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Characters
Manual

Desktop Quick Start

Start Chatting

After installing and launching AIRI, the quickest way to start a conversation is to complete the onboarding flow:

  1. Select your language if AIRI asks for it.
  2. Choose setup with your provider, or sign in if you already use an AIRI account.
  3. Pick a chat provider, such as OpenRouter, OpenAI Compatible API, DeepSeek, Ollama, Qwen, Gemini, or Claude.
  4. Enter the required API key or local endpoint information.
  5. Choose a chat model, then save and continue.
  6. On the main character window, click the bottom-right Expand button in the Controls Island.
  7. Click Open Chat, type a message, and send it.

Using Ollama locally?

Set OLLAMA_ORIGINS=* as a system environment variable, then restart Ollama before selecting it in AIRI.


What Is On Screen

The desktop version, also called Stage Tamagotchi, usually has these surfaces:

  • Main character window: the always-on-desktop Live2D / VRM stage.
  • Controls Island: the small button group at the bottom-right of the character window.
  • Chat window: the conversation window opened from Controls Island.
  • Settings window: provider, character, model, module, data, connection, and system settings.
  • System tray menu: size, alignment, settings, caption, widgets, and quit actions.

If the character window is hidden, you can bring it back by clicking the AIRI tray icon or choosing Show from the tray menu.

Controls Island

The Controls Island is the most convenient place to operate the desktop app during everyday use.

  • Click Expand to reveal more actions.
  • Click Open Chat to open the chat window.
  • Click Open Settings to configure providers, models, modules, characters, and system settings.
  • Click Switch Profile to change the active character card.
  • Click Refresh when the stage needs to reload.
  • Click the light/dark icon to switch theme.
  • Click the pin icon to toggle always-on-top.
  • Click the eye icon to toggle Auto hide / Always show.
  • Use the microphone button to open hearing controls.
  • Drag the move button to reposition the character window.

Auto Hide

The eye button controls whether AIRI should stay fully interactive or gently reduce visual and click interference while you work.

  • Always show keeps the character visible and clickable.
  • Auto hide fades the character and UI when your cursor is nearby, then lets clicks pass through to the app underneath.

The first time you enable Auto hide, AIRI shows a short notice explaining the behavior. If AIRI becomes hard to click, move the cursor near the Controls Island and click the eye button again.

Move And Resize

To move the character window, drag the move button at the bottom-right of the Controls Island.

On Windows, you can resize the character window by dragging the window edges or corners. The tray menu also provides a few quick presets:

  1. Right-click the AIRI tray icon.
  2. Open Adjust sizes.
  3. Choose Recommended, Full Height, Half Height, or Full Screen.

You can use Align to in the same tray menu to place the window at the center or a screen corner.

Settings Worth Checking

These pages are useful to check after the first chat works:

  • Service Sources: add or edit Chat, Speech, Transcription, and Artistry providers.
  • Body Modules: choose which providers AIRI uses for consciousness, voice, hearing, vision, memory, Discord, Minecraft, Factorio, MCP, and other modules.
  • Character Model: switch between Live2D and VRM models, or import your own model.
  • AIRI Character Card: change the active character or create a new one.
  • System: set language, theme, analytics preference, and desktop-specific options.

Some modules are still experimental and may require local source setup or external services. For a more detailed Windows-focused walkthrough, see the full desktop manual.