Open WebUI 2026: the ultimate interface to manage all your local models

June 6, 2026

An interface. All your local models. Zero data in the cloud.

Open WebUI is the ChatGPT you install at home. 65,000 GitHub stars, the most used local frontend in 2026.

Here’s the essentials, straight to the point.

What exactly is it?

A web interface you host. The model runs on your premises, the interface runs on your premises, nothing leaves.

And above all: it’s not limited to Ollama.

The detail everyone misses. Open WebUI talks to any OpenAI-compatible engine: Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio, LocalAI. One dashboard for all your models, no matter what's behind them.

Why not just the command line?

Because Open WebUI adds everything that makes AI usable daily:

Conversation history, like ChatGPT.
Switch models with one click, no restart needed.
Drag a PDF and query it (native RAG).
Multiple users, each with their own account.
Voice and images in the same window.
Pipelines to connect your own tools.

How do you install it?

A Docker command, on a machine where Ollama is already running.

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

Then http://localhost:3000, you create your account, your models appear. It's ready.

Not connecting? Set OLLAMA_BASE_URL to http://host.docker.internal:11434. Nine times out of ten, that's the fix.

What is it really for?

Chat with your documents

A contract, a report, a manual. You drag, you ask, the model responds based on the content. Locally.

A private ChatGPT for the team

On a central machine, everyone accesses it via the network. Data stays within the walls, period.

Compare two models

Same question, two answers side by side. To find the right model for the task.

Which to choose: Open WebUI, LM Studio, or Ollama?

Each in one line:

Open WebUI — you want RAG, multi-user, or to manage multiple engines. The most complete.

LM Studio — a simple desktop app, solo, no installation needed.

Ollama alone — you code and integrate AI into your scripts.

Open to multiple users? Secure it.

Authentication always active on open networks.
HTTPS via reverse proxy.
Firewall on trusted networks.
Regular updates.

The only real prerequisite: the GPU

Open WebUI uses almost no resources. The model behind it requires power.

What matters: VRAM. It determines model size.

16 GB → 14B models 32 GB → up to 70B 128 GB → 200B and beyond

The simplest. Our machines come with Ollama and Open WebUI pre-installed, models downloaded. You start, open the browser, and chat. No commands to type.