Open WebUI provides a user-friendly, self-hosted AI platform for interacting with large language models (LLMs). It targets users who want a feature-rich, offline-capable interface for managing and conversing with various LLM runners, including Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs, with built-in RAG capabilities.

How It Works

The platform leverages a Docker-first deployment strategy, offering official images for various configurations including Ollama integration and CUDA acceleration. It supports OpenAI-compatible APIs, allowing flexible integration with services like LMStudio, GroqCloud, and Mistral. Key features include granular permissions, a responsive PWA for mobile, extensive Markdown/LaTeX support, and native Python function calling for custom tool integration.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Install/Run:
  • Python: pip install open-webui then open-webui serve
  • Docker: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main (for Ollama on host)
  • Docker with GPU: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --gpus all --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:cuda
• Prerequisites: Python 3.11+ for pip install. Docker with NVIDIA Container Toolkit for GPU support.
• Resources: Docker volume mounting (-v open-webui:/app/backend/data) is crucial for data persistence.
• Docs: Open WebUI Documentation

Highlighted Details

• Integrated Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with document loading and web search capabilities (SearXNG, Brave, Bing, etc.).
• Supports image generation via AUTOMATIC1111, ComfyUI, and DALL-E.
• Extensible via a Pipelines Plugin Framework for custom logic and integrations.
• Features hands-free voice/video calls and a model builder for creating custom agents.

Maintenance & Community

• Actively maintained with continuous updates.
• Community support via Open WebUI Discord.
• Sibling project: Open WebUI Community for customized Modelfiles.

Licensing & Compatibility

• License: BSD-3-Clause.
• Permissive license suitable for commercial use and integration with closed-source applications.

Limitations & Caveats

• The :dev Docker tag is for unstable, bleeding-edge features and may contain bugs.
• Troubleshooting connection issues may require specific Docker network configurations (e.g., --network=host).