Start Your First Chat
After importing a character and connecting a model, you are ready to chat. This guide covers the basic chat controls and how to explore different story paths.
Who this is for
- Users who have imported a character and configured a model.
- Users who want to edit, retry, or continue model replies.
- Roleplay users who want to keep multiple story directions.
What you will learn
- How to open a character chat.
- How sending, stopping, and continuing generation work.
- How to edit or regenerate messages.
- How chat branches help preserve alternate story paths.
Open a chat
Select a character from the library. If the card includes a greeting, the chat opens with the greeting message.
On larger screens, you may see the character library and chat side by side. On smaller screens, focus stays on the chat view.
Basic chat controls
- Send: write a message and send it to the model.
- Stop: interrupt generation if the response is going in the wrong direction.
- Continue: ask the model to continue when a response ends too early.
- Regenerate: request a new version of a reply.
Edit messages and swipe alternatives
You can edit previous messages when you need to correct context, wording, or story details. The model will treat the edited history as part of the conversation.
If multiple candidate replies are available, choose the one that best fits the story before continuing.
Chat branches
Branches help you explore multiple plot directions without losing the original conversation. Use them when you want to test a decision, alternate scene, or different character reaction.
FAQ
Why does regenerate affect the wrong message?
Make sure the message you want to retry is selected or that you are using the correct action near that message.
Does editing an old message change future replies?
Yes. Future requests use the current conversation history, including your edits.
Do branches take more space?
Branches store additional conversation data. Large branch trees can increase local storage usage.
Next steps
- World Book Basics: add dynamic lore.
- Preset Basics: tune the model’s speaking style.
- SillyTavern Migration: bring existing assets into Tavern Studio.