Open WebUI Self-Hosted, Deploy in One Click
Self-host Open WebUI for a private, feature-rich interface to local and cloud LLMs. Automatio handles VPS setup and HTTPS for secure, unmetered AI chat.
Open WebUI
AI & LLM ToolsOpen WebUI is a free and open source chatgpt alternative. Open WebUI is an extensible, feature-rich, and user-friendly self-hosted WebUI designed to operate entirely offline. It supports various LLM runners, including Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. The template include ollama and webui services.
What you get when you deploy Open WebUI
The server we rent for it, what it costs, and what the installer will ask you.
- Server
- CX23 · 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM
- From
- $9/month
- Setup
- No configuration required
Included with every deployment
- Dedicated server, one app per machine
- HTTPS certificate issued automatically
- Free subdomain, custom domain optional
- Restart, resize, snapshot and restore
The project
Everything this page links to outside Automatio.
Deploy Open WebUI in one click
On your own server, with your own data. No terminal, no Docker commands, no certificate setup.
- 1
Pick a size
Start on the smallest server that fits the app. Resize later without reinstalling.
- 2
Press deploy
We rent the server, install the app with Docker, and point a subdomain at it.
- 3
Watch it come up
Provisioning runs unattended and takes a few minutes. When the HTTPS certificate lands, the app is live and your login details are on the deployment page.
Server size
Billed monthly with your Automatio subscription. Destroy the server any time and the charge stops.
Key Capabilities
Explore what Automatio can do for this use case
Advanced RAG Support
The interface includes native Retrieval-Augmented Generation to integrate documents directly into AI conversations. The system handles vectorization and retrieval locally, allowing users to query private files safely without data leaving the dedicated server.
- 1PDF and Markdown support
- 2Web link content extraction
- 3Local vector database storage
- 4Configurable top-k retrieval
- 5Citation and source highlighting
Key Capabilities
- Advanced RAG Support
The interface includes native Retrieval-Augmented Generation to integrate documents directly into AI conversations. The system handles vectorization and retrieval locally, allowing users to query private files safely without data leaving the dedicated server.
- PDF and Markdown support
- Web link content extraction
- Local vector database storage
- Configurable top-k retrieval
- Citation and source highlighting
- Multi-Model Management
Users can connect to multiple backends simultaneously, including Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs. This allows for switching models mid-conversation or comparing responses from two different models in a side-by-side view.
- Ollama native integration
- OpenAI API compatibility
- Dual-model comparison view
- Dynamic model switching
- Custom system prompt support
- Extensible Plugin System
The platform supports community-built Tools and Valves that enable the AI to interact with external data. This includes web searching, image generation via Stable Diffusion, and custom Python functions for specialized workflows.
- Community Skill Store access
- Python-based tool creation
- Web search integration
- DALL-E and Stable Diffusion support
- Granular API access control
- Granular User Controls
Host a collaborative AI environment for teams with robust admin features. Administrators can set specific permissions, model access limits, and monitor usage across all registered accounts from a central dashboard.
- Admin monitoring dashboard
- RBAC permission system
- Usage statistics and logging
- Shared model access configuration
- Self-registration toggle
Why self-host Open WebUI
What to know first
Managed, DIY, or One-Click?
The three realistic ways to run {name}, compared honestly.
| Aspect | Managed SaaS | DIY on a VPS | Automatio one-click |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy | Provider can access/train on data | Fully private on your hardware | Fully private on a dedicated VPS |
| Setup Speed | Instant | 1 to 2 hours manual configuration | A few minutes via automation |
| Maintenance | Zero | Manual updates and patching | Managed server infrastructure |
| Model Choice | Fixed (e.g. GPT-4 only) | Unlimited GGUF/Ollama models | Unlimited GGUF/Ollama models |
Privacy
Setup Speed
Maintenance
Model Choice
Who this is for
People who actually run Open WebUI on their own server, and what changes when they do.
a solo founder shipping nights and weekends
High API costs for testing RAG and agentic workflows.
Testing without token limits or per-request billing using local models and the native API endpoint.
- Debugging complex system prompts
- Testing local document retrieval
- Benchmarking model responses
a privacy-conscious researcher
Confidential data cannot be uploaded to commercial cloud AI providers.
Total isolation of research materials and findings on a private server with local vector storage.
- Summarizing proprietary datasets
- Drafting confidential reports
- Searching private document archives
a homelab tinkerer
Frustration with fragmented AI tools and lack of a unified UI.
A single professional interface for all local and cloud AI experiments with full administrative control.
- Sharing AI access with family members
- Installing community-built tools
- Monitoring backend performance
About This App
What this app does and where it fits.
Open WebUI is a sophisticated front-end for Large Language Models (LLMs) that replicates the experience of commercial platforms like ChatGPT while remaining entirely open-source. It functions as a bridge between users and AI engines, supporting both local execution via Ollama and remote execution through OpenAI-compatible APIs. The platform is built on the MIT license and has matured into a comprehensive system for managing AI workflows, document retrieval, and multi-user collaboration.
The Architecture of Sovereign AI
The application serves as a unified interface for disparate AI backends. By utilizing the OpenAI API specification, it allows users to combine providers within a single interface. You can use local models for privacy-sensitive tasks like document summarization and switch to high-performance cloud models for complex reasoning. This flexibility prevents platform lock-in and allows for cost optimization across different use cases. For small teams, it provides features typically reserved for enterprise plans, such as Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and detailed usage logging.
Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
One of the most powerful features of Open WebUI is its native RAG implementation. Users can upload various document types, including PDFs and text files, which the application indexes into a local vector database. During a chat, the system automatically retrieves relevant sections from these documents to ground the AI's responses in factual data. This turns the chatbot into a specialized research assistant capable of searching through thousands of pages of private documentation without exposing those files to a third-party cloud provider.
Extensibility via Tools and Valves
The platform includes a robust plugin architecture known as Tools and Valves. These extensions, often written in Python, allow the AI to interact with the outside world. Tools enable the LLM to perform actions like searching the web, checking the weather, or generating images using Stable Diffusion. Valves allow for the modification of model behavior, such as filtering output or adding custom authentication layers. The community-driven nature of these plugins means the interface is constantly evolving to support new AI capabilities and integrations.
Community Feedback
See what the community thinks about Open WebUI
“Proprietary services are genuinely unreliable due to opaque usage limits and mystery session blocks. Self-hosting is a strategic move for businesses that require tools they can count on during deadlines.”
“Open WebUI agents can manage it... everyday people to benefit from self-hosted open source stacks without learning dev ops.”
“If you're running OpenWebUI on your server, this update brings it to life in ways the PWA just can't match.”
“I moved my entire team to Open WebUI last month. The ability to switch between local Llama and GPT-4 in one thread is the killer feature.”
“The RAG performance is surprisingly good. I fed it 500 pages of technical docs and it answers specific questions with zero hallucination.”
“It's the most polished UI in the open source AI space. It actually feels like a finished product rather than a developer tool.”
Related Videos
Watch tutorials, reviews, and discussions about Open WebUI
“It's a very pleasant interface to interact with the model and deal with workflows around it. So you can add a rag type of workflow as well.”
“Behind the scenes open web UI will make sure that the files get indexed and there are embeddings created out of them.”
“The API that open web UI offers is a bit easier to enable... you can now chat with an LLM right here from my own app.”
Supercharge your workflow with AI Automation
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Pro Tips
Expert tips to help you get the most out of Open WebUI and achieve better results.
Select Appropriate RAM
Local models like Llama 3 require dedicated RAM beyond the UI. Choose a CX33 or higher if you plan to run 7B+ parameter models locally to avoid severe lag.
Use Selective RAG
Limit RAG searches to specific document tags to improve retrieval speed and prevent the AI from getting confused by irrelevant context.
Enable API Keys First
To connect external tools or use the Open WebUI API, you must generate and save an API key in the admin settings panel before the endpoints become active.
Testimonials
What Our Users Say
Join thousands of satisfied users who have transformed their workflow
Jonathan Kogan
Co-Founder/CEO, rpatools.io
Automatio is one of the most used for RPA Tools both internally and externally. It saves us countless hours of work and we realized this could do the same for other startups and so we choose Automatio for most of our automation needs.
Mohammed Ibrahim
CEO, qannas.pro
I have used many tools over the past 5 years, Automatio is the Jack of All trades.. !! it could be your scraping bot in the morning and then it becomes your VA by the noon and in the evening it does your automations.. its amazing!
Ben Bressington
CTO, AiChatSolutions
Automatio is fantastic and simple to use to extract data from any website. This allowed me to replace a developer and do tasks myself as they only take a few minutes to setup and forget about it. Automatio is a game changer!
Sarah Chen
Head of Growth, ScaleUp Labs
We've tried dozens of automation tools, but Automatio stands out for its flexibility and ease of use. Our team productivity increased by 40% within the first month of adoption.
David Park
Founder, DataDriven.io
The AI-powered features in Automatio are incredible. It understands context and adapts to changes in websites automatically. No more broken scrapers!
Emily Rodriguez
Marketing Director, GrowthMetrics
Automatio transformed our lead generation process. What used to take our team days now happens automatically in minutes. The ROI is incredible.
Jonathan Kogan
Co-Founder/CEO, rpatools.io
Automatio is one of the most used for RPA Tools both internally and externally. It saves us countless hours of work and we realized this could do the same for other startups and so we choose Automatio for most of our automation needs.
Mohammed Ibrahim
CEO, qannas.pro
I have used many tools over the past 5 years, Automatio is the Jack of All trades.. !! it could be your scraping bot in the morning and then it becomes your VA by the noon and in the evening it does your automations.. its amazing!
Ben Bressington
CTO, AiChatSolutions
Automatio is fantastic and simple to use to extract data from any website. This allowed me to replace a developer and do tasks myself as they only take a few minutes to setup and forget about it. Automatio is a game changer!
Sarah Chen
Head of Growth, ScaleUp Labs
We've tried dozens of automation tools, but Automatio stands out for its flexibility and ease of use. Our team productivity increased by 40% within the first month of adoption.
David Park
Founder, DataDriven.io
The AI-powered features in Automatio are incredible. It understands context and adapts to changes in websites automatically. No more broken scrapers!
Emily Rodriguez
Marketing Director, GrowthMetrics
Automatio transformed our lead generation process. What used to take our team days now happens automatically in minutes. The ROI is incredible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about Open WebUI