What is a character card?
A character card is a file that defines an AI character's personality, backstory, and behavior. Think of it as a detailed profile that tells the AI who it should pretend to be — their name, how they speak, what they care about, and how they relate to you.
When you start a chat, the app reads the character card and uses it to guide every response. The result is a conversation that feels like talking to a real person with their own voice, not a generic chatbot.
What's inside a character card?
A typical character card contains several key pieces of information: a name, a description (who they are and their backstory), a personality (how they behave and speak), a scenario (the setting and how you meet), and a first message (the opening line that starts the conversation).
Some cards also include example dialogues, which show the AI how the character talks in practice. This helps the AI pick up the character's unique voice — their word choices, their rhythm, their little habits.
Character card formats: V1, V2, V3 explained simply
Over time, the community has developed different versions of the character card format. V1 is the simplest — just the basics. V2 adds more fields like alternate greetings and creator notes. V3 is the most detailed, with room for extensions and richer metadata.
You don't need to worry about which version is which. RoleChat AI supports all three automatically. When you pick or import a card, the app figures out the format and handles it for you.
How character cards work in RoleChat AI
RoleChat AI comes with a built-in library of original characters — each one defined by a character card. You don't need to find or download anything. Just browse the library, pick a character, and start chatting.
If you already have a character card from another tool (SillyTavern, for example), you can import it. RoleChat AI reads standard JSON cards and PNG cards with embedded data, so your existing library works here too.
Built-in characters vs importing your own
For most beginners, starting with the built-in character library is the easiest path. Every character is original, written specifically for romance roleplay, and ready to chat with no setup beyond adding your AI key.
If you're more experienced and have a collection of cards, the import feature lets you bring them along. Both paths work — the built-in library is just faster to get started.
Are character cards safe?
Yes. A character card is just text data — it doesn't contain code or scripts. It can't harm your device or access your personal information. The worst a badly-written card can do is produce a confusing conversation.
On RoleChat AI, your conversations stay in your browser, and the character data is processed by the AI provider you choose. No one else can see your chats.