How to set up OpenWebUI in Windows

This comprehensive guide walks you through installing and configuring OpenWebUI on Windows using Anaconda. OpenWebUI is a powerful web-based interface for interacting with Large Language Models (LLMs). By following this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a dedicated Python environment, install OpenWebUI using pip, configure it to connect to your company's LLM API, and start having AI-powered conversations.

What is OpenWebUI?

OpenWebUI is an extensible, feature-rich, and user-friendly self-hosted web interface designed to work with various LLM providers. It offers a modern chat interface that supports multiple AI models, conversation history, user management, and API integrations. With OpenWebUI, you can connect to OpenAI-compatible APIs, including custom LLM endpoints, making it a versatile solution for both development and production environments.

Steps to follow

  1. Create Anaconda environment
  2. Install OpenWebUI with pip
  3. Start OpenWebUI server
  4. Access interface and create admin account
  5. Open Admin Panel settings
  6. Configure API connection
  7. Save connection and start new chat
  8. Test LLM connection
  9. Verify response received

How to set up OpenWebUI video

In this video tutorial, you will learn how to set up OpenWebUI in Windows with Anaconda step-by-step. The video covers creating a Python environment, installing OpenWebUI, configuring API connections, and testing your first AI conversation.

Step 1 - Create Anaconda environment

In Anaconda Navigator, click on "Environments" in the left sidebar. This section allows you to create and manage isolated Python environments for different projects (Figure 1).

If you don't have Anaconda installed, please check out our How to install Anaconda on Windows guide.

Open Environments
Figure 1 - Open Environments

In the Environments section, locate and click the "Create" button. This will open a dialog where you can configure your new Python environment specifically for OpenWebUI (Figure 2).

Click Create
Figure 2 - Click Create

Name the new environment "OpenWebUI". After entering the environment name, proceed to the Packages section (Figure 3).

Name the environment
Figure 3 - Name the environment

Select Python as the package type and choose version 3.11 from the dropdown menu (Figure 4).

Enable Python package
Figure 4 - Enable Python package

Click "Create" to initialize the environment. The system will install Python 3.11 and essential base packages required for the environment to function (Figure 5).

Create environment
Figure 5 - Create environment

Wait as the system completes the setup. Once the environment is successfully created, it will be available for use and you can proceed with the installation (Figure 6).

Wait for environment creation
Figure 6 - Wait for environment creation

Locate your newly created "OpenWebUI" environment and click the button next to it, then select "Open Terminal" from the dropdown menu (Figure 7).

Open environment terminal
Figure 7 - Open environment terminal

Step 2 - Install OpenWebUI with pip

In the PowerShell terminal type the command: pip install open-webui and press Enter. This command will use Python's package installer to download and install OpenWebUI along with all its required dependencies (Figure 8).

Use pip to install OpenWebUI
Figure 8 - Use pip to install OpenWebUI

The pip installation process will install the necessary dependencies for OpenWebUI. You'll see output in the terminal showing which packages are being downloaded and installed. Wait until the installation is fully completed (Figure 9).

Wait for installation to finish
Figure 9 - Wait for installation to finish

Step 3 - Start OpenWebUI server

After installing, start OpenWebUI by typing open-webui serve in the terminal and pressing Enter. This command launches the OpenWebUI web server on your local machine. You'll see startup messages indicating that the server is initializing, loading configurations, and starting the web interface (Figure 10).

Start OpenWebUI
Figure 10 - Start OpenWebUI

You'll see messages in the terminal confirming that the web server has started successfully. The terminal will also show any incoming requests and system logs. Leave this terminal window open - closing it will stop the OpenWebUI server (Figure 11).

OpenWebUI started
Figure 11 - OpenWebUI started

Step 4 - Access interface and create admin account

Open your preferred web browser, you'll need it to connect to the OpenWebUI interface (Figure 12).

Open your browser
Figure 12 - Open your browser

Type http://localhost:8080 into your browser's address bar and press Enter to access the OpenWebUI interface (Figure 13).

Navigate to OpenWebUI address
Figure 13 - Navigate to OpenWebUI address

On the welcome page, you'll see a "Get Started" button. Click this button to begin the initial setup process (Figure 14).

Click Get started
Figure 14 - Click Get started

Fill in the registration form to create your administrator account. You'll need to provide a name, email address, and password. After entering all required information, click the "Create Admin Account" button (Figure 15).

Create admin account
Figure 15 - Create admin account

After creating your account, you'll be logged in and redirected to the OpenWebUI dashboard. This is the main chat interface where you'll interact with AI models (Figure 16).

OpenWebUI dashboard
Figure 16 - OpenWebUI dashboard

Step 5 - Open Admin Panel settings

To configure the LLM connection, you need to access the admin panel. Look for your profile username in the bottom-left corner of the interface. Click on it to open a dropdown menu, then select "Admin Panel" (Figure 17).

Open admin panel
Figure 17 - Open admin panel

In the admin panel, locate and click on "Settings". This will open the settings page where you can configure various options for your OpenWebUI installation, including the LLM API URLs (Figure 18).

Choose Settings
Figure 18 - Choose Settings

Step 6 - Configure API connection

Find and click on "Connections" in the sidebar menu. This section allows you to configure connections to external LLM providers and APIs (Figure 19).

Open Connections
Figure 19 - Open Connections

In the Connections section, click the plus (+) icon button to open the Add Connection form (Figure 20).

Add connection
Figure 20 - Add connection

Enter your LLM API endpoint URL and the API key provided by your administrator. The API key authenticates your requests to the LLM service (Figure 21).

Replace http://video.ozeki.hu with the API URL of your own Ozeki AI Gateway installation, and enter the API key you have created in Ozeki AI Gateway.

Enter URL and API key
Figure 21 - Enter URL and API key

Step 7 - Save connection and start new chat

Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the form. OpenWebUI will validate the connection details and attempt to establish a connection to your LLM API (Figure 22).

Save connection
Figure 22 - Save connection

Return to the main chat interface by clicking the "New Chat" button. This will create a fresh conversation thread where you can begin interacting with the connected LLM model (Figure 23).

Press New Chat
Figure 23 - Press New Chat

Step 8 - Test LLM connection

To test the LLM connection, type a question in the chat textbox and press Enter or click the send button (Figure 24).

Test the LLM
Figure 24 - Test the LLM

Step 9 - Verify response received

You should see the AI's response appear in the chat window, confirming that OpenWebUI is successfully connected to your LLM API and working as expected (Figure 25).

Response received
Figure 25 - Response received

Final thoughts

Now that OpenWebUI is set up, you're ready to start using AI-powered conversations through your own self-hosted interface. With this guide, you've completed the essential steps to create a Python environment, install OpenWebUI, and connect it to your company's LLM service. As you explore the platform, OpenWebUI will support your AI interaction needs, helping you leverage large language models for various tasks including content generation, code assistance, data analysis, and more.

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