> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.secrets.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.secrets.ai/get-started/personas.md).

# Personas

Create your role in the story, choose how companions address you, and give your persona an appearance.

A **persona** describes who **you** are in a conversation. Use one for your everyday identity, another for a detective story, and another for a fantasy adventure. A persona is your role; a [custom character](/create/custom-characters.md) is a companion you chat with.

Personas and persona photos are exclusive to **Ultimate** and available to all Ultimate subscribers. You can edit your details and switch between personas without paying Moments.

Generate additional persona photos in Studio, choose a saved photo as your reference, and include yourself in companion images. See [Persona Photos](/create/persona-photos.md) for the full guide.

### Create your persona

1. Open **Personas** from the navigation.
2. Select **New Persona**, or **Create Your First Persona** if you haven't made one yet.
3. Enter your name, backstory, and preferences.
4. Select **Create Persona** to save. The appearance creator opens next so you can design your look.

#### What goes in each field?

| Field                    | What to put here                                                                                                                                 | Limit            |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| **Persona Name**         | The name or title you want companions to use for you. This is required.                                                                          | 50 characters    |
| **About Me / Backstory** | Your role, age, personality, relevant history, relationships, and current situation. You can include an appearance description for conversation. | 1,000 characters |
| **Preferences / Rules**  | How you want companions to interact with you: tone, forms of address, storytelling preferences, or boundaries for your role.                     | 1,000 characters |

Keep your backstory focused on details that should follow this persona between conversations. Put facts about a particular story's world and events in its [lorebook](/lorebooks/lorebooks.md).

For example:

**Name:** Mira Vale

**About Me / Backstory:**

> I am Mira, a 29-year-old cartographer restoring an old lighthouse. I enjoy coastal walks, sketching maps, and quiet evenings with tea.

**Preferences / Rules:**

> Call me Mira. Let me decide my own actions and dialogue. Keep the story grounded in our coastal town, with a warm, curious tone.

<figure><img src="https://3286776735-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F9ACKOAU4nFWSXPeE2B4s%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f313702e87039e472a9b024ac73963b3209f20a0%2Fpersona-editor.png?alt=media" alt="Mira Vale&#x27;s persona editor showing the Name, About Me / Backstory, and Preferences / Rules fields, with photo controls beside them."><figcaption><p>Your identity and interaction preferences have separate fields. Photo controls sit beside your details.</p></figcaption></figure>

**Write with AI** can help draft your persona details. Review the result, adjust anything that does not fit your character, and save when you're happy with it.

### Create your appearance

After creating a persona, follow the appearance steps. For an existing persona without a photo, select **Create photo**. If it already has a photo, **Photos** or **Open photo studio** takes you to [Studio](/create/persona-photos.md) to generate and edit more photos.

1. Choose a realistic or anime style and the appearance options you want.
2. Work through age, ethnicity and skin tone, hair, eyes, body type, and additional features. Persona ages must be **18 or older**.
3. Review the cost shown, then select **Generate Image**.
4. Review the generated photo. The creator produces **one photo per attempt**.
5. Select **Use this photo** to save your choice.

To adjust a result, select **Make changes**, describe the change, and select **Apply changes**. For example: “Change my coat to forest green and add a cream scarf.” If you have several versions, select the one you want to edit first. Choose your favorite result and select **Use this photo** when finished.

<figure><img src="https://3286776735-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F9ACKOAU4nFWSXPeE2B4s%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-fc5c286673c4af533b150c5d9bb2b1a526dcd68c%2F03-appearance-edit.png?alt=media" alt="The persona appearance creator with a generated coastal portrait and the Make changes form filled with an outfit adjustment."><figcaption><p>Describe the change you want, then save the version you prefer.</p></figcaption></figure>

#### Appearance creation costs

| Action                                                        | Moments                |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Your first persona appearance creation                        | Free, once per account |
| Starting another appearance creation after using the free one | 150                    |
| First edit within an appearance creation session              | Included               |
| Further edits within that session                             | 100 per edit           |

The initial appearance creation and **Studio photos** are different workflows. Studio uses an existing persona photo to make new scenes and has its own [per-photo pricing](/create/persona-photos.md#moments-and-costs). Check the price shown before proceeding.

### Edit or delete a persona

Open **Personas** and select a persona to edit it, or open its **More actions** menu and select **Edit persona**. Change the details and select **Save Changes**.

The menu also contains **Open photo studio** (or **Create photo** if none is saved), **Choose photo**, **Set as default**, **Duplicate**, and **Delete persona**.

Deleting a persona removes it from chats using it and cannot be undone. If its photos are still generating, wait for them to finish before deleting it.

### Duplicate a persona

Use **More actions → Duplicate** when you want another version of a persona without starting again. The copy includes its name, backstory, preferences, and current appearance photo. It does not copy the entire photo gallery or your chat history.

Open the copy, rename it, and change the details or photo for its new role. The original stays separate, and editing the copy does not change it. Choose the copy as a chat's **Active persona** when you want to use it there.

<figure><img src="https://3286776735-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F9ACKOAU4nFWSXPeE2B4s%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-461a7834605e9c3b0c69126aa0737aa036ce0ab4%2Fpersona-actions.png?alt=media" alt="Mira Vale&#x27;s persona menu with Open photo studio, Choose photo, Remove as default, Duplicate, and Delete persona." width="380"><figcaption><p>Duplicate creates a separate persona; Open photo studio makes more images of the selected one.</p></figcaption></figure>

### Choose a default persona

Open the persona's **More actions** menu and select **Set as default**. The persona is marked **Default** and becomes the starting selection for new chats. You can choose a different persona while creating a chat.

Changing your default does not switch the active persona in existing conversations. To stop using a default, open the same menu and select **Remove as default**.

### Choose a persona for a chat

You can have **one active persona per conversation**, including group chats. Different conversations can use different personas.

* **For a new chat:** choose a persona in the chat creation screen or the persona selector before your first message.
* **For an existing chat:** open the companion or group panel from the chat header, then use **Active persona**.
* **To chat without one:** choose **None** in the selector.

<figure><img src="https://3286776735-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F9ACKOAU4nFWSXPeE2B4s%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-08f185985236abde9f1dfd929d2fbeae350d5a80%2F06-active-persona.png?alt=media" alt="The Active persona selector expanded with None and Mira Vale, which is marked Default and selected." width="460"><figcaption><p>Select the persona for this conversation, or choose None.</p></figcaption></figure>

Switching changes the persona context for future replies. It does not rewrite earlier messages or reset the story's [memories](/get-started/memory-system.md).

### Use your persona in images

Your saved persona photo can guide how you look in generated images. You can:

* Generate **photos of just your persona** in Studio.
* Include your persona alongside **one or two companions** in a Studio group photo.
* Use the **active chat persona** when a chat photo includes you.
* Choose a different saved persona photo as the reference for future images.

Your backstory describes you to companions; your **current photo** provides your visual likeness. Changing the backstory alone does not replace the photo used in image generation.

Follow [Persona Photos](/create/persona-photos.md) for the full walkthrough, prompt examples, costs, and troubleshooting.

### Frequently asked questions

**Can I use different personas with the same companion?**

Yes. Select the appropriate persona in each chat, or switch the active persona during a conversation. Previous messages remain as they were.

**Does a persona replace memory or lorebooks?**

No. Your persona supplies your identity and interaction preferences. The chat's memory or lorebook supplies its ongoing story context. Keep them consistent if you want the companion to treat them as the same continuity.

**Why can't I see Choose photo or my persona in Studio?**

Personas and persona photos require **Ultimate**. On Ultimate, save a persona photo before it can appear in image pickers, and select **Images** in Studio. See [Missing photo controls](/create/persona-photos.md#troubleshooting).

***

Continue with [Persona Photos](/create/persona-photos.md), [Chat Features](/get-started/chat-features.md), or [Memory System](/get-started/memory-system.md).