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Scene Directory Structure

When you create a scene in Talemate, a dedicated project directory is created to hold everything related to that scene. This directory is derived from the scene name and is created immediately when you name the scene, ensuring no assets are lost before the first save.

Location

Scene directories are stored under the scenes/ folder in your Talemate data directory:

scenes/
└── my-adventure/
    ├── my-adventure.json
    ├── my-adventure-chapter-2.json
    ├── assets/
    ├── data.db
    ├── nodes/
    ├── templates/
    ├── shared-context/
    └── info/

Directory contents

Save files (.json)

All save files for a scene live together in the project directory. Each .json file at the root of the directory is a save file. You can have multiple saves for the same scene — for example, one for the initial state and others for different branches or checkpoints.

See Saving for more on how saves work.

assets/

Stores media assets associated with the scene, such as generated images and TTS audio files. Assets are managed automatically by Talemate and linked from the scene save files.

data.db

Created when a save in the project first records revisions. Loading bundled read-only scenes or restore points does not create it.

Stores the Scene revisions for every save in this project. Revisions share unchanged content, and forks keep their earlier revisions without copying that content. Deleting a save removes only revisions and content no remaining save uses.

Talemate may create data.db-wal and data.db-shm alongside the database while it is running. For a manual backup, stop Talemate and copy the whole project directory. Complete ZIP exports with Reset Progress off include the selected save's revisions while Talemate is running.

An old changelog/ directory from 0.39.0 is ignored and left untouched. You may delete it by hand after upgrading; new revisions start from each current save.

nodes/

Stores node editor graphs for the scene, such as the scene loop and creative loop.

templates/

Scene-specific templates that override or extend the default templates. These are organized into scene/, common/, and agent-specific subdirectories.

shared-context/

Contains shared context files (.json) that enable sharing characters, world entries, and history across multiple scenes in the same project.

info/

Stores scene metadata and supplementary information files.

Why this matters

Understanding the directory structure is helpful for:

  • Troubleshooting — knowing where files are stored helps when something goes wrong
  • Manual backups — you can copy the entire project directory to back up a scene and all its associated data
  • Sharing scenes — the project directory contains everything needed to share a scene with others
  • Understanding saves — all saves for a scene are grouped together in one directory, making it clear which files belong together

Scene projects and their save files can be browsed — and deleted — from the Scene Library on the home screen.