Kunnskapsbase

Open WebUI provides a familiar, browser-based chat interface for locally-run language models — giving you a private, self-hosted alternative to ChatGPT's interface, connected to your own Ollama installation.

Prerequisites

• Ollama already installed and running (see How to Install Ollama and Run Local LLMs on a VPS)
• Docker installed

Step 1 — Run Open WebUI with Docker

docker run -d \
  --name open-webui \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 3000:8080 \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:11434 \
  -v open-webui-data:/app/backend/data \
  --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

--add-host and host.docker.internal allow the container to reach Ollama running on the host machine.

Step 2 — Access the Interface

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000

Step 3 — Create Your Admin Account

The first account created becomes the administrator automatically.

Step 4 — Disable Further Signups (Important)

In the admin settings, disable open registration after creating your intended accounts — otherwise anyone who discovers the URL could create an account and use your server's compute resources.

Step 5 — Start Chatting

Select your installed Ollama model from the dropdown and start a conversation — the interface closely resembles familiar AI chat products.

Step 6 — Add HTTPS

See How to Install Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker to route a domain to port 3000 with a proper SSL certificate, especially important since you'll likely be entering an admin password.

Uploading Documents for RAG-Style Q&A

Open WebUI includes a built-in document upload feature, letting you ask questions about your own documents — a lightweight, built-in alternative to building a custom RAG pipeline (see How to Deploy a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pipeline on a VPS for a more customizable approach).

Managing Multiple Users

Open WebUI supports multiple user accounts with role-based permissions — useful if you're sharing access with a small team while keeping administrative control centralized.

Backing Up Open WebUI Data

docker run --rm -v open-webui-data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine tar czf /backup/open-webui-backup.tar.gz /data

Common Errors

"Failed to connect to Ollama" — verify the OLLAMA_BASE_URL and --add-host flag are correctly set, and that Ollama is actually running on the host (sudo systemctl status ollama).

Interface loads but no models appear — ensure at least one model has been pulled via ollama pull MODEL_NAME on the host first.

Best Practices

• Disable open registration immediately after setting up your own account
• Always run behind HTTPS given the presence of login credentials
• Back up the data volume regularly, especially if storing uploaded documents

Continue Reading

• How to Install Ollama and Run Local LLMs on a VPS
• How to Deploy a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pipeline on a VPS
• How to Install Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker

Browse more articles in AI & Machine Learning on a VPS.