Open WebUI

Connect Praxis to Open WebUI—the most popular self-hosted AI chat interface. One Docker command to start, configure the connection in your browser, and chat with every Praxis model.

Every step lists its expected result: follow along yourself, or hand this page to an AI assistant that can operate your computer and let it do the install, setup, and verification for you.

What you'll accomplish

• Run a self-hosted Open WebUI instance with Docker, connected to Praxis models
• Done when: you send "Hello" in the chat and get a reply
• Time needed: 5 minutes (excluding the Docker image download)
• Protocol: OpenAI-compatible (/openai/v1)

Prerequisites

Confirm each item before you start:

• Docker installed and running (check docker --version). Install from Docker if needed.
• A Praxis API key (starting with sk-praxis-). If you don't have one, create it at Console → API Keys: click "Create Key"—the name is required, validity offers 30/60/90 days or permanent, defaulting to 90 days; the success dialog shows the full key with a "Copy Key" button. New accounts ship with $1 of free credit. See Quickstart for the full flow.

Install & Start

Step 1: start the Open WebUI container

docker run -d --name open-webui --restart always -p 3080:8080 ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Expected: a container ID prints with no errors. The first run pulls the image (~2GB) and takes a few minutes.

Step 2: open the browser

Visit http://localhost:3080.

Expected: the Open WebUI welcome page with a "Get started" button.

Step 3: create an admin account

Click "Get started", fill in Name, Email, and Password (this is a local admin account, unrelated to Praxis), then click "Create Admin Account".

Expected: the Open WebUI main interface loads—conversation list on the left, chat box in the center.

Configure

Step 4: open connection settings

Click your username in the bottom-right, then select "Admin Panel" → "Settings" → "Connections".

Expected: the OpenAI API connection configuration area appears.

Step 5: enter the Praxis connection

In the OpenAI API section:

Click "Save".

Expected: after saving, return to the chat page—Praxis models now appear in the model picker.

You can also preset the connection via environment variables at container start (no UI needed):

docker run -d --name open-webui --restart always -p 3080:8080 \
  -e OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=https://api.deepraxis.com/openai/v1 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-praxis-your-key \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Verify

Back on the chat page, pick a model (e.g. deepseek-flash) from the model selector at the top and send "Hello" in the input box.

Expected: a reply arrives within seconds—a reply means you're connected.

Finally, check Console → Usage & Billing: the call you just made is already on the books—every call is billed and traceable.

FAQ

Advanced

• What did that chat cost? Console → Usage & Billing—pay per call, no idle fees
• Switch models: change models anytime in Open WebUI's model picker; deepseek-flash always points at the latest Flash generation
• Multi-user: Open WebUI supports user registration—manage access in Admin Panel → Users
• Customize the interface: Admin Panel → Settings → Interface for themes and languages (Chinese supported)
• Persistent data: add -v open-webui:/app/backend/data to persist chat history across container rebuilds

Related recipes

• Cherry Studio (desktop client, no Docker needed)
• Dify (low-code platform, also Docker)
• Rather not install anything? See Praxis App: open a URL and start chatting