Import a character card
Review scope: Linked public documentation checked October 30, 2026. Examples are proposed checks, not recorded OD results; use your account's current controls.
You will bring a character definition into OD through its dedicated importer, inspect the result, and keep the first version private.
A character card is a portable character definition. A JSON file stores structured text. A PNG card can store a picture together with embedded character text, called metadata. An ordinary picture without that character metadata is not the same thing as a card.
Before you begin
Have an account and a compatible card you want to use. Keep the original file. If you want a neutral practice file, use the included Mira practice card. It contains fictional tutorial content in a portable V2-style JSON structure, not an imported or tested account character. A JSON file can parse correctly and still use a schema or field the current importer does not support.
Step by step
- Read the definition first. Check the name, adult age, appearance, personality, opening situation, and any included instructions. Make sure they describe the character you intend to use.
- Open the actual importer. Visit Character Card Importer after completing the site's own sign-in and entry steps.
- Choose Browse Files. Alternatively, use the drag-and-drop area if it is available.
- Select the PNG card or JSON file. Do not rename an ordinary photograph or a text document and assume that makes it a compatible card.
- Read the import response. If the site rejects the format, keep the error text. Repeatedly submitting the same incompatible file is unlikely to fix its structure.
- Inspect the populated editor or preview. Compare its name, age, appearance, personality, Scenario, and Greeting against the source.
- Resolve missing or changed fields. Use the field map to place important facts manually where necessary. Do not assume every source field has a one-to-one destination.
- Inspect the generated display image. The public importer says it uses card metadata and generates a new display picture. The uploaded card picture is not used as the visual reference. Importer description.
- Keep the first version private. Review any displayed cost before completing the flow. Do not publish an imported character simply to see whether it works.
- Begin a short test chat. Ask a question that checks one important fact, then check the opening tone and user agency.
A simple mapping check
For the practice card, ask:
Mira, what work do you do here, and what is the problem we are starting with?
Compare the answer with the original card: Mira is an archivist, and the map is missing. Then check the appearance independently. A correct occupation does not establish that the hair or face was preserved.
Keep a short comparison before correcting any imported fields:
| Source item | Inspect in the imported result | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Name, adult age, occupation | Corresponding editor fields and definition | Unchanged / changed / missing |
| Personality and scenario | Narrative fields, then a separate chat trial | Field transfer and behavior as separate verdicts |
| Opening message | Greeting text actually stored | Unchanged / changed / missing |
| Appearance description | Physical fields, then generated display image | Text transfer and visible identity separately |
This table is a verification worksheet, not a claim about the importer's field mapping. Record a missing field rather than inferring transfer from a plausible reply.
What import acceptance does not prove
A successful upload means the importer accepted the file. It does not by itself show that every rule, lorebook trigger, alternate greeting, extension, or embedded asset behaves as it did in another application. A lorebook is a collection of reference entries; its portable format and its use during a conversation are separate questions.
Likewise, imported JSON does not become executable game code. Native State Trackers use their own available controls.
Adapt imported instructions by purpose
After recording the import comparison, make a separate authoring revision if source wording does not suit the destination. For example, identify whether I speak in terse sentences describes the character's written voice or is literal Greeting dialogue. A personality note can be clarified as Mira usually answers in brief, precise sentences in APD; the Greeting should keep the voice you deliberately chose for its first message.
Do not automatically convert every first-person sentence or relocate every source instruction. Preserve the intended facts, remove contradictory copies, and inspect what is actually stored before testing behavior. The OD writing guide explains field purposes and perspective; it does not establish that a foreign card's extensions acquire native behavior. The OD prompt lab offers placement practice.
Check your result
Keep the original card, a note of any important changes, and the private OD result. You should know which fields transferred and which you corrected. Only call the process an import comparison unless you have also verified an export path.
If something goes wrong
- The file is rejected: confirm it is an actual compatible PNG card or valid JSON file; preserve the error.
- The picture changes: review the generated appearance and tune it through CPD.
- The character behaves differently: compare the populated narrative fields rather than assuming all source instructions survived.
Next: Test the character.