SillyTavern API Key: Free Setup + Character Card

Q: What URL and model do I enter for Teasa in SillyTavern?

Choose Chat Completion and Custom (OpenAI-compatible). Use https://teasa.ai/model-api/v1 as the server URL, your Teasa API key and hojicha as the model ID.

In this guide

Open Account to create your API key.

Hojicha is Teasa's warm, toasty conversation style with a teasing edge.

The settings you need

SillyTavern setting	Value
API type	Chat Completion
Chat Completion Source	Custom (OpenAI-compatible)
Server URL	`https://teasa.ai/model-api/v1`
Custom API key	Your key from Teasa Account
Model	`hojicha`
Context size, including the reply	`32256` tokens
Initial response limit	`1500` tokens

Use the server URL exactly as shown. SillyTavern adds the completion route itself; do not append /chat/completions. The official SillyTavern connection guide explains the Custom connection controls.

1. Create your Teasa API key

Sign in to Teasa Account and find Use Teasa in SillyTavern. Name your key, then choose Create API key. Copy the secret while it is displayed. It appears once, so store it securely; never include it in a character card, screenshot or shared preset.

Creating a key does not add credit. A Teasa admin must explicitly grant any trial credit, once per account. All your keys share the balance, and creating a replacement key does not restart it. API credit is separate from Teasa Pass, gems and in-app conversations.

2. Connect and select Hojicha

In SillyTavern, open API Connections, choose Chat Completion, then Custom (OpenAI-compatible). Enter the server URL and key from the table. Connect and choose hojicha from the model list. Setups that already select chai keep working.

Start with text chat, a context size of 32,256 and 1,500 response tokens. Leave tools, image input and structured JSON output off. This API trial includes Hojicha; Matcha is available in Teasa's app experience and is outside this API trial.

3. Import a free starter character

Ren Kisaragi runs the secondhand bookshop on the corner. He can find a book from half a remembered sentence, but asking someone to stay for tea is apparently beyond his professional training. Tonight he has one last display to finish and two very different ideas about what belongs in it.

This original, non-explicit character is written for adult characters and an adult player. Start with a quiet friendship, disagree over the books, or let a romance develop through the conversation.

Download Ren's English Character Card V2

Download Ren's Japanese Character Card V2

In Character Management, choose Import character and select the downloaded .json file. Open Ren's chat. The JSON contains his character definition, opening and dialogue examples; you can add a portrait in SillyTavern.

Try this first message:

“A display called ‘Books to lose sleep over’ needs at least one terrible love story. What's your pick?”

Or decline his invitation: “I can only stay for five minutes.” His definition gives him opinions, a life beyond the shop and a way to accept a refusal. Your reply decides what you contribute to the scene.

Use your own card instead if you already have a favorite. You can also create a reusable Character in Creator Studio, open Export for SillyTavern, and download JSON or a portrait PNG with the card embedded. Our character-card workshop helps you develop voice, motives and an opening worth answering.

4. Check that the first reply worked

Send one message and wait for the response. Then refresh Recent requests in Teasa Account to see its status, token usage and credit charge. A connected indicator confirms the connection; a delivered reply confirms that generation worked.

For a useful first conversation, ask Ren about the display, disagree with one recommendation, then decide whether to stay. You can edit the card and start a new chat to compare the opening. Each generated response uses trial credit.

Fix a connection, model or context error

What you see	What to do
Invalid key or HTTP 401	Copy the Teasa model API key again. Check that it has not been revoked. If the secret is lost, create a replacement in Account.
Not found or HTTP 404	Use `https://teasa.ai/model-api/v1`. Remove any duplicated `/v1` or `/chat/completions` suffix and confirm Chat Completion is selected.
Model unavailable	Reconnect and select `hojicha`. The trial does not serve Matcha or arbitrary model IDs.
Context too long	Reduce the context setting, response limit or active lore. Start a fresh chat to isolate an oversized history. The model window includes input and output.
Unsupported request	Turn off tools, image attachments and structured-output settings. Send ordinary text messages.
HTTP 429	Read the error: insufficient credit needs a smaller request that fits the balance; a rate or concurrent-request limit needs a pause until the current reply finishes.
A reply stops midway	Check the response-token limit and Recent requests. Avoid rapid retries: each retry is a new generation.

The recommended context leaves room for Teasa's formatting adapter inside the 32,768-token model window. Character definitions, world information and history all consume context; reduce the setting further if a long chat is rejected. See SillyTavern's character and context explanation.

For unresolved errors, contact Teasa support with the time, displayed error and relevant settings. Remove API keys and private conversation text from screenshots.

Trial credit and conversation records

Trial usage is metered at $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.22 per million output tokens. There is no automatic top-up or paid replenishment in this trial. Requests stop when the available balance cannot cover them. Cancelled or interrupted requests without final provider usage are charged at their reserved maximum and shown as Estimated.

Prompts and replies are sent to our inference provider and recorded according to your account's conversation-retention settings for support and quality review. Account lets you revoke keys and delete API conversation records. SillyTavern manages its own local chats separately. Read the privacy policy before sending personal material.

Continue in Teasa

For playable Stories, quests, relationship milestones and direct Character chat, explore Teasa. Those experiences run in Teasa; they are not added to SillyTavern by connecting the model API. SillyTavern chats and Teasa Story playthroughs remain separate.

Connect Hojicha in Account, or read the open-source adapter guide for API details.

FAQ

Can I use SillyTavern with a free Teasa API trial?

Only if a Teasa admin has granted trial credit to your account. New accounts start with $0 API credit, and creating a key does not activate a free trial. An admin can grant a one-time $1 balance; there are no automatic charges or unlimited free API usage.

What URL and model do I enter for Teasa in SillyTavern?

Choose Chat Completion and Custom (OpenAI-compatible). Use https://teasa.ai/model-api/v1 as the server URL, your Teasa API key and hojicha as the model ID.

Can I use Matcha with this API key?

This trial serves Hojicha only. Matcha is a separate chat style in Teasa's app experience and is not available through these API keys.

Where can I download a SillyTavern starter character?

This guide includes original English and Japanese Character Card V2 JSON downloads for Ren Kisaragi, an adult bookshop owner. Import either file through SillyTavern's Character Management. The card has no portrait or API key.

Does the API bring Teasa memories and quests into SillyTavern?

The API generates replies from the character and chat context SillyTavern sends. Teasa's Story quests, relationship milestones, saved player memory and grounded Character chat run in Teasa, and are not synced through this connection.