⚡ Technical Documentation

Openwebui API: A Comprehensive Guide To Access And Usage

Technical guide covering openwebui api: a comprehensive guide to access and usage

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Author
Cosmic Lounge AI Team
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Updated
6/1/2025
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Read Time
8 min
Topics
#llm #ai #model #gpu #cuda #docker #api #installation

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🌌 OpenWebUI API: A Comprehensive Guide to Access and Usage

Unlock the power of large language models with the OpenWebUI API. OpenWebUI provides a unified interface for interacting with various LLMs, both open-source and proprietary. Its API enables developers to seamlessly integrate these models into their applications, automate tasks, and build custom web interfaces. This article offers a comprehensive guide to accessing and using the OpenWebUI API, covering various methods, endpoints, authentication mechanisms, and use cases1.

🌟 Installation

Before diving into the API, let’s look at how to install OpenWebUI. There are two primary methods: using the uv runtime manager or Python’s pip. We recommend using uv for simplified environment management3.

⚡ Installation with uv

1. Install uv using the appropriate command for your OS:

  • macOS/Linux: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

  • Windows: powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c “irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex” 2. Run OpenWebUI, setting the DATA_DIR environment variable:

  • macOS/Linux: DATA_DIR=~/.open-webui uvx —python 3.11 open-webui@latest serve

  • Windows: $env:DATA_DIR=“C:\open-webui\data”; uvx —python 3.11 open-webui@latest serve

⚡ Installation with pip

1. Ensure you have a Python runtime manager like uv or conda. 2. Install OpenWebUI: pip install open-webui 3. Start OpenWebUI: open-webui serve

⚡ Docker Installation

OpenWebUI can also be installed using Docker. Here are some examples:

  • Basic installation: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 —add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data —name open-webui —restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main 3

  • With Nvidia GPU support: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 —gpus all —add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data —name open-webui —restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:cuda 3

  • Bundled with Ollama (GPU support): docker run -d -p 3000:8080 —gpus=all -v ollama:/root/.ollama -v open-webui:/app/backend/data —name open-webui —restart always ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:ollama 3

After installation, you can typically access OpenWebUI at http://localhost:8080 or http://localhost:3000, depending on your configuration3.

🌟 Environment Variable Configuration

OpenWebUI can be configured using various environment variables. These variables allow you to customize different aspects of the platform, such as authentication, default models, and API settings. Here are some key environment variables: 5

  • ENABLE_LOGIN_FORM: Toggles email/password login.

  • ENABLE_CHANNELS: Enables or disables channels.

  • DEFAULT_MODELS: Sets a default language model.

  • ENABLE_OLLAMA_API: Enables the use of Ollama APIs.

  • OLLAMA_BASE_URL: Configures the Ollama backend URL.

  • ENABLE_OPENAI_API: Enables the use of OpenAI APIs.

  • OPENAI_API_KEY: Sets the OpenAI API key.

  • ENABLE_AUTOCOMPLETE_GENERATION: Enables or disables autocomplete generation.

  • ENABLE_MESSAGE_RATING: Enables message rating feature.

  • ENABLE_COMMUNITY_SHARING: Controls whether users can share to the community.

🌟 Use Cases

The OpenWebUI API offers a wide range of possibilities for developers and users:

  • Building Custom Web Interfaces: Create tailored web applications for interacting with LLMs, providing specific functionalities and user experiences6.

  • Automating Tasks: Automate tasks like text generation, translation, and summarization using the API6.

  • Integrating with Other Systems: Connect OpenWebUI with other applications and services to enhance their capabilities with LLMs6.

  • Retrieval Augmented Generation: Enhance LLM responses with external knowledge by uploading and referencing files or knowledge collections1.

  • OpenRouter Integration: Utilize OpenWebUI with OpenRouter for tasks like citations and reasoning, improving the accuracy and depth of LLM outputs7.

  • Advanced Translation Capabilities: Leverage the LibreTranslate Action for seamless and accurate translations within your OpenWebUI workflows7.

🌟 Accessing the OpenWebUI API

OpenWebUI offers flexibility in how you access its API, catering to different needs and preferences:

  • Web Browser: The simplest way to access the API is through a web browser. After installation, navigate to the appropriate address (usually http://localhost:8080 or http://localhost:3000). This user-friendly interface allows you to interact with LLMs, manage models, and customize your experience6.

  • Command-Line Tool: For scripting and automation, use command-line tools like curl to interact with API endpoints. This method provides a direct and efficient way to send requests and retrieve data1.

  • Programming Library: For more complex interactions and data handling, utilize programming libraries like Python’s requests library. This allows you to integrate the API into your applications and automate workflows6.

  • Socket-IO API: For real-time, bidirectional communication, leverage the Socket-IO API. This is ideal for applications requiring immediate feedback, such as chatbots or interactive applications6.

🌟 Authentication and Authorization

OpenWebUI provides robust authentication mechanisms to secure API access:

  • API Keys: Generate an API key from your user settings in the WebUI and use it with the Bearer Token mechanism for authentication1.

  • JWT (JSON Web Token): OpenWebUI supports JWT for authentication, providing a secure and standardized way to verify user identity1.

  • Trusted Header: Delegate authentication to a reverse proxy that passes user details in HTTP headers. Services like Tailscale Serve and Cloudflare Tunnel can be used for this purpose8.

  • OAuth2: Connect with OAuth2 providers like Google, Microsoft, Github, and OIDC for seamless user authentication. Configure each provider using environment variables like MICROSOFT_CLIENT_ID and OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET8.

🌟 SSO (Single Sign-On)

OpenWebUI supports SSO, allowing users to authenticate with their existing credentials from various providers. This simplifies user management and provides a consistent login experience. Configure SSO with different providers using environment variables and settings in the OpenWebUI interface8.

🌟 Monitoring

OpenWebUI offers monitoring capabilities to ensure the health and availability of the service and its API:

  • Basic Health Checks: Use the /health endpoint to check service availability. This endpoint returns a 200 OK status when the service is running correctly9.

  • Model Connectivity Verification: Monitor the /api/models endpoint to verify that OpenWebUI can connect to and list your configured models. This endpoint requires authentication and checks communication with model providers9.

🌟 API Endpoints

| Method | Endpoint | Description |

🔧 Works cited

1. API Endpoints | Open WebUI, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/api-endpoints/

2. Open WebUI - What It Can Do, as of August 2024 - YouTube, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du9M6Epqp94

3. Open WebUI: Home, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://docs.openwebui.com/

4. How to Easily Share Ollama API and Open WebUI Online - Pinggy, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://pinggy.io/blog/how_to_easily_share_ollama_api_and_open_webui_online/

5. Environment Variable Configuration | Open WebUI, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/env-configuration/

6. Open WebUI API Access for Lollms-webui - Restack, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://www.restack.io/p/lollms-webui-answer-open-webui-api-access-cat-ai

7. Open WebUI, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://openwebui.com/

8. SSO: Federated Authentication Support - Open WebUI, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://docs.openwebui.com/features/sso/

9. Monitoring | Open WebUI, accessed on March 3, 2025, https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/advanced-topics/monitoring/

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