Which SillyTavern branch should I use: release or staging?

Updated

Use the release branch unless you are deliberately testing new features and can tolerate breakage. According to the SillyTavern documentation, release is "recommended for most users," is the most stable branch, and is updated only when major releases are pushed — typically about once a month. The staging branch carries the latest features but "may break at any time"; it is explicitly "not recommended for casual use" and is intended only for power users and enthusiasts, with updates several times a day.

The two branches compared

Dimension release staging
Stability Most stable branch May break at any time
Who it's for The majority of users Power users and enthusiasts only
Update cadence Only when major releases are pushed; typically once a month Several times daily
Documentation label 🌟 Recommended for most users ⚠️ Not recommended for casual use

The two-branch system exists so that everyday users get a smooth experience while development continues elsewhere. If your goal is simply to chat with an LLM, image generation engine, or TTS voice model through SillyTavern, stability matters more than having the newest commit.

When staging makes sense

Choose staging only if you specifically want features that haven't reached a release yet and you're comfortable troubleshooting a broken install. The documentation's own framing is that staging is for people who treat the steep learning curve as part of the fun — the same audience the project describes as "savvy AI hobbyists."

If you do run staging, expect to update frequently and to occasionally roll back or wait for a fix. That's the trade-off the branch is designed around, not a defect.

What this choice does not change

Branch selection is independent of the rest of your setup:

  • Hardware. Requirements are minimal — anything that can run NodeJS 20 or higher. If you plan to do LLM inference locally, the docs recommend a 3000-series NVIDIA graphics card with at least 6GB of VRAM.
  • Backend. SillyTavern is only an interface, so you still need an LLM backend for inference. AI Horde works out of the box for instant chatting; OpenAI-compatible APIs, KoboldAI, Tabby, and others are also supported.
  • Character cards. Persistent conversations require a character card, which is a collection of prompts that set the LLM's behavior. This works the same on either branch.

Practical guidance

  1. Install following the guide for your platform — Windows, Linux and Mac, Android, or Docker.
  2. Stay on release for normal use, and update when a major release is pushed.
  3. Switch to staging only for a specific feature you need, and be ready to move back to release if something breaks.

For most readers the answer is simply: pick release. Staging is a testing channel, not an upgrade.