PokiTavern listens on your Wi-Fi network, not only on the phone itself. Tap
the floating ball, then tap the LAN access row in the menu to copy an
address in the shape of http://192.168.1.23:41520/. Open that
in any browser on the same network and the tablet, the laptop and the
desktop all reach the same tavern.
1.How do I open PokiTavern on my laptop?
- Put the phone and the laptop on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open PokiTavern and leave it running.
- Tap the floating ball, then tap LAN access to copy the address.
- Type that address into any browser on the laptop.
Nothing is installed on the second device. It is a web page served by your phone, so a Chromebook, an old iPad or a work laptop you cannot install software on all work the same way.
2.Why is every screen showing the same chats?
Because there is only one server, and it is in your pocket. Characters, chats, presets and world books live in a single SQLite database on the phone, and every browser you open is a view onto it. Start a scene on the phone at lunch, keep typing it on the laptop at night, in the same message list.
This is also why there is no sync setting, no conflict resolution and no account. Sync problems come from having two copies. LAN mode never makes the second copy.
3.What is it actually good for?
- Writing long replies on a real keyboard while the phone stays in your bag.
- Reading a scene on a tablet or a monitor instead of squinting at a handset.
- Editing character cards, world books and prompt templates, which are far easier on a wide screen.
- Letting an iPhone or an iPad into a tavern that has no iOS app yet.
Whichever model you have chosen applies to every screen, because the choice belongs to the server. The on-device model answers all of them, and so does a cloud endpoint if you attached your own key.
4.What LAN mode needs, and what it does not do
It needs one thing: both devices on the same Wi-Fi network, with the app open on the phone. Mobile data does not carry it, and neither does being in a different building. Away from your network the phone still works on its own, exactly as before.
The port is 41520. If something else on the phone already holds it, the app moves up to the next free port and keeps that one, so the address you copy is the address that works. It is worth reading off the menu rather than typing from memory.
An address like 192.168.1.23 is private. Nothing on the public
internet can route to it unless you forward a port on your router yourself,
and PokiTavern never asks your router for anything. Do note that PokiTavern
is single-user and has no login screen, so anyone already on that Wi-Fi who
knows the address can open it. On a home network that is the point; on a cafe
network, close the app.
PokiTavern is not affiliated with the SillyTavern project. It embeds a server implementing the SillyTavern 1.18 API and serves that project's official frontend on top, which is what the browser on your laptop loads.
5.Common questions
Do I have to install anything on the laptop or tablet?
No. The other device only needs a browser. The phone runs the server and serves the SillyTavern frontend to it, the same way any web app on your network would.
Do the chats sync between my devices?
There is nothing to sync. Every device is looking at the one server on the phone, so characters, chats, presets and settings are identical everywhere by definition, and nothing is copied anywhere.
Does LAN mode work over mobile data or away from home?
No. The address is a private one on your Wi-Fi network, so both devices have to be on that same network. Away from it, the phone still works on its own as an ordinary app.
Is my phone exposed to the internet?
Not by this. An address like 192.168.1.23 is private and cannot be routed from outside your network unless you deliberately forward a port on your router. PokiTavern does not ask your router for anything.
Can anyone else on the Wi-Fi open it?
Anyone on the same network who knows the address can, because PokiTavern is single-user and has no login screen. On a home network that is convenient. On a cafe or office network, close the app instead.
Can an iPhone or iPad use LAN mode?
Yes, as a browser. Safari on an iPhone or iPad opens the address served by the Android phone like any other device. There is still no PokiTavern app on the App Store.