Open WebUI is a self-hosted chat interface for running and querying large language models locally or through any OpenAI-compatible API, giving teams a ChatGPT-like experience without sending conversations to third-party cloud providers.
The Problem
ChatGPT, Claude.ai, and Perplexity process every message on external servers under their own data policies. For organizations with sensitive internal data, regulated industries, or self-hosted model requirements, these services are off the table. Running Ollama locally solves the model problem but leaves users with no polished interface.
How Open WebUI Solves It
Open WebUI provides a full-featured web interface that connects to Ollama, LM Studio, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Features include RAG over uploaded documents, multi-model conversations, image generation integration, conversation history with search, and user management for teams. Runs as a Docker container; all conversations stay on the deployment host. MIT licensed.
Key Features
- Works with Ollama, LM Studio, and any OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
- RAG: upload documents and query them in context within conversations
- Multi-model support: switch between models mid-conversation or run them in parallel
- Image generation via stable diffusion backends
- User management with role-based access for team deployments
- MIT licensed; single Docker container deployment
Self-Hosting
Open WebUI runs as a single Docker container. Deploy with docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main. All conversations, uploaded documents, and user data remain on your host.
License
MIT. Free to use, modify, and distribute. No licensing fees for self-hosted deployments of any scale.
Who It's For
Open WebUI is best for developers, researchers, and organizations running self-hosted LLMs via Ollama or compatible APIs who need a polished, multi-user chat interface without sending data to a commercial AI provider.
Compared to ChatGPT
Unlike ChatGPT, Open WebUI runs entirely on your infrastructure with no data leaving to OpenAI. ChatGPT offers a larger default model, plugin marketplace, and consumer-grade reliability; Open WebUI gives full control over which models run and where data goes.
