How to Connect TavernAPI to SillyTavern
To connect TavernAPI to SillyTavern, open SillyTavern's API Connections panel, choose Chat Completion → Custom (OpenAI-compatible), paste https://tavernapi.com/v1 and your API key, click Connect, pick a model ID, and import our preset JSON if you want our storytelling rules.
https://tavernapi.com/v1 sk-tav-... -
Step 1: Create an API key in the TavernAPI console
Sign in to the TavernAPI console using your email address, Google, or Discord. Verify your email to receive your $0.30 free trial credit (valid on Gemini 4 Argon and Gemini 3.8 Flash), go to the API keys tab on the left, and click Create API key. Copy the
sk-tav-...key right away—it is only shown once. -
Step 2: Set SillyTavern to Custom (OpenAI-compatible)
Open SillyTavern and click the API Connections icon (the plug at the top of the screen). Set these exact fields:
- API: Chat Completion
- Chat Completion Source: Custom (OpenAI-compatible)
- Custom Endpoint (Base URL): https://tavernapi.com/v1
- Custom API Key: Paste your
sk-tav-...key
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Step 3: Connect and select your model ID
Click Connect. SillyTavern will fetch the available models automatically. Open the Available Models dropdown and select a standard model ID: gemini-4-argon (our top recommendation for most players), claude-opus-5.5 (best scene logic and character adherence), gemini-3.8-flash, deepseek-v4-pro, or claude-sonnet-5.5.
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Step 4: Import a TavernAPI preset (or use your own)
To use our server-locked roleplay preset, download the preset JSON from the Presets tab in the TavernAPI console, open SillyTavern's AI Response Configuration panel (the sliders icon on the far left), and click Import preset. You can freely toggle or edit plain-text rules (word count, language, anti-impersonation), while locked core blocks ([[tav:pack/block]]) expand automatically on our server. Prefer your own local preset? Just leave your own preset selected—direct model connections still get automatic prompt caching.
Troubleshooting common error codes
Your API key is missing, mistyped, or revoked.
Check that you pasted the full sk-tav-... key into Custom API Key with no extra spaces, or create a fresh key in the console.
Your account balance is lower than the estimated cost of the request.
Top up your balance, buy a 30-day credit pack, or redeem a code in the console—or lower Max Response Length (max_tokens) in SillyTavern if it is set unusually high.
Either you are using free trial credit on a model outside the trial (only gemini-4-argon and gemini-3.8-flash are trial-eligible), or your SillyTavern preset includes a [[tav:pack/block]] pack your account has not unlocked yet.
On trial credit, switch to gemini-4-argon or gemini-3.8-flash and disable paid preset packs. To unlock the Standard preset, top up $5+; to unlock the Pro preset, buy it for $4.99, activate a $19/$39 credit pack, or reach $25 in cumulative spend.
Either you sent requests too quickly or the upstream route was temporarily busy before streaming started.
Wait a few seconds and swipe/regenerate. You are never charged when an upstream request fails before sending a reply.