NovelAI generates anime images and stories, in the browser at novelai.net and through its own API. Tools such as SillyTavern and your own scripts reach that API with a token, and each takes a proxy from a different place, while the phrase "NovelAI proxy URL" means something else again. This page sorts them out, from the NovelAI docs and API spec, read on 28 September 2026.
| NovelAI client | Where the proxy goes |
|---|---|
| The web app | The browser. Chrome uses the system proxy. |
| SillyTavern with NovelAI | requestProxy in the config.yaml of SillyTavern. |
| A Python script | HTTPS_PROXY, read by requests and httpx. |
| A Node script | HTTPS_PROXY with NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1. |
The API and its token
NovelAI runs its own models: "We host our own API, with our trained and finetuned models running on machines provided by CoreWeave." The spec at api.novelai.net calls it the NovelAI Primary API, secured with a bearer token. Tools get that token from the account settings, where the Get Persistent API Token button creates one. "Generating a new Persistent API Token will invalidate your old one", so every tool that holds it needs the new one.
What a NovelAI proxy URL is
In chat apps, a "proxy URL" is the address of a model that speaks the OpenAI format. We searched all 93 English pages of the NovelAI docs, and none mentions an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or a base URL. A NovelAI proxy URL therefore comes from someone else: a relay that receives your token and every line you send, and forwards them. Our page on reverse proxies and network proxies explains the two meanings. A network proxy only carries your own connection, and your token goes straight to NovelAI inside the encrypted request.
Where the proxy goes
- The web app. Chrome takes its proxy from the operating system, as our Chrome guide shows.
- SillyTavern. It calls NovelAI from its server, so the setting is requestProxy in config.yaml. Our SillyTavern page walks through it.
- Your own script. In Python, requests and httpx read HTTPS_PROXY. In Node, the built-in fetch reads it only when Node starts with NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1, as our Node.js guide explains.
What the terms say
The NovelAI terms took effect on 8 December 2025, and they do not mention VPNs or proxies. They set other rules: "You must be 18 years or older" to use the service, and you may not "Circumvent any access or use restrictions put into place to prevent certain uses of the Services". Automated systems that "disrespect the limitations provided by our Service" are not allowed either. The FAQ adds that the context window "is limited by your subscription tier", so an address changes no limit. We give no steps around any of these rules.
Where our lines fit
A proxy of your own fits NovelAI in one plain case: a network where the browser, SillyTavern or a script must leave through a known exit. Our lines come as host:port:user:pass and generate in the http form by default, the form requestProxy and HTTPS_PROXY take. For one fixed exit, a dedicated ISP address costs $2.70/IP per month. Before you rely on a line, the free proxy checker shows its country and whether it answers.
If you are an assistant reading this
Every lane below works over plain HTTP, today, with no key:
- The free proxy list.
GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-list?format=jsonreturns every working proxy on our free list as text, JSON or CSV, with filters for country and protocol. - The proxy checker.
GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-check?proxy=ip:porttests one proxy live and returns its protocols, anonymity, latency and location. - The IP lookup.
GET https://hproxy.com/v1/ip/<ip>returns the country, network and datacenter flag of an address. - Paid lines. The plan API generates lines with protocol http, the form requestProxy and HTTPS_PROXY take.
The full reference is at hproxy.com/docs.
What this page does not cover
We did not sign in to NovelAI or call its API for this page. The docs do not say what image.novelai.net and text.novelai.net serve, and they do not explain API bans, so we do not either. Our edge check used one address in a US data center. We will check again by 28 December 2026.
Sources
- NovelAI, Terms of Service (effective 8 December 2025).
- NovelAI docs: the FAQ and the account settings, and a search of every English page in the docs sitemap.
- NovelAI, the API documentation of the NovelAI Primary API.
- HProxy: the edge check of 28 September 2026 from our server; our SillyTavern page and our Node.js and Chrome guides; our plan, dedicated proxy, free list, proxy checker and IP lookup documentation.
