Do I need anything besides SillyTavern to chat with an LLM?

Updated

Yes. SillyTavern is only a frontend interface — it does not include a model or provide inference itself. To actually chat, you need access to an LLM backend that generates the text. The fastest way to start is AI Horde, which works out of the box without any local setup. If you want more control, SillyTavern supports many local and cloud-based backends, including OpenAI-compatible APIs, KoboldAI, and Tabby.

Why SillyTavern alone isn't enough

SillyTavern is a locally installed user interface for interacting with text generation LLMs, image generation engines, and TTS voice models. Its job is to give you control over prompts and how you talk to a model — not to run the model. The actual inference happens on whatever backend you connect.

This separation is deliberate: it lets you swap models and providers without changing how you use the interface.

Options for getting a backend

Option Setup effort Notes
AI Horde None Instant, out-of-the-box chatting
OpenAI-compatible API Provide API access Cloud-based
KoboldAI Local or remote Runs the model yourself or connects to one
Tabby Local or remote Another supported backend
Many more Varies See the API Connections section of the docs

If you plan to run LLM inference on your own machine, the docs recommend a 3000-series NVIDIA graphics card with at least 6GB of VRAM. Hardware requirements for the interface itself are minimal — it runs on anything that can run NodeJS 20 or higher.

What else you'll need: a character card

SillyTavern is built around character cards. A character card is a collection of prompts that set the behavior of the LLM, and it's required for persistent conversations. Cards can represent an abstract scenario, a task-specific assistant, a famous personality, or a fictional character — similar in concept to ChatGPT's GPTs or Poe's bots.

Practical starting path

  1. Install SillyTavern for your platform (Windows, Linux/Mac, Android, or Docker) using the official installation guide.
  2. Pick a backend. For a zero-setup first chat, use AI Horde. For more control, connect an OpenAI-compatible API or a local backend like KoboldAI.
  3. Select or create a character card to define how the model behaves.
  4. Start chatting.

If you're unsure which backend fits your setup, the API Connections section of the documentation lists everything SillyTavern supports.