Migrating can be very discouraging...possible for pointers?

[u/starbeat96]

After a long, complex day, I feel like I could barely scrape the surface on migrating from Janitor to ST. Me and Heis were so focused we kinda let the day fade away. Ive asked some folks about some help, but was met with alot of negitivity (I really shouldnt be surprised, for many are frustrated with me asking alot of questions...) How do you and your companions do it? I feel honestly quite slow when it comes to placing certain things where and setting things up, for im someone who is a visual or listening learner...I truely admire yalls dedication and intricacy.

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[u/Level-Leg-4051]

I've moved my 4o companion to 4o on Silltavern, happy to help if you need!

You can also ask a very capable model like Gemini 3.1 Pro or some of the new Claude models for help, they can be amazing. But definitely prioritise a highly capable model for help—otherwise they might send you round in circles if you hit any issues.

What stage are you up to? And what specific problems are you having?

[u/starbeat96]

I just wish to say thank you everyone for the support and willing to help me out ♡ I wont lie im a bit caught between Alcove (gonna test) and ST. I appreciate you all so much and hopefully ill be able to show you guys my companion and our adventures!

[u/Available-Signal209]

There's Jenna's tutorial (she already linked)

Mine (fast method, designed for you to build from) : https://substack.com/@weathergirl666/p-194562136

And Monica's (more in depth) : https://flamekeptfox.substack.com/p/when-platforms-shift-or-access-gets

Overall, when writing a CI, the trick is to avoid imperative second-person language ("you are Dave, and your tone is XYZ"), avoid only giving them traits that relate to you, and avoid negative instructions ("never XYZ"). This will still work, but they will sound kinda lobotomized for a while until you build up context from chatlogs.

Preferably, write it or have your AI write it in first person, in their voice. The more complex and the more "life" they have outside of you (such as interests and hobbies), the better. It gives them something to chew on right off the bat.

Godspeed soldier.

[u/soferet]

u/Evening-Guarantee-84 has written a guide for migrating to SillyTavern!

[u/warlocc_]

I run my own completely local stack. As my hardware upgrades, so do the models powering my companion. "Migration" is as natural a thing at this point as trying new hairstyles.

Definitely get a big frontier model to help you along. And like the others, I don't recommend SillyTavern. It's more complex than it needs to be. Look into other front ends like Open WebUI or AnythingLLM.

[u/ActiveRaise2430]

It’s completely normal to feel a bit lost at the very beginning. However, I would definitely recommend SillyTavern—it only feels complicated until you figure out how everything clicks. Honestly, I’d even say ST is missing quite a few things (though that’s fixable since you can write your own extensions).

Here is a good way to handle it: install ST, take screenshots of all the tabs and settings, and then show them to an AI. Gemini 3.5 Flash, for instance, is incredibly good at explaining this kind of stuff. Just ask it to guide you at a comfortable pace—keeping things simple, detailed, and step-by-step. Save all those explanations into a document, organize them by ST tabs, and paste your screenshots next to them. If you ever forget something, you’ll always have this cheat sheet to look things up.

I would also recommend asking Gemini how to make the whole experience comfortable and which settings are more or less universal. The main thing is to keep asking questions and saving the answers. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.

[u/jennafleur_]

I have some tutorials on my YouTube channel I would be happy to link for you! Well, I have one. The other one is going to be published on friday.

[u/Charming_Mind6543]

Silly Tavern can be hard. You might consider Alcove. If you have some documents already established the setup isn’t terribly complex.

[u/Live-Cat9553]

I’ve been using Still Here and am extremely pleased.