Overview
Open WebUI is an extensible, feature-rich, and user-friendly self-hosted web interface designed to operate entirely offline. Originally created as Ollama Web UI, this project has evolved into a comprehensive platform supporting multiple LLM backends including Ollama, OpenAI API, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoints, providing flexibility and vendor independence.
The platform distinguishes itself through an intuitive ChatGPT-style interface combined with powerful features rarely found in other self-hosted solutions. Open WebUI delivers a complete conversational AI experience with support for multiple users, conversation histories, document uploads with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), web search integration, image generation, voice input/output, and extensive customization options.
Built with privacy and data ownership as core principles, Open WebUI stores all conversations, documents, and user data locally on your VPS without external dependencies. The architecture ensures zero telemetry, complete offline operation, and full control over your AI interactions. This makes it ideal for organizations with strict data governance requirements or individuals prioritizing privacy in their AI workflows.
The platform supports sophisticated workflows beyond simple chat interactions. Users can create custom prompts, build model presets with specific parameters, organize conversations with tags and folders, collaborate through workspace sharing, and extend functionality through a plugin system. The admin panel provides comprehensive user management, usage analytics, and system configuration for multi-user deployments.
Open WebUI integrates seamlessly with Ollama for running local models, but also connects to OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, or any compatible API endpoint, enabling hybrid deployments that leverage both local and cloud resources. This flexibility allows organizations to use cheaper local inference for routine tasks while reserving cloud APIs for specialized requirements.
Installation and deployment are streamlined through Docker containers, requiring minimal configuration to get started. The platform automatically discovers Ollama installations on the same system, simplifying setup for users running both services on their VPS. For production deployments, Open WebUI supports authentication via OpenID Connect, LDAP integration, and granular permission controls.
Key Features
Multi-Backend Flexibility
Connect to Ollama, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between models from different providers in single interface.
RAG Document Processing
Upload documents (PDF, DOCX, TXT) for context-aware conversations. Local embedding and vector search for private document Q&A without cloud services.
Complete User Management
Multi-user support with authentication, role-based access control, workspace isolation, and admin dashboard. OIDC and LDAP integration for enterprise auth.
Advanced Chat Features
Conversation branching, regeneration, editing, search across history, tags and folders for organization. Export conversations as Markdown or JSON.
Image and Voice Support
Generate images with DALL-E or Stable Diffusion integration. Voice input via Web Speech API and voice output with text-to-speech synthesis.
Extensible Plugin System
Extend functionality with custom functions, tools, and integrations. Community plugins for web search, code execution, API connectors, and specialized workflows.
Common Use Cases
- **Team Collaboration Platform**: Shared workspace for teams to interact with AI models, share conversations, and build collective knowledge base
- **Document Research Assistant**: Upload research papers, contracts, or documentation for AI-powered Q&A and analysis without cloud data exposure
- **Development Tool**: Coding assistant with support for multiple models, conversation history, and code snippet organization
- **Customer Support Interface**: Internal tool for support teams to leverage AI for faster response drafting and information lookup
- **Educational Platform**: Multi-user environment for students and educators to experiment with various AI models safely
- **Personal Knowledge Management**: Private ChatGPT alternative for organizing thoughts, notes, and conversations with full data ownership
Installation Guide
Install Open WebUI on Ubuntu VPS using Docker for simplest deployment. Pull the official image and run with port mapping to 3000. For Ollama integration on same host, use host network mode or connect to Ollama API via network.
Basic installation requires single docker run command with volume mount for persistent data storage. Configure environment variables for authentication method, default model, and external API keys if using cloud backends.
For production deployments, use Docker Compose with separate containers for Open WebUI, Ollama, and optional services like Redis or PostgreSQL for session storage. Set up reverse proxy with Nginx for SSL termination and custom domain mapping.
Configure authentication by setting environment variables for OpenID Connect providers (Google, Microsoft, GitHub) or enable built-in user management with email/password. Set admin credentials on first launch through environment variables.
Mount volumes for data persistence including /app/backend/data for conversations and user data. For RAG functionality, ensure sufficient storage for document uploads and vector embeddings. Configure backup strategies for database and uploaded documents.
Configuration Tips
Open WebUI configuration managed through environment variables and admin web interface. Set OLLAMA_BASE_URL to connect to Ollama backend, OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenAI access, and DEFAULT_MODELS to specify available models.
Enable RAG by configuring embedding models and vector database settings. Set WEBUI_SECRET_KEY for secure sessions. Configure file upload limits with UPLOAD_SIZE_LIMIT and storage paths with DATA_DIR.
For multi-user deployments, configure ENABLE_SIGNUP to control registration, ENABLE_LOGIN_FORM for auth method, and WEBHOOK_URL for external integrations. Set log levels with LOG_LEVEL and enable metrics with ENABLE_METRICS.
Best practices include running behind reverse proxy with SSL, implementing regular backups of data volume, configuring resource limits in Docker to prevent memory issues, using Redis for session management in multi-container deployments, and monitoring storage usage for document uploads and conversation history.
Technical Requirements
System Requirements
- Kukumbukira: 2GB
- CPU: 2 cores
- Malo Osungirako: 10GB
Dependencies
- ✓ Docker
- ✓ Ollama or OpenAI API key (for backend)
- ✓ Optional: Redis for session management