Deploying Open WebUI with Docker on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Why Use Open WebUI for Local LLMs?

While the terminal CLI is great for testing, Open WebUI provides a ChatGPT-style interface with chat histories, document uploads for RAG, voice interaction, and prompt presets. Running it in a Docker container on Ubuntu keeps your host system clean.

Step 1: Verify Docker and Ollama Prerequisites

Verify that Docker is installed and running without requiring sudo permissions:

docker --version
docker ps

Ensure that your local Ollama daemon is active and responding to HTTP requests:

curl http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/tags

Step 2: Launching Open WebUI via Docker

On Linux, using host networking allows Open WebUI to connect directly to Ollama at http://localhost:11434 without bridging issues. Run the container with persistent storage:

docker run -d \
  --network=host \
  -v open-webui:/app/backend/data \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434 \
  --name open-webui \
  --restart always \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Step 3: Accessing the Web Interface

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080 (or your server's local IP address on port 8080). The first user account created automatically becomes the administrator.

Step 4: Managing Container Lifecycle

To inspect container logs, update the image, or restart the service, use standard Docker commands:

# View live container logs
docker logs -f open-webui

# Stop and restart the container
docker restart open-webui

# Pull the latest version and recreate
docker pull ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main
docker stop open-webui
docker rm open-webui
# Re-run the docker run command above

Your local models installed in Ollama will automatically populate the dropdown menu at the top of the interface.