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Key Features of Open WebUI ⭐

Getting Started

Installation via Python pip

Open WebUI can be installed using using Python 3.11.

  1. Install Open WebUI:
    Open your terminal and run the following command to install Open WebUI:
pip install open-webui
  1. Running Open WebUI:
    After installation, you can start Open WebUI by executing:
open-webui serve

This will start the Open WebUI server, which you can access at http://localhost:8080

Quick Start with Docker

Please note that for certain Docker environments, additional configurations might be needed.

When using Docker to install Open WebUI, make sure to include the -v open-webui:/app/backend/data in your Docker command. This step is crucial as it ensures your database is properly mounted and prevents any loss of data.

If you wish to utilize Open WebUI with Ollama included or CUDA acceleration, we recommend utilizing our official images tagged with either :cuda or :ollama. To enable CUDA, you must install the Nvidia CUDA container toolkit on your Linux/WSL system.

Installation with Default Configuration

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

To connect to Ollama on another server, change the OLLAMA_BASE_URL to the server's URL:

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=https://example.com -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main
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

Installation for OpenAI API Usage Only

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -e OPENAI_API_KEY=your_secret_key -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Installing Open WebUI with Bundled Ollama Support

This installation method uses a single container image that bundles Open WebUI with Ollama, allowing for a streamlined setup via a single command. Choose the appropriate command based on your hardware setup:

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --gpus=all -v ollama:/root/.ollama -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:ollama
docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -v ollama:/root/.ollama -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:ollama

Both commands facilitate a built-in, hassle-free installation of both Open WebUI and Ollama, ensuring that you can get everything up and running swiftly.

After installation, you can access Open WebUI at http://localhost:3000.

Look at the Local Development Guide for instructions on setting up a local development environment.

Troubleshooting

Open WebUI: Server Connection Error

If you're experiencing connection issues, it’s often due to the WebUI docker container not being able to reach the Ollama server at 127.0.0.1:11434 (host.docker.internal:11434) inside the container . Use the --network=host flag in your docker command to resolve this. Note that the port changes from 3000 to 8080, resulting in the link: http://localhost:8080.

Example Docker Command:

docker run -d --network=host -v open-webui:/app/backend/data -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434 --name open-webui --restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Keeping Your Docker Installation Up-to-Date

In case you want to update your local Docker installation to the latest version, you can do it with Watchtower:

docker run --rm --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock containrrr/watchtower --run-once open-webui

In the last part of the command, replace open-webui with your container name if it is different.

Check our Updating Guide available in our Open WebUI Documentation.

Offline Mode

If you are running Open WebUI in an offline environment, you can set the HF_HUB_OFFLINE environment variable to 1 to prevent attempts to download models from the internet.

export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1


Tags: ai   tool   presentation   python  

Last modified 23 December 2025