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# Setting Up OpenWebUI with Custom Backend
This guide explains how to configure OpenWebUI to use your custom AI service as its backend.
## Overview
OpenWebUI is designed to work with Ollama directly, but it can be configured to use a custom backend service instead. This allows you to add your own business logic, authentication, and other features while still using OpenWebUI's user-friendly interface.
## Prerequisites
1. OpenWebUI installed and running (at http://104.225.217.215:8080)
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2. Your AI service deployed and running (at http://your-server-ip:5252)
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## Configuration Steps
### 1. Locate OpenWebUI's Environment Configuration
If you're running OpenWebUI using Docker, you can modify the environment variables in your docker-compose.yml file or when running the container:
``` yaml
version : '3'
services :
openwebui :
image : openwebui/openwebui:latest
environment :
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- OLLAMA_API_BASE_URL=http://your-server-ip:5252/ollama
- OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=http://your-server-ip:5252/api
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ports :
- "8080:8080"
```
If you're running OpenWebUI directly, you can modify the .env file in the OpenWebUI installation directory.
### 2. Set the API Base URLs
Add or modify the following environment variables:
```
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OLLAMA_API_BASE_URL=http://your-server-ip:5252/ollama
OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=http://your-server-ip:5252/api
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```
Replace `your-server-ip` with the IP address or hostname of the server where your AI service is running.
### 3. Restart OpenWebUI
After updating the environment variables, restart the OpenWebUI service to apply the changes.
If you're using Docker:
``` bash
docker restart openwebui
```
If you're running OpenWebUI directly:
``` bash
# Stop the current process
pkill -f "openwebui"
# Start OpenWebUI again
cd /path/to/openwebui
npm start
```
## Testing the Integration
To test if the integration is working correctly:
1. Open OpenWebUI in your browser (http://104.225.217.215:8080)
2. Try to create a new chat
3. Select one of the models (gemma3, llama3.3, llama3.1, mistral, or deepseek)
4. Send a message and check if you get a response
If everything is configured correctly, OpenWebUI will send requests to your AI service, which will then forward them to the Ollama API.
## Troubleshooting
If you encounter issues with the integration:
1. Check the logs of your AI service:
```bash
tail -f logs/ai_service.log
` ``
2. Check the logs of OpenWebUI:
` ``bash
docker logs openwebui
` ``
3. Verify that your AI service is running and accessible:
` ``bash
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curl http://your-server-ip:5252/health
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` ``
4. Verify that the OpenWebUI environment variables are set correctly:
` ``bash
docker exec openwebui env | grep URL
` ``
## Advanced Configuration
For advanced configuration options, refer to the OpenWebUI documentation:
https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/env-configuration