docs-openwebui/docs/features/index.mdx

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# What You Can Do with Open WebUI

**One interface for every AI model. Private, extensible, and built for teams.**

<Banner slug="features" alt="Open WebUI overview: chat, models, knowledge, web search, images, voice and an extensible platform, all in one interface" />

Open WebUI replaces the patchwork of AI tools your team juggles daily - ChatGPT for writing, a separate app for image generation, another for document search, spreadsheets full of prompts nobody can find. Everything lives in one place: conversations, knowledge, tools, and the models that power them.

---

## 💬 Chat & Conversations

<Banner slug="chat-conversations" alt="Chat & Conversations" />

**Talk to any model, switch mid-conversation, and keep your context intact.**

Your conversations are the core of Open WebUI. Chat with Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible provider from a single interface. Attach files, search the web, execute code, and let the AI use tools - all without leaving the chat.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🔀 **Multi-model chats** | Run two models side-by-side and compare responses |
| 📎 **File & image uploads** | Attach documents, images, and code for the AI to analyze |
| 🔍 **Web search** | AI searches the web and cites sources in real time |
| 🐍 **Code execution** | Run Python directly in the browser or via [Open Terminal](/features/open-terminal) |
| 📝 **Message queue** | Keep typing while the AI responds - messages send automatically |
| 🧠 **Memory** | The AI remembers facts about you across conversations |
| 🗂️ **Folders, tags, pins** | Organize conversations however you work |
| 🎤 **Voice & audio** | Speech-to-text, text-to-speech, hands-free voice & video calls, [realtime voice calls](/features/chat-conversations/chat-features/voice-mode#realtime-calls) |
| 🖼️ **Image generation** | Create and edit images with GPT-Image, Gemini, ComfyUI, and more |
| ⏱️ **Automations** | Schedule prompts to run automatically on recurring schedules |
| ✅ **Task management** | Models maintain structured task lists for multi-step workflows |

[**Explore chat features →**](/features/chat-conversations/chat-features) · [**Audio →**](/features/chat-conversations/audio) · [**Image Generation →**](/features/chat-conversations/image-generation-and-editing)

---

## 📚 Knowledge & RAG

<Banner slug="kbsync" alt="Knowledge and RAG" />

**Give your AI access to your documents - and let it find what matters.**

Upload files, build knowledge bases, and let the AI retrieve exactly the information it needs. Choose between vector search (RAG) for large collections or full-content injection for precision. With native function calling, models autonomously search, browse, and synthesize across your entire knowledge base.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 📄 **13 vector databases** | ChromaDB and PGVector (officially maintained), plus non-core integrations: Qdrant, Milvus, Elasticsearch, and more |
| 🔍 **Hybrid search** | BM25 + vector search with cross-encoder reranking |
| 📑 **8 extraction engines** | Tika, Docling, Azure, Mistral OCR, Datalab Marker, MinerU, PaddleOCR, custom loaders |
| 🤖 **Agentic retrieval** | Models search and read your documents autonomously |
| 📄 **Full context mode** | Inject entire documents - no chunking, no guessing |
| 🗂️ **[File browser with preview](/features/workspace/knowledge#browsing-and-previewing-files)** | Browse a knowledge base's files and folders and preview them in place |

[**Learn about Knowledge →**](/features/workspace/knowledge)

---

## 🤖 Models & Agents

<Banner slug="workspace" alt="Models and Agents" />

**Wrap any model with custom instructions, tools, and knowledge to build specialized agents.**

Create a "Python Tutor" that always uses your style guide. A "Meeting Summarizer" with your company's template. A "Code Reviewer" with your linting rules baked in. Every agent is a configuration wrapper - pick any base model, bind knowledge, tools, and a system prompt.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🧩 **Model presets** | System prompts, tools, knowledge, and parameters in one package |
| 🏷️ **Dynamic variables** | `{{USER_NAME}}`, `{{CURRENT_DATE}}` injected automatically |
| 🔧 **Bound tools** | Force-enable specific tools per model |
| 👥 **Access control** | Restrict models to specific users or groups |
| 📊 **Global defaults** | Set baseline capabilities and parameters for all models |
| 🎚️ **[Model controls](/features/workspace/models#model-controls)** | Let people pick from approved parameter presets, such as thinking effort, right in the chat |
| 🕑 **[Version history](/features/workspace/models#version-history)** | Every saved configuration is kept, and any of them can be set live again |

[**Learn about Models →**](/features/workspace/models)

---

## 📝 Notes

<Banner slug="notes" alt="Notes" />

**Write, think, and refine with AI by your side.**

A dedicated workspace for content that lives outside of any single conversation. Draft with a rich editor, use AI to rewrite text in place, and attach notes to any chat for precise context injection - no chunking, no vector search.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| ✍️ **Rich editor** | Markdown and Rich Text with a floating formatting toolbar |
| 🤖 **AI Enhance** | Rewrite or improve selected text in place |
| 📎 **Context injection** | Attach notes to any chat for full-fidelity context |
| 🔍 **Agentic access** | Models can search, read, and update notes autonomously |

[**Learn about Notes →**](/features/notes)

---

## 💬 Channels

<Banner slug="channels" alt="Channels" />

**Where your team and AI think together, in real time.**

Persistent, shared spaces where humans and AI models participate in the same conversation. Tag `@gpt-5.6` to draft a plan, then tag `@claude` to critique it - your whole team sees both responses in one timeline.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🤖 **@model tagging** | Summon any AI model into the conversation on demand |
| 🧵 **Threads & reactions** | Replies, pins, and emoji reactions |
| 🔒 **Access control** | Public, private, group-based, and direct message channels |
| 🧠 **AI channel awareness** | Models search and synthesize across channels autonomously |
| 🧩 **[Apps](/features/channels/apps)** | External services join channels, answer `@mentions` and post messages with buttons |

[**Learn about Channels →**](/features/channels)

---

## ⚡ Open Terminal

<Banner slug="terminal" alt="Open Terminal" />

**Give your AI a real computer to work on.**

Connect a real computing environment to Open WebUI. The AI writes code, executes it, reads the output, fixes errors, and iterates - all from the chat. Handles files, installs packages, runs servers, and returns results.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🖥️ **Code execution** | Runs real commands and returns output |
| 📁 **File browser** | Browse, upload, download, and edit files in the sidebar |
| 🌐 **Website preview** | Live preview of web projects inside Open WebUI |
| 🔒 **Isolation optional** | Docker container or bare metal |

[**Learn about Open Terminal →**](/features/open-terminal)

:::tip
Want the whole machine in a browser tab? See [**Open WebUI Computer**](/ecosystem/computer), a separate Open WebUI project.
:::

---

## 🔌 Extensibility

<Banner slug="extensibility" alt="Extensibility" />

**Add any capability with Python tools, MCP or OpenAPI servers.**

Open WebUI is a platform, not a locked-down product. Write Python tools that run inside the chat. Connect external services via OpenAPI or MCP. Build functions that filter, transform, or route every message. Import community-built extensions with one click.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🐍 **Tools & Functions** | Python scripts that run in the chat - built-in code editor included, with [version history](/features/extensibility/plugin/tools#version-history) and [Tool Search](/features/extensibility/plugin/tools#tool-search) for large tool sets |
| 🔗 **MCP support** | Native Streamable HTTP for Model Context Protocol servers |
| 🌐 **OpenAPI servers** | Auto-discover tools from any OpenAPI-compatible endpoint |
| 📝 **Skills** | Markdown instruction sets that teach models how to approach tasks, with supporting files and version history |
| ⚡ **Prompts** | Slash-command templates with typed input variables and versioning |

[**Learn about Extensibility →**](/features/extensibility)

---

## 🔐 Authentication & Access

<Banner slug="authentication-access" alt="Authentication and Access" />

**Control who gets in, what they can do, and how it connects to your identity stack.**

Open WebUI is multi-user from day one. Define roles, create user groups, set per-model access, and integrate with your identity provider. From a solo install to an organization with thousands of seats.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 👥 **RBAC** | Roles, groups, and per-resource permissions |
| 🔐 **SSO/OIDC/LDAP** | Federated authentication with any identity provider |
| 📋 **SCIM 2.0** | Automated user and group provisioning |
| 🔑 **API Keys** | Programmatic access for scripts, bots, and integrations |
| 📱 **[Two-Factor Sign-In (MFA)](/features/authentication-access/mfa)** | Require a code from an authenticator app at every sign-in |

[**Learn about Authentication & Access →**](/features/authentication-access)

---

## 🔧 Administration

<Banner slug="administration" alt="Administration" />

**Monitor usage, evaluate models, and communicate with your users.**

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 📊 **Analytics** | Usage dashboards with message volume, token consumption, and cost tracking |
| 🏆 **Evaluation** | Model arena, A/B testing, and ELO-based leaderboards |
| 📢 **Banners** | Customizable system-wide announcements |
| 🎚️ **Default Interface Settings** | Instance-wide starting values for everyone's interface options |
| 🔔 **Webhooks** | Notifications for sign-ups, chat completion, and external integrations |

[**Learn about Administration →**](/features/administration)

---

## 🏗️ Deploy Anywhere

**Stateless architecture for horizontal scaling, on Docker, Kubernetes, pip, or bare metal.** With data in shared databases and storage, and Redis coordinating instances, add application replicas behind a load balancer as demand grows.

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| 🐳 **Docker & Compose** | One-command deploy with GPU support |
| ☸️ **Kubernetes & Helm** | Production-ready orchestration |
| 📦 **pip install** | `pip install open-webui && open-webui serve` |
| ☁️ **Cloud storage** | S3, GCS, Azure Blob for stateless instances |
| 📊 **OpenTelemetry** | Traces, metrics, and logs to your observability stack |
| ⚖️ **Horizontal scaling** | Stateless application replicas with shared databases, storage, and Redis |

[**Quick Start →**](/getting-started/quick-start) · [**Scaling Guide →**](/getting-started/advanced-topics/scaling) · [**Advanced Topics →**](/getting-started/advanced-topics)