Open WebUI + Podman

Open WebUI + Podman

January 12, 2025

by

Jikku Jose

in

jikkujose.in

Installing open webui using Podman is a bit tricky, it requires different configs from Docker.

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

Why It Works

Host network mode bypasses container networking complexity
Direct access to host’s network stack
No port mapping needed - uses native 8080 port
Ollama connectivity through localhost
No DNS resolution issues

Technical Requirements

Access point: http://localhost:8080
Ollama must be running on host port 11434
Volume persistence at /app/backend/data
Host network mode mandatory for reliable operation

Pre-flight Checks

# Verify image exists
podman images | grep open-webui

# Check existing volumes
podman volume ls

# Verify Ollama is running
curl http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/tags

Cleanup If Needed

# Remove existing container
podman rm -f open-webui

# Remove volume if reset needed
podman volume rm open-webui

Implementation Notes

Alternative networking modes (slirp4netns, bridge) fail
Port forwarding unnecessary with host network
Container restarts survive host reboots
Volume persistence prevents data loss on container recreation

Updating Open WebUI

# Stop and remove current container
podman stop open-webui
podman rm open-webui

# Pull latest image
podman pull ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

# Run container with same configuration
podman run -d \
  --name open-webui \
  --network host \
  -v open-webui:/app/backend/data \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434 \
  --restart=always \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Update Verification

# Check if container is running
podman ps

# Verify image timestamp
podman images | grep open-webui

The volume persistence ensures all your settings and data remain intact during updates.