Skip to main content

Autocomplete

Open WebUI offers an AI-powered Autocomplete feature that suggests text completions in real-time as you type your prompt. It acts like a "Copilot" for your chat input, helping you craft prompts faster using your configured task model.

How It Works​

When enabled, Open WebUI monitors your input in the chat box. When you pause typing, it sends your current text to a lightweight Task Model. This model predicts the likely next words or sentences, which appear as "ghost text" overlaying your input.

  • Accept Suggestion: Press Tab to accept the suggestion. Right Arrow only moves the caret.
  • Reject/Ignore: Simply keep typing to overwrite the suggestion.
info

Performance Recommendation

Autocomplete functionality relies heavily on the response speed of your Task Model. We recommend using a small, fast, non-reasoning model to ensure suggestions appear instantly.

Recommended Models:

  • Qwen 3.5 (qwen3.5:0.8b or qwen3.5:2b)
  • GPT-5.6 Luna (optimized for low latency and cost)
  • Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Avoid reasoning models and heavy Chain-of-Thought models for this feature — the latency will make the autocomplete experience sluggish.

Configuration​

The Autocomplete feature is controlled by a two-layer system: Global availability and User preference.

1. Global Configuration (Admin)​

Admins control whether the autocomplete feature is available on the server.

1. Configuring Autocomplete (Global)​

Admin Panel Settings: Go to Settings > Admin > Interface > Task Model and toggle Autocomplete Generation.

2. User Configuration (Personal)​

Even if enabled globally, individual users can turn it off for themselves if they find it distracting.

  • Go to Settings > Interface.
  • Toggle Prompt Autocompletion.

The personal setting carries a different label from the administrator one, which reads Autocomplete Generation. They control the same feature.

note

If the Admin has disabled Autocomplete globally, users will not be able to enable it in their personal settings.

Performance & Troubleshooting​

Why aren't suggestions appearing?​

  1. Check Settings: Ensure it is enabled in both Admin and User settings.
  2. Task Model: Go to Settings > Admin > Interface and check which Task Model is selected. When none is set, the chat's current model generates the suggestions, so what blocks generation is having no model selected in the chat. Two fields sit under the admin toggle: Autocomplete Generation Input Max Length (AUTOCOMPLETE_GENERATION_INPUT_MAX_LENGTH, default -1 for no limit) and Autocomplete Generation Prompt. The feature is off by default on both sides: the admin toggle (ENABLE_AUTOCOMPLETE_GENERATION, default False) and each user's Prompt Autocompletion switch.
  3. Latency: If your Task Model is large or running on slow hardware, predictions might arrive too late to be useful. Switch to a smaller model.
  4. Reasoning Models: Ensure you are not using a "Reasoning" model (like o1 or o3), as their internal thought process creates excessive latency that breaks real-time autocomplete. If you are stuck with one, you can turn its reasoning_effort down under Task Model Parameters in Settings > Admin > Interface. That setting is shared by every background task, so read Task Models first.

Performance Impact​

Autocomplete sends a request to your LLM essentially every time you pause typing (debounced).

  • Local Models: This can consume significant GPU/CPU resources on the host machine.
  • API Providers: This will generate a high volume of API calls (though usually with very short token counts). Be mindful of your provider's Rate Limits (Requests Per Minute/RPM and Tokens Per Minute/TPM) to avoid interruptions.
warning

For multi-user instances running on limited local hardware, we recommend disabling Autocomplete to prioritize resources for actual chat generation.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a warranty, guarantee, or contractual commitment. Open WebUI is provided "as is." See your license for applicable terms.