Persona Settings
Persona Settings
Section titled “Persona Settings”A persona is the character’s stable identity. It tells XEL how the character speaks, what it knows about itself, what boundaries it follows, and how it should answer in chat or voice.
XEL can build a persona from two kinds of input:
- Direct text written by the owner in the Persona tab.
- Source files and links added in the Media tab, then used by the auto-update setting.
What the Prompt Is
Section titled “What the Prompt Is”A prompt is the instruction set XEL creates from the persona. It may include voice, style, biography, recurring facts, boundaries, and examples of how the character should respond.
The full private prompt is not shown on the public profile. Public profile fields such as name, bio, image, and media are separate from the private prompt used to operate the character.
Basic Persona
Section titled “Basic Persona”The basic persona is the readable owner-facing version of the character. It is the simple description you can review in the Persona tab.
It should describe the character’s identity, tone, background, and stable behavior. It should not be used as a dumping ground for every document the character may need to know later. Documents, posts, transcripts, PDFs, and reference material belong in source files.
Auto-Update Persona from Files
Section titled “Auto-Update Persona from Files”When Auto-update persona from files is on, XEL uses selected source files to rebuild the character’s persona when those files change.
That is useful when the character is based on a person, creator, public body of work, or large media archive. Instead of hand-editing every change, you add or update the source files and XEL refreshes the persona from that evidence.
When this setting is on, the basic persona field is locked for direct edits so the generated version and the source files do not drift apart. You can still read and scroll the persona. To change it, update the files, add supplemental notes, or turn auto-update off.
Supplemental Notes
Section titled “Supplemental Notes”Supplemental notes are owner-written instructions layered on top of an auto-built persona. Use them for things that are hard to infer from files:
- Preferred tone or boundaries.
- Topics to emphasize or avoid.
- Facts that must be preserved.
- Corrections to source material.
Supplemental notes are not a public bio. They are instructions for character behavior.
How File Scope Affects Persona
Section titled “How File Scope Affects Persona”Files are managed in the Media tab. Each file can be assigned to one of three scopes:
| Scope | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Persona | Use this file to shape identity, voice, biography, and behavior. |
| Memory | Use this file as knowledge or long-term memory, but do not let it define personality. |
| Both | Use this file for both persona building and memory ingestion. |
This separation matters. A tax document, contract, or textbook may be useful for memory, but it should not change the character’s personality. A biography, interview, or creator transcript may belong in both.
Files Changed Warning
Section titled “Files Changed Warning”If files have changed since the last persona refresh, XEL may show a warning at the top of the Persona or Media tab. Use Update persona to rebuild the persona from the current files.
Manual Persona Edits
Section titled “Manual Persona Edits”If auto-update is off, the owner can edit the basic persona directly. Saving a persona update creates a new version of the character’s instructions.
Manual edits are best for small characters, fictional characters, and cases where the owner wants total control over the prompt rather than a file-derived persona.
Privacy
Section titled “Privacy”Persona instructions can contain private material. Treat the Persona tab like a private control surface, not like public profile copy. Only put information in public fields or public files if it should be visible to others.