OpenWebUI

Open WebUI is a feature-rich open-source AI interface that supports multiple model providers and offers user management and persistent chat history. This guide walks through deploying Open WebUI with Docker Compose and connecting it to MixRoute to access a wide range of popular AI models.

Official docs: docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/quick-start
Deployment method: Docker Compose

Prerequisites

Prepare MixRoute credentials

Obtain your MixRoute API endpoint URL: https://api.mixroute.ai/v1
Generate your API Key in the MixRoute console.
Confirm the model name you want to use, e.g. gpt-5.5 (make sure this model is enabled in the MixRoute console).

Environment dependency check

Make sure Docker (including Docker Compose V2) is installed on your machine or server. Run in a terminal:

docker -v
docker compose version

If both commands return a version number, your environment is ready. If Docker is not installed, go to the Docker website to download and install Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS) or Docker Engine (Linux), then re-run the commands above to confirm.

Earlier versions of Docker Compose use the docker-compose syntax (with a hyphen). This guide uses the newer docker compose syntax (with a space).

Deploy OpenWebUI

1. Create a dedicated folder

Open a terminal and run the following commands to create an openwebui folder and enter it:

mkdir openwebui
cd openwebui

2. Create docker-compose.yml

Inside the openwebui folder, create a file named docker-compose.yml with the following content (copy and paste the full file):

services:
  openwebui:
    image: ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main
    container_name: open-webui
    restart: always
    ports:
      # host port:container port
      - "3000:8080"
    volumes:
      - open-webui:/app/backend/data

volumes:
  open-webui:

Field reference:

Field	Purpose
`image`	The official Open WebUI image (`main` is the standard stable tag)
`ports: "3000:8080"`	Maps container port 8080 to host port 3000, so you access the UI on port 3000
`volumes`	Persistent data directory so chat history, accounts, and other data survive container restarts/updates
`restart: always`	Automatically restart the container if it exits or the system reboots

If you run Open WebUI on a server or within a LAN, you can add the WEBUI_SECRET_KEY and WEBUI_URL environment variables:

WEBUI_SECRET_KEY: generate one with openssl rand -hex 32.
WEBUI_URL: your public IP or domain.

If port 3000 is already in use on your machine, change "3000:8080" to e.g. "3010:8080" and access the UI at http://localhost:3010.

3. Start the service

From the directory containing docker-compose.yml, run:

docker compose up -d

up: start the service
-d: run in the background

On first run the image is pulled automatically; depending on your network this may take a few minutes. When you see a message like Container open-webui Started, the service has started successfully. Check the running status:

docker compose ps

If the STATUS column shows Up, the service is running normally.

Access and initialize your account

Open the web UI

Open a browser and go to http://localhost:3000.If deployed on a remote server, replace localhost with the server IP, e.g. http://SERVER_IP:3000.

On first launch you’ll see the registration page. Fill in the form to register.

The first registered account automatically becomes the Administrator account, with user-management and system-settings permissions. Make sure to remember this account’s email and password.

Subsequent user approval

Any accounts registered afterwards start in the “Pending” state by default. An administrator must log in to the admin panel and manually approve them before they can use the UI.

Connect to MixRoute

Open WebUI is only an interface on its own — you need to connect at least one model provider before you can chat. Open WebUI supports several model sources:

Model source	Description
Ollama (local models)	Run open-source models locally for free, no network calls needed
OpenAI	Use an OpenAI API Key to access GPT-family models
Anthropic	Use an Anthropic API Key to access Claude-family models
Other OpenAI-compatible services	e.g. relay platforms or self-hosted inference services

It’s recommended to connect through MixRoute — one configuration gives you access to 200+ popular AI models, with adequate privacy protection while staying easy to use.

Open settings

After logging in to Open WebUI, click your avatar in the bottom-left → Settings.

Open the connections panel

Go to Admin Settings → Connections.

Enter MixRoute credentials

For the provider you want to connect, enter the Base URL and API Key, then save.

Base URL: https://api.mixroute.ai/v1
API Key: your MixRoute API Key (e.g. sk-xxxxxxxx)

Pick a model and start chatting

Back on the main screen, the newly connected model appears in the model picker. Select it to start chatting.

In our testing, the GPT family performs well in OpenWebUI — pairing it with a GPT model is recommended.

Common maintenance

Stop the service

docker compose stop

Start the service again

docker compose start

View logs (for troubleshooting)

docker compose logs -f

Update to the latest version

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

pull fetches the latest image, and up -d recreates the container with the new image. Your data is safe — it lives in volumes, separate from the container itself.

Full uninstall

Stop and remove the container only (data is preserved, so you can recover with up -d at any time):

docker compose down

Stop and remove the container and delete all data (chat history, accounts, etc. will be permanently lost — proceed with caution):

docker compose down -v

FAQ

Can't open http://localhost:3000 in the browser?

Confirm the container is running: docker compose ps, and check that STATUS is Up.
Confirm the port isn’t already in use by another program. If it is, change the port in docker-compose.yml and run docker compose up -d again.

Forgot the admin password?

You can reset the password in Settings. If you can’t log in at all, it needs to be handled at the database level — we recommend asking for help in the Discord/GitHub community first, and avoiding deleting the data volume directly (that would lose all data).

How do changes to docker-compose.yml take effect?

After saving the file, from the same directory run:

docker compose up -d

Docker Compose detects the changes automatically and recreates the container.

Once configured, every Open WebUI conversation and capability is powered by the MixRoute endpoint you bound in Settings — you get a robust and highly cost-effective cloud LLM service.

Conversational AI

Programming

Engineering

Translation

Prerequisites

Deploy OpenWebUI

1. Create a dedicated folder

2. Create docker-compose.yml

3. Start the service

Access and initialize your account

Connect to MixRoute

Common maintenance

Stop the service

Start the service again

View logs (for troubleshooting)

Update to the latest version

Full uninstall

FAQ

​Prerequisites

​Deploy OpenWebUI

​1. Create a dedicated folder

​2. Create docker-compose.yml

​3. Start the service

​Access and initialize your account

​Connect to MixRoute

​Common maintenance

​Stop the service

​Start the service again

​View logs (for troubleshooting)

​Update to the latest version

​Full uninstall

​FAQ

Prerequisites

Deploy OpenWebUI

1. Create a dedicated folder

2. Create docker-compose.yml

3. Start the service

Access and initialize your account

Connect to MixRoute

Common maintenance

Stop the service

Start the service again

View logs (for troubleshooting)

Update to the latest version

Full uninstall

FAQ