# SillyTavern

Character chat you host. SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0 — Character.AI without the vendor character vault. Open WebUI stays the ChatGPT-shaped UI.

**Replaces:** Character.AI

**Tier:** Medium

## Problem

Character.AI is a hosted character-chat product. You wanted cards, lore, and a model you bring keys or weights for. SillyTavern is AGPL-3.0 (SillyTavern/SillyTavern) — an LLM frontend for power users. Open WebUI and LibreChat stay ChatGPT-shaped UIs (/replace/chatgpt, /replace/claude). This is not Character.AI's every community card, voice SKU, or hosted model. You still pay tokens or a GPU. Signal-server is not this page.

## Stack

- [SillyTavern](https://sillytavern.app) — AGPL-3.0 LLM frontend for character cards and power users
- [Open WebUI](https://openwebui.com) — ChatGPT-shaped UI if the job is not character roleplay
- [LibreChat](https://librechat.ai) — MIT ChatGPT-style UI with agents and MCP

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Character.AI (plus model bills) | $1,200 | SillyTavern + your models |

**About $1,200 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

Placeholder: SillyTavern as a UI pointed at an OpenAI-compatible API (LiteLLM, Ollama, or a vendor). Persist configs. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. ChatGPT-shaped chat stays on /stacks/open-webui-litellm.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/sillytavern-roleplay?from=%2Fstacks%2Fsillytavern-roleplay.md)

[Open WebUI if this is ChatGPT/Claude-shaped chat, not character cards](https://c17.io/stacks/open-webui-litellm)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Character.AI with SillyTavern pointed at models you bring.

- Official docs, persist config, point at LiteLLM or Ollama. Import one character card you actually use. Do not claim Character.AI's hosted model catalog.
- Open WebUI is /stacks/open-webui-litellm if the job is ChatGPT-shaped chat. Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### SillyTavern or Open WebUI?

SillyTavern if the job is character cards (Character.AI). Open WebUI if the job is ChatGPT/Claude-shaped chat (/replace/chatgpt). LibreChat if you want that MIT UI.

### Do I still pay a model vendor?

Yes, unless you run local weights. SillyTavern is the UI. It is not free inference.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/sillytavern-roleplay