Open WebUI + Podman

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.