Libre WebUI

Your AI stack should answer to you.

A local-first workspace for Ollama, your chosen providers, private knowledge, artifacts, and local agents. Self-hosted. Provider-flexible. Apache 2.0.

Run local. Bring the providers you choose. Keep control of the interface around them.

Freedom should survive success

An AI interface can be self-hosted today and still become a gatekeeper tomorrow. Libre WebUI is built so your freedom does not depend on a company remaining benevolent.

Run it. Inspect it. Change it. Fork it. Connect it to something else. Or leave it behind. The code is Apache 2.0, local inference is the default path, remote providers are opt-in, and the project charter puts independence and inclusive participation into writing.

Open source is a license. Libre is an operating principle.

Do not trust the pitch. Inspect the license, charter, source, and CI.

| What stays yours | Libre WebUI's approach | Verify it | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Data path | Self-hosted by default; remote inference only when you select it | Deployment docs | | Model choice | Local Ollama plus optional provider plugins and OpenAI-compatible endpoints | Plugin architecture | | Code | Use, modify, redistribute, and fork under Apache 2.0 | License | | Project direction | The charter rejects funding control over the roadmap, license, or community | Charter | | Participation | Contributors and users are welcome regardless of background, identity, or geography | Charter | | Exit | Your installation and your fork do not need our permission | Source |

Start in one command

With Node.js 22.12 or newer:

npx libre-webui

Open http://localhost:8080. The first account created on a fresh install becomes the administrator.

For private local inference, install Ollama and pull a model:

ollama pull gemma3:4b

That is enough to start. Cloud accounts are not required. When you do want a remote model, add only the provider you choose.

One workspace. Your choices.

Libre WebUI turns a model endpoint into a complete working environment without taking ownership of the stack around it.

| | What you can do | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Talk to the model you want | Stream conversations through local Ollama, Ollama Cloud, bundled providers, or compatible endpoints. Discover and manage models from the UI. | | Bring your own context | Chat with PDF and plain-text documents using keyword retrieval or optional semantic embeddings. | | Turn answers into work | Preview sandboxed HTML, SVG, JSON, code, and multi-file artifacts beside the conversation. | | Create with more than text | Generate images, use provider-backed speech, and build reusable personas with prompts, parameters, and memory. | | Make the interface yours | Keep light or dark mode across refreshes, apply an adaptive accent theme, and work in 25 languages/locales including Arabic RTL. | | Operate it your way | Use local accounts, roles, optional OAuth, Docker, Kubernetes, npm, or the Electron desktop client. | | Extend without lock-in | Configure chat, embeddings, image generation, and text-to-speech providers through the plugin layer. |

Local-first is a real boundary

Libre WebUI ships without application telemetry or analytics. When you use Ollama locally, prompts and responses stay on the infrastructure you control. If you select a remote provider, that provider receives the requests you choose to send to it; Libre WebUI does not pretend otherwise.

For shared and public deployments, the backend includes:

• Local accounts with bcrypt password hashing and JWT sessions
• Admin and user roles, login/signup rate limits, and optional Cloudflare Turnstile
• Optional GitHub and Hugging Face OAuth
• Application-layer AES-256-GCM encryption for supported sensitive values such as credentials
• Persistent SQLite storage, configurable data directories, and documented backup practices

Application-layer encryption is not full-disk or end-to-end encryption. Use HTTPS, access-controlled storage, stable secrets, and disk encryption where your threat model requires them. Start with the authentication guide and encryption guide.

Models and providers without a single-provider worldview

Ollama is the local path, not a lock-in strategy. Libre WebUI bundles provider definitions spanning chat, images, embeddings, speech, and OpenAI-compatible services, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Mistral, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, GitHub Models, ComfyUI, ElevenLabs, Qwen3-TTS, and Kyutai TTS.

Credentials can come from deployment-wide environment variables or encrypted, user-scoped settings. Plugins can define static model fallbacks and use live discovery when a provider exposes a compatible model-list endpoint.

Explore the plugin system →

Local agents, with the runtime kept separate

Libre Claw is an optional, admin-controlled local agent runtime. Libre WebUI provides the authenticated control surface for durable runs, timelines, approvals, schedules, usage, and configuration; Libre Claw owns the tools, memory, permission model, and execution.

Browser or desktop client
          │
          ▼
  Libre WebUI interface
   React + TypeScript
          │
          ▼
  Express API + WebSocket ─────► SQLite
          │
          ├────────► Ollama (local models)
          ├────────► selected provider plugins
          └────────► Libre Claw (optional agent runtime)

The WebUI backend does not execute Libre Claw's shell or browser tools itself. It proxies authenticated admin actions to the separately running daemon, where approvals and safety rules remain authoritative.

Read the Libre Claw integration guide →

Deploy on your terms

| Path | Command or link | Best for | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | npm | npx libre-webui | The fastest local start | | Docker + Ollama | docker compose up -d | Persistent self-hosting in one stack | | External Ollama | docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml up -d | An existing local or remote Ollama service | | NVIDIA Docker | docker compose -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d | Local GPU inference | | Kubernetes | helm install libre-webui oci://ghcr.io/libre-webui/charts/libre-webui | Cluster deployments | | Desktop client | GitHub Releases | Electron client builds; the backend runs separately | | Source | npm install && npm run dev | Development and contribution |

Docker commands assume you have cloned this repository. Production deployments should set stable JWT_SECRET and ENCRYPTION_KEY values, persist the data directory, back up the database and key together, and terminate public traffic with HTTPS.

Docker · Kubernetes · Environment variables · Hardware guide

Built from experience, for independence

Libre WebUI is built around a hard-earned lesson: source availability alone does not guarantee shared power. Our response is constructive—compete by shipping better software and stronger commitments that anyone can inspect.

That means local-first defaults without forbidding the cloud, commercial support without changing the core license, and a community where identity, background, or geography never determines who belongs. Kroonen AI maintains Libre WebUI under the project's public charter, which accepts donations or grants only when they do not control the roadmap, license, or community.

Freedom should not be a phase in a startup's growth plan. It should be part of the architecture.

Build with us

Libre WebUI is for people who want excellent AI software and the freedom to outgrow its maintainers.

1. Fork and clone the repository.
2. Create a branch from dev.
3. Run npm install && npm run dev.
4. Add tests and documentation with your change.
5. Open a pull request against dev.

You can also help by reporting bugs, improving documentation, translating the interface, or contributing provider definitions.

All participation follows the Contributor Covenant 2.1 and the Libre WebUI Community & Ethical Charter. Report security issues privately to [email protected].

Stewardship and support

Kroonen AI funds development and provides professional deployment, integration, security review, training, customization, and SLA-backed support. Commercial services do not change the Apache 2.0 license of the core project.

For enterprise work, contact [email protected]. To support independent development directly, sponsor Libre WebUI.

Project links

| | | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Website | librewebui.org | | Documentation | docs.librewebui.org | | Releases | GitHub Releases | | GitHub | github.com/libre-webui/libre-webui | | GitLab mirror | git.kroonen.ai/libre-webui/libre-webui | | Hugging Face | huggingface.co/libre-webui | | Sponsor | github.com/sponsors/libre-webui |

If Libre WebUI gives you more control, give it a star.

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Apache 2.0 · Copyright © 2025–present Kroonen AI, Inc. and Libre WebUI contributors Built by Kroonen AI and the open-source community