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Linkup

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This tutorial is a community contribution and is not supported by the Open WebUI team. It serves only as a demonstration on how to customize Open WebUI for your specific use case. Want to contribute? Check out the contributing tutorial.

tip

For a comprehensive list of all environment variables related to Web Search (including concurrency settings, result counts, and more), please refer to the Environment Configuration documentation.

Troubleshooting

Having issues with web search? Check out the Web Search Troubleshooting Guide for solutions to common problems like proxy configuration, connection timeouts, and empty content.

Overview​

Linkup is a search API built for AI applications. Integrating it with Open WebUI lets your language model perform real-time web searches and ground responses in current sources. This tutorial guides you through configuring Linkup as a web search provider.

Linkup support was added in Open WebUI v0.9.6.

Prerequisites​

Ensure you have:

  • Open WebUI Installed: A running instance of Open WebUI (local or Docker). See the Getting Started guide.
  • Linkup Account: An account with an API key from Linkup.
  • Admin Access: Administrative access to your Open WebUI instance.
  • Internet Connection: Required for Linkup API requests.

Step-by-Step Configuration​

1. Obtain a Linkup API Key​

  1. Log in or sign up at Linkup.
  2. Open the API keys section of your dashboard.
  3. Copy or generate a new API key. Keep it secure.

2. Configure Open WebUI​

  1. Log in to Open WebUI with an admin account.
  2. Open Admin Panel → Settings → Web Search.
  3. Enable Web Search by toggling it On.
  4. Select linkup from the Web Search Engine dropdown.
  5. Paste your Linkup API key into the Linkup API Key field.
  6. (Optional) Set the Search Depth and Output Type (see below).
  7. Save your settings.

3. Test the Integration​

  1. Start a chat session in Open WebUI.
  2. Click the plus (+) button in the prompt field to enable web search.
  3. Enter a query (e.g., +latest AI news) and confirm Linkup returns real-time results.

Search Parameters​

Linkup requests are built from a small set of defaults that you can override. The query (q) and result count (maxResults) are injected automatically and cannot be overridden.

ParameterDefaultNotes
depthstandardstandard is faster and cheaper; deep runs a more thorough multi-step search.
outputTypesourcedAnswersourcedAnswer returns an answer plus its source pages; searchResults returns raw result entries.
urlhttps://api.linkup.so/v1/searchOverride only if you need to point at a different endpoint.

These map to the LINKUP_SEARCH_PARAMS environment variable, supplied as a JSON object. For example:

-e LINKUP_API_KEY="your_linkup_api_key"
-e LINKUP_SEARCH_PARAMS='{"depth": "deep", "outputType": "searchResults"}'

The same fields are exposed in the Admin UI when the linkup engine is selected, so you do not need environment variables unless you prefer to manage configuration that way. See Environment Variable Configuration for details and the ENABLE_PERSISTENT_CONFIG behavior.

Troubleshooting​

  • Invalid API Key: Ensure the key is copied correctly, without extra spaces.
  • No Results: Confirm the web search toggle (+) is enabled and your internet is active. Try depth: deep for sparse topics.
  • Quota Exceeded: Check your plan and usage on the Linkup dashboard.
  • Settings Not Saved: Verify admin privileges and that webui.db is writable.

Additional Resources​

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.