# How Salenai Works (and Our Open Source Promise)

# "Isn't SillyTavern free? What am I paying for?"

Yup, SillyTavern is amazing, free, open-source software. You're not paying for the app itself; you're paying for the Salenai service.

Think of us as the "easy button". We handle the server, setup, maintenance, backups, and support so you can skip the tech headaches and just start chatting.

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# Our AGPL Compliance

SillyTavern uses the AGPL-3.0 license, which means you have the right to the source code. We run your instance in a custom Docker container, and you can find our full setup—the Dockerfile and any scripts—in our public GitHub repo.

Just to be clear, the Salenai platform (this website, your dashboard, etc.) is our own separate code. We're huge fans of open source and are committed to respecting the licenses of the tools we use.