The Curse of Patience
If you want to know how to install SillyTavern without piecing together six Reddit comments and a three-year-old video, this is the guide. We’ll install the stable release on Windows, macOS, or Linux, open it locally, and connect it to an AI backend.
SillyTavern is a frontend. It gives you the chat interface, character cards, lorebooks, presets, extensions, and enough settings to lose an afternoon. It does not include an AI model. You’ll connect one after the installation is running.
The good news is that installing SillyTavern is mostly Node.js, Git, and one startup script. The bad news is that computers remain committed to inventing new and interesting ways to object.
Before you install SillyTavern
You need:
- A currently supported version of Windows, macOS, or Linux. Windows 7 cannot run the required Node.js version
- Node.js version 20 or newer. Use the current LTS release
- Git
- A normal user-owned folder where you can keep the installation
Check Node and Git from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Terminal:
node -v
git --version
The Node command should report version 20 or newer. If either command is missing, install that dependency before continuing.
Use the release branch
SillyTavern has two main branches:
release is the stable branch and the right choice for most people.staging gets new changes sooner and breaks more often. Use it if testing unfinished features sounds like recreation.
Every Git command in this guide installs the release branch explicitly.
How to install SillyTavern on Windows
Do not install SillyTavern inside Program Files, Windows, System32, or another Windows-controlled folder. Do not run Start.bat as Administrator. A folder inside your user directory, such as C:\Users\YourName\SillyTavern, is a safer choice.
1. Install Node.js and Git
Download the current Node.js LTS installer from nodejs.org. Keep the option that adds Node.js to your PATH enabled.
Install Git for Windows with its normal defaults. Close and reopen Command Prompt after both installers finish, then verify them:
node -v
git --version
2. Clone the stable release
Create or open the folder where you want SillyTavern. Click the File Explorer address bar, type cmd, and press Enter. Command Prompt will open in that folder.
Run:
git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
This creates a new SillyTavern folder. Unlike downloading a random ZIP and forgetting where it came from, a Git installation is easy to update later.
3. Start SillyTavern
Open the new SillyTavern folder and double-click Start.bat. Windows may hide the .bat extension, in which case the file appears as Start.
The first launch installs the required packages and may take a few minutes. Keep the command window open. Closing it stops the SillyTavern server.
Your browser should open automatically. If it doesn’t, visit:
http://127.0.0.1:8000
That address works on the computer running SillyTavern. It does not automatically expose SillyTavern to every device on your network. We’ll return to remote access before somebody opens port 8000 to the entire internet and moves their soul index into the red.
How to install SillyTavern on macOS
SillyTavern runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. M1, M2, M3, M4, and later Apple chips are fine.
1. Install Homebrew, Node.js, and Git
Open Terminal. Install Homebrew using the command shown on brew.sh:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Homebrew may print one or two commands that add it to your shell PATH. Run those commands if prompted. Then install Git:
brew install git
Install the current Node.js LTS release from nodejs.org. This avoids Homebrew’s unversioned node formula, which may be a newer non-LTS release.
Verify both:
node -v
git --version
2. Clone and start SillyTavern
Move to the folder where you want the installation. Your home folder is fine. Then clone the stable release and enter its directory:
git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
cd SillyTavern
Start it:
bash start.sh
Leave Terminal open while you use SillyTavern. Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 manually if the browser doesn’t appear.
How to install SillyTavern on Linux
The exact package command depends on your distribution. The SillyTavern part is the same once Node.js 20+ and Git are installed.
1. Install Node.js and Git
On Ubuntu, Debian, and most other Linux distributions, I recommend installing Node.js through nvm. Distribution repositories often trail the current LTS release.
Install nvm using its official instructions, then run:
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git
Check both before continuing:
node -v
git --version
If the command reports a version older than 20, do not continue with the antique it handed you. Update Node.js first.
Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, and their various trench-coat-wearing relatives should use their own package managers. You need the same two results: Node.js 20+ and Git.
2. Clone and start SillyTavern
git clone https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern -b release
cd SillyTavern
bash start.sh
If you prefer running the script directly, make it executable first:
chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh
Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 if your browser doesn’t launch automatically.
The SillyTavern Launcher option
The official SillyTavern Launcher can install and manage SillyTavern through a menu. It is useful if you want extras or dislike managing Git commands yourself.
The manual Git installation above is still my default recommendation. It has fewer moving parts, the folder structure is obvious, and updating it takes one command. The launcher is valid, but it is another layer to troubleshoot when something gets weird.
How to update SillyTavern
Stop SillyTavern first. Open Command Prompt or Terminal inside the SillyTavern folder, then run:
git pull
If Git refuses because you changed a tracked program file, do not force the update or delete the folder. Run git status to identify the change and save anything you meant to keep before trying again.
Start SillyTavern again with Start.bat on Windows or bash start.sh on macOS and Linux. The startup script handles dependency changes.
Do not replace your entire installation folder every time a release appears. In a normal standalone install, user data lives under the installation’s data directory; the default account is usually under data/default-user. Back up the entire data directory and config.yaml before a major migration or any experiment involving the phrase “this should probably work.”
Connect an AI model
SillyTavern is now running, but it still needs a model provider. Your two broad options are:
- Use a hosted API such as OpenRouter. Create an API key, open SillyTavern’s API Connections panel, choose the matching provider, and paste the key into the secret field.
- Run a local model through software such as KoboldCpp, Ollama, or LM Studio, then point SillyTavern at that server’s local API address.
SillyTavern stores API keys separately from exported character cards and chats, but you should still treat every key like a password. Don’t paste one into a preset, character description, screenshot, or Discord message. Yes, people do all four.
Access SillyTavern from another device
127.0.0.1 and localhost mean “this computer.” A phone or tablet cannot use your computer’s localhost address to reach SillyTavern.
Remote access requires setting listen: true in the root config.yaml, configuring an access-control method, and using a safe network route. Do not forward port 8000 directly from your router. Follow SillyTavern’s official remote-connections guide and use a private VPN such as Tailscale if you need access away from home.
That topic deserves its own guide. Treating it as a footnote is how a private roleplay frontend becomes a public incident report.
Common SillyTavern installation problems
“Node is not recognized” on Windows
Close every Command Prompt window and open a new one. If node -v still fails, reinstall Node.js and make sure the installer adds Node to PATH.
Start.bat closes immediately
Open Command Prompt inside the SillyTavern folder and run Start.bat from there. The error will remain visible. Do not run it as Administrator. Check the actual error before negotiating with your antivirus.
“Permission denied” on macOS or Linux
Run bash start.sh, or make the script executable with chmod +x start.sh and run ./start.sh.
brew: command not found on macOS
Homebrew probably printed commands to add itself to your PATH after installation. Run those commands, reopen Terminal, and try brew --version again.
Port 8000 is already in use
Stop the other process using port 8000, or change the port value in SillyTavern’s config.yaml, then restart it.
The page is blank or never finishes loading
Check the command window first. Confirm it says SillyTavern is listening on 127.0.0.1:8000, then hard-refresh the page. If the server stopped or printed an error, fix that error before troubleshooting the browser. Browser extensions and stale cached files are the next suspects.
You’re in. What next?
Once your API connection works, import a character card and send a test message. Then make the place yours:
You now know how to install SillyTavern, update it, and connect a model without granting a batch file dominion over your computer. A most joyous one.
Consume. Create. Obsess.
More tools, guides, and rabbit holes at rpfiend.com.
