How to add an AI chat interface with Open WebUI

Open WebUI gives you a modern chat interface, similar to ChatGPT, that connects to your local models run with Ollama.

Requirements

Ollama installed and working, see how to run local LLMs with Ollama, and Docker.

1. Start Open WebUI

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 \
  --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
  -v open-webui:/app/backend/data \
  --name open-webui \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

2. Access the interface

Open http://SERVER_IP:3000 and create the first account, which becomes the administrator.

3. Useful features

• Multiple conversations, like in ChatGPT.
• Multiple users with separate accounts.
• Document upload for questions based on them (RAG), see RAG chatbot.

Securing it

Serve only over HTTPS through a reverse proxy and limit access with the firewall. You now have your own private ChatGPT, fully under your control.