AI guide
Share your local AI with Open WebUI
Your GPU, your models, open to the people you pick.
You'll need
- Open WebUI and Ollama running on a machine at home
- Docker
- A free Seawise.io account
Step by step
Everything happens in your browser except step 1.
Run the Seawise.io container
Run this on the machine where Open WebUI runs. The container connects out to Seawise.io, so you don't open any ports on your router.
On Docker Desktop for Mac or Windows, replace --network host with -p 8082:8082.
$ docker run -d --name seawise \ --restart unless-stopped \ --network host \ -v seawise-data:/config \ ghcr.io/seawise-io/seawise-client:latest
✓ Container started
Set a password
On a computer at home, open http://your-server-ip:8082 and create a password for the container's page.
Connect it to your account
Give the server a name, click Connect, and approve it in the seawise.io tab that opens. Sign up for free there if you haven't yet.
Add Open WebUI
Fill in the name, the address and the port Open WebUI uses (3000 (8080 inside the container, or with --network host)), then click Add.
--network host, use localhost. On Docker Desktop, use host.docker.internal. If Open WebUI runs on another machine, use its local IP, like 192.168.1.20.
Open it from anywhere
Open WebUI now shows on your Servers page at seawise.io. Click it from any browser, on any network, and you're in.
Share it
Go to Portals, create one (say, Family), and add Open WebUI to it. Then open its sharing settings and add the email of everyone who should get in.
Skip this step if Open WebUI is just for you.
What they see
Send them the portal link. They sign in with the email you added, using Google, GitHub or an email link, and tap Open WebUI. Nothing to install, on any phone, tablet or laptop.
Let friends in without giving away the keys
01
Reopen sign-ups
Creating the first admin turns New Sign Ups off. Turn it back on in Settings > Admin > Authentication when friends are ready to register.
02
Approve new accounts
New accounts wait as Pending until you approve them in Admin Panel > Users, unless Default User Role is set to user. Pending is the safer choice for a shared instance.
03
Use groups to control models
Regular users only get what default permissions and their groups grant. Put friends in a group and give it access to the models and knowledge bases you want them to use.
If something's not working
Open WebUI shows as offline+
Nothing answers where Seawise.io is looking. Run curl http://localhost:3000 on the server; if you started Open WebUI with --network host, it's on 8080 instead.
Server Connection Error or no models+
Open WebUI can't reach Ollama. Ollama binds 127.0.0.1:11434 by default, so start Open WebUI with --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway, or use --network host with OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434.
Replies show {} or 'is not valid JSON'+
Set CORS_ALLOW_ORIGIN to https://your-app.seawise.dev. Open WebUI's docs say leaving it unset can cause WebSocket problems and these broken responses.
Good to know
Signing someone out
Removing a friend from your portal cuts their access to the address. To end their Open WebUI sessions too, open them in Admin Panel > Users and click Sign out all devices.
Set WEBUI_URL before SSO
If you plan to add OAuth sign-in later, set WEBUI_URL to your Seawise.io address first; Open WebUI needs it for OAuth and stores it as persistent config.