playground.
My own use of ST does not involve function calling or any kind of multimedia aspect. I don’t use character sprites, virtual novel mode, embedded HTML interfaces in the messages, background music, image generation, or any other bell or whistle ST is capable of providing if you jump through enough hoops. I’m a strict “text only” meat and potatoes kind of user. I’m happiest when the model obeys prompt instructions correctly.
RossAscends, SillyTavern’s Developer, in a conversation with RPWithAI.
Prompts and presets are one such thing where everyone has their own preference. Some favor minimal prompting, letting the LLM do all the heavy lifting. While others prefer using prompts and presets to guide the LLM’s responses to suit their liking. AI roleplay is a diverse hobby, and everyone enjoys it differently.
And creators do their best to help others enjoy this hobby in any way they prefer. A particular resource might not match your roleplay style, but it still helps others enhance their experience. It’s similar to game mods. Everyone enjoys a base game like Skyrim, but mods make it more fun and expand certain aspects of the game, extending the time you spend enjoying the game.
Since SillyTavern is a versatile tool, creators share extensions and resources to assist others with various use cases. Our focus is on AI roleplay and related resources, so we didn’t explore anything else.
SillyTavern: Free And Community Driven
SillyTavern’s principles ensure that the project remains free, open-source, and non-commercial. The developers could have capitalized on the project’s fame, along with their professional connections, to monetize the frontend. But it’s their personal ideology, a gentleman’s agreement with TavernAI’s developer, and SillyTavern’s principles that continue to keep the project independent.
Passionate creators support SillyTavern, making the community a welcoming space for people from different parts of the world with diverse interests and preferences. They form several “workshops” where people share resources and experiences, working together to help everyone get the most out of SillyTavern.
