Deploy and Host SillyTavern on Railway

SillyTavern is the open-source AI chat and roleplay frontend with 25k+ GitHub stars and 300+ contributors — the power-user standard for AI character interaction, creative writing, and storytelling. Connect Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, DeepSeek, Ollama, KoboldAI, or any OpenAI-compatible backend. Character cards, World Info lorebooks, group chats with multiple AI characters, user personas, RAG document support, TTS, and a full extensions system.

Normal SillyTavern requires Node.js v20+, Git, and 15–30 minutes of local setup — and only runs while your computer is on. This Railway template deploys SillyTavern as an always-on cloud service accessible from any browser, any device, anywhere. One click. No installs.

What This Template Deploys

Single-service architecture. No database, no Redis. All state is filesystem-based on the persistent volume.

About Hosting SillyTavern

SillyTavern is not an AI — it is a highly configurable frontend that manages prompt formatting, memory injection, sampling parameters, and interface behaviour while connecting to the AI backend of your choice. Running it locally means managing Node.js versions, dependency conflicts, startup scripts, and only having access while your machine is awake.

Railway turns SillyTavern into a persistent cloud service. Deploy once, get a permanent HTTPS URL, and access your characters, chats, and lorebooks from any device — desktop, mobile, or tablet — without touching a terminal.

Typical cost: ~$2–5/month on Railway's Hobby plan. Character.AI and Janitor AI are free but impose content filters and don't allow custom models. SillyTavern on Railway gives you full model choice — Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, or any local model via OpenRouter — with zero platform restrictions and full ownership of your character cards and chat history.

Deploy in Under 3 Minutes

1. Click Deploy on Railway — SillyTavern builds automatically (~2 minutes)
2. Open your Railway-assigned URL — SillyTavern loads immediately in your browser
3. Go to Settings → AI Connections and enter your API key (Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter, or any compatible endpoint)
4. Import a character card or create your own — start your first conversation

No Node.js. No Git. No terminal. No local machine required.

Common Use Cases

• SillyTavern without local Node.js install — skip the 15–30 minute setup entirely; get a permanent browser URL that works on any device without touching a terminal
• Always-on AI character companion — your Railway instance runs 24/7 even when your computer is off; no need to restart SillyTavern before every session
• SillyTavern on mobile — access your characters, chats, and lorebooks from any smartphone or tablet via the Railway HTTPS URL without complex local network setup
• Multi-model AI creative writing workspace — switch between Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local models via OpenRouter without reconfiguring your setup
• AI roleplay with full prompt control — fine-tune system prompts, sampling parameters, context window size, and memory injection in ways that Character.AI and Janitor AI do not allow
• Group chat with multiple AI characters — run simultaneous conversations with multiple distinct AI personas using SillyTavern's group chat feature

Configuration

SillyTavern does not store API keys server-side — all API keys (Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter, etc.) are entered via the Settings UI and stored in your browser's local storage. Add basic auth credentials above to prevent others from accessing your instance.

SillyTavern vs. Alternatives

Dependencies for SillyTavern Hosting

• Railway account — Hobby plan (~$2–5/month) for the single-service deployment
• API key from at least one LLM provider — Claude (Anthropic), OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, or a free OpenRouter account for access to multiple models

Deployment Dependencies

• SillyTavern GitHub Repository — source, releases, and changelog
• SillyTavern Documentation — full configuration reference
• SillyTavern Extensions — extension ecosystem
• OpenRouter — free tier access to Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, DeepSeek, and 200+ models from a single API key
• Chub.ai — community character card library
• Railway Volumes Documentation — persistent storage

Implementation Details

This template deploys SillyTavern v1.17.0 from the official release with a Railway persistent volume mounted at /data. All character cards, chat histories, lorebooks, settings, and extension data are stored on the volume — not inside the container. Redeploys, version updates, and Railway container restarts do not affect your characters or chat data.

SillyTavern listens on the Railway-injected port behind Railway's HTTPS proxy. Basic auth is strongly recommended — without it, anyone with your Railway URL can access your SillyTavern instance. API keys entered in the Settings UI are stored client-side in browser local storage and are never transmitted to the Railway server.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use Railway instead of installing SillyTavern locally? Local SillyTavern requires Node.js v20+, Git, and 15–30 minutes of setup — and only runs while your computer is on. Railway gives you an always-on HTTPS URL accessible from any device. No installs, no version conflicts, no startup scripts. Your characters and chats are available 24/7 from desktop or mobile without maintaining a local environment.

Which AI provider should I use with SillyTavern? OpenRouter is the best starting point — free tier access to Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, and DeepSeek from a single API key. For dedicated Claude access, use Anthropic directly. For local model support without GPU costs, Ollama via a separate Railway service or a public OpenRouter endpoint is the cleanest path.

Do I lose my characters and chats if Railway redeploys? No. All character cards, lorebooks, chat history, and settings are stored on the Railway persistent volume at /data. Redeploys and version updates do not affect your data.

Is my API key stored on the Railway server? No. API keys entered in SillyTavern's Settings UI are stored in your browser's local storage — never on the server. If you access SillyTavern from a new browser, you will need to re-enter your API key. This is standard SillyTavern behaviour regardless of deployment method.

How do I prevent others from accessing my SillyTavern instance? Set BASIC_AUTH_USER and BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD in Railway Variables before your first deploy. Anyone visiting your Railway URL will be prompted for credentials before SillyTavern loads. Without basic auth, your Railway URL is publicly accessible to anyone who has it.

How do I update SillyTavern to a newer version? Update the image tag or source reference in Railway service settings to the latest release and redeploy. Your volume data — characters, chats, lorebooks — is unaffected by updates.

Why Deploy and Host SillyTavern on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying SillyTavern on Railway, you get an always-on AI frontend — character cards, lorebooks, group chats, full prompt control, and support for every major LLM provider — accessible from any device at ~$2–5/month with no local Node.js install and no setup time.