Key points at a glance
- Both are open source and self-hostable—the difference is "out-of-the-box" versus "assemble it yourself."
- Enclave has built-in structured long-term memory and proactive follow-ups; SillyTavern relies on extensions you configure yourself.
- Enclave can directly produce PPT / Word / Excel; SillyTavern focuses on the character conversation itself.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Enclave | SillyTavern |
|---|---|---|
| Product positioning | An out-of-the-box private assistant world | A highly customizable roleplay chat frontend; bring your own backend |
| Open source & self-hosting | MIT open source, self-hostable | Open source, self-hostable (self-hosted frontend) |
| Long-term memory | Built-in structured long-term memory, ready out of the box | Configure it yourself via extensions / vector plugins |
| Proactivity | Experts proactively remind and message you — measured, never spammy | Primarily passive conversation |
| Multiple characters & relationships | Multiple experts and a relationship network, with group chats orchestrated by the system | Supports multiple characters, but requires manual orchestration |
| Real deliverables | Can directly produce PPT / Word / Excel | Focused on roleplay and conversation |
How to choose
If you enjoy the control of tuning prompts by hand, configuring a model backend, and crafting character cards, SillyTavern gives you maximum freedom; if you want an assistant world that's ready to use, with built-in long-term memory, proactive follow-ups, and the ability to produce documents for you, Enclave is far more hassle-free. Both belong to the open-source, self-hosting camp—choose based on how much "assembly cost" you're willing to invest.
FAQ
Can I self-host Enclave? Is it hard?
Yes, and it's about as hard as running an ordinary web service. If you've used docker compose, three steps get you your own instance: clone the repo, copy .env, and docker compose up. The API, frontend, database, and vector index all run on your own machine.Which large language models does Enclave support?
Enclave's model layer is fully swappable: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, and local Ollama / vLLM can all be configured. Different characters can even use different models, freely allocated by scenario and cost.What do I need to self-host Enclave? Do I need a GPU?
Not necessarily a GPU. If you use cloud model APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), an ordinary server or home machine that can run Docker is enough — inference happens in the cloud, and your machine only runs the app and database. You only need the corresponding VRAM and compute if you want offline inference with local models (Ollama / vLLM).
Ready to try it?
Open it in your browser — no credit card, no install.