How to Self-Host Open WebUI
Open WebUI is a self-hosted chat interface for Ollama and OpenAI-compatible models, with accounts, conversation history, and document retrieval. The notes below were checked against the project site and source repository.
When Open WebUI is a good fit
Choose Open WebUI when you want a browser chat in front of models you already run or an API you already pay for. It does not replace the model runtime. You still own accounts, stored chats, uploads, updates, and recovery. Read the current container docs before selecting a tag, because image variants change between releases.
Deployment notes
The documented Docker quick start uses the image ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui and a volume mounted at /app/backend/data. That volume holds the database, uploads, and settings. Point OLLAMA_BASE_URL at a reachable Ollama server, or configure an OpenAI-compatible provider. The published :main tag moves; pin a release tag for anything you intend to keep.
Place the UI behind HTTPS. Create an admin account before anyone else can reach it, then turn off public sign-up if this is not a shared trial.
Data and recovery
Back up /app/backend/data. Chats, users, and uploaded documents live there. The model weights do not, unless you also bundled Ollama in the same container and mounted its model directory.
Write down the restore sequence, required secrets, exposed ports, and which model endpoints the UI is allowed to call. A scheduled backup is not complete until a clean host can restore it and pass a functional check.
Important limitation
Anyone who can use the UI can spend your model quota or run local models. Do not publish an instance that still allows open registration.
Production checklist
- Pin and record the deployed version.
- Persist every documented data and configuration path.
- Terminate TLS at a maintained reverse proxy or trusted tunnel.
- Restrict administrative interfaces and rotate default credentials.
- Monitor uptime, disk space, certificate expiry, and failed jobs.
- Test an off-host backup with a real restore.
