How to Import a Character Card Into MegaNova Studio

You do not have to start every character from scratch.

MegaNova Studio accepts character cards from most major platforms — SillyTavern, Chub.ai, SpicyChat, Character.ai — as well as JSON files and its own CAK format. If you have a character built elsewhere, importing it takes less than a minute.

This guide explains every import format, exactly what gets loaded, and what to expect when the character lands in the Blueprint Editor.

Opening the Import Modal

In MegaNova Studio, open any character in the Character Studio. In the header, click Import to Editor.

The Import modal has four tabs:

Each tab has a file drop zone. Drag your file in, or click to browse.

Importing a CCv2/CCv3 PNG Card

This is the most common import path. If your card came from SillyTavern, Chub.ai, or SpicyChat, use the Other PNG tab.

Drop the .png file into the zone. MegaNova reads the PNG's tEXt metadata chunks, searching for keywords chara, ccv3, and character — the standard identifiers used by CCv1, CCv2, and CCv3 cards. It also checks iTXt and zTXt chunks as fallback.

Once it finds the embedded JSON, it decodes the base64 data and maps the fields:

The card's avatar image is extracted and set as the character's avatar automatically.

MegaNova-specific extensions are also restored if present — model setting, age, gender, content rating, visibility, recommended models, and emotional values all carry over from cards exported by MegaNova Studio.

SillyTavern extensions are partially supported: if the card contains a depth_prompt field in extensions and no system prompt was found elsewhere, that content is used as the system instruction.

CCv1 Support

Older flat-structure cards (CCv1, which do not have a spec field) are also recognized. If the JSON contains name, description, personality, or first_mes at the top level, MegaNova treats it as CCv1 and extracts accordingly.

Importing a Character.ai Card

Use the Character.ai tab for PNG files exported from Character.ai using third-party export tools. The import process is the same as for standard PNG cards, but MegaNova applies a different field mapping to account for Character.ai's format differences — including char_persona, definition, and character_persona as fallback sources for the system instruction.

Importing a JSON File

Use the JSON File tab for .json character files.

Accepted formats:

• CCv2/CCv3 spec: { "spec": "chara_card_v2", "data": { ... } } or { "spec": "chara_card_v3", "data": { ... } }
• Flat format: { "name": "...", "description": "...", "personality": "...", ... }

MegaNova detects the spec automatically and applies the appropriate field mapping.

Importing a CAK File

CAK (.cak.zip) is MegaNova's own export format. It carries everything a Character Card cannot — lorebooks, multimodal assets, embed configurations, and full MegaNova metadata.

Use the CAK (.zip) tab and drop the .cak.zip file. This creates a new character with all assets, lorebooks, and configurations restored. It does not overwrite the character currently open in the editor.

CAK import is the recommended format for moving characters between MegaNova accounts or restoring a backed-up character.

What Happens to the Character Name in Text Fields

After import, MegaNova runs a normalization pass across all text fields.

Any hardcoded character name found in descriptions, system instructions, scenarios, first messages, example dialogues, and alternate greetings is replaced with the {{char}} placeholder. This ensures the character works correctly when renamed or used in different contexts where the platform substitutes the actual name at runtime.

For example, if the personality field contains Luna is kind and soft-spoken, it becomes {{char}} is kind and soft-spoken after import.

If the text already uses {{char}} consistently, it is left unchanged.

What the Blueprint Editor Receives

Imported characters land in the Blueprint Editor. MegaNova reconstructs a Blueprint from the card data automatically:

• Core traits are extracted from the personality field by splitting on commas, periods, and line breaks. Up to 10 traits are imported, each capped at 50 characters.
• Voice/speaking style is pattern-matched from the personality field — phrases like speaking style:, voice:, or speaks in a ... manner are detected and mapped to the voice style field.
• First message maps to dialogue.firstMessage.
• Alternate greetings map to dialogue.alternateGreetings.
• System prompt override in the Advanced section is populated with the raw personality or system_prompt content, giving you direct access to edit it.

Fields with no equivalent in the source card — appearance, background origin, reaction rules, psychology, friction — start empty. You can fill them using the Blueprint Editor's AI assist tools after import.

Common Import Errors

"No supported character metadata found in PNG file"
The PNG does not contain character data. Either the file is a plain image, or the metadata was stripped when the file was saved or compressed. Re-export from the source platform and try again.

"Unsupported file format"
Only .png, .json, and .md (SOUL.md) files are accepted. .webp and other formats are not supported. Check whether the source platform offers a JSON export option.

"Please upload a .zip file (CAK format)"
The CAK tab only accepts .zip files. MegaNova CAK exports are named .cak.zip.

After Import: Next Steps

Once imported, the character works like any character created from scratch in MegaNova. You can:

• Refine the Blueprint using the AI-assist tools in each section
• Generate a character image with the Image Generation tool
• Attach a lorebook for world context
• Test the character in the Arena tab
• Export it back as a CCv2/CCv3 card or CAK package
• Deploy it as an agent or embed it in a website

Import is a starting point, not an end state. The Blueprint Editor is where the character becomes something you built — not just something you carried over.

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