🛠️ Development Setup Guide

Welcome to the Open WebUI Development Setup Guide! Whether you're a novice or an experienced developer, this guide will help you set up a local development environment for both the frontend and backend components. Let’s dive in! 🚀

System Requirements

Operating System: Linux (or WSL on Windows) or macOS
Python Version: Python 3.11+
Node.js Version: 20.10+

Development Methods

Local Setup
Docker Setup
Optional Conda Setup
Troubleshooting

🐧 Local Development Setup

Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui.git
cd open-webui

Frontend Setup:
- Create a .env file:
```
cp -RPp .env.example .env
```
- Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```
- Start the frontend server:
```
npm run dev
```
  🌐 Available at: http://localhost:5173.
Backend Setup:
- Navigate to the backend:
```
cd backend
```
- Use Conda for environment setup:
```
conda create --name open-webui python=3.11
conda activate open-webui
```
- Install dependencies:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt -U
```
- Start the backend:
```
sh dev.sh
```
  📄 API docs available at: http://localhost:8080/docs.

🐳 Docker-Based Development Setup

Create the Docker Compose File:

name: open-webui-dev

services:
  frontend:
    build:
      context: .
      target: build
    command: ["npm", "run", "dev"]
    depends_on:
      - backend
    ports:
      - "3000:5173"
    extra_hosts:
      - host.docker.internal:host-gateway
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src

  backend:
    build:
      context: .
      target: base
    command: ["bash", "dev.sh"]
    env_file: ".env"
    environment:
      - ENV=dev
      - WEBUI_AUTH=False
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    extra_hosts:
      - host.docker.internal:host-gateway
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app/backend
      - data:/app/backend/data

volumes:
  data: {}

Start the Development Containers:

docker compose -f compose-dev.yaml up --watch

Stop the Containers:
```
docker compose -f compose-dev.yaml down
```

Conda Environment Setup

If you prefer using Conda for isolation:

Create and Activate the Environment:

conda create --name open-webui-dev python=3.11
conda activate open-webui-dev

Install Dependencies:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```
Run the Servers:
- Frontend:
```
npm run dev
```
- Backend:
```
sh dev.sh
```

🐛 Troubleshooting

FATAL ERROR: Reached Heap Limit

If you encounter memory-related errors during the build, increase the Node.js heap size:

Modify Dockerfile:

ENV NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096

Allocate at least 4 GB of RAM to Node.js.

Other Issues

Port Conflicts:
Ensure that no other processes are using ports 8080 or 5173.
Hot Reload Not Working:
Verify that watch mode is enabled for both frontend and backend.

Contributing to Open WebUI

Local Workflow

Commit Changes Regularly to track progress.
Sync with the Main Branch to avoid conflicts:
```
git pull origin main
```
Run Tests Before Pushing:
```
npm run test
```

Happy coding! 🎉

System Requirements​

Development Methods​

🐧 Local Development Setup​

🐳 Docker-Based Development Setup​

Conda Environment Setup​

🐛 Troubleshooting​

FATAL ERROR: Reached Heap Limit​

Other Issues​

Contributing to Open WebUI​

Local Workflow​