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Open WebUI as an App

Every Open WebUI instance is a Progressive Web App (PWA). You can install it as a standalone app on your phone, tablet, or desktop, directly from the browser. No separate download required.

What You Get​

  • App icon on your home screen, taskbar, or dock
  • Full-screen experience with no browser toolbar or address bar
  • Standalone window on desktop, full-screen on mobile
  • Separate from the browser with its own window and task entry
  • Browser notifications for finished responses, channel messages and calendar reminders, once you turn on Browser Notifications in Settings > Notifications. They fire only while the app is open; there is no push service. If your admin enables user webhooks (and, for non-admin users, grants the webhooks feature permission), Notification Targets in the same tab can send chat finished or failed, channel message, calendar and file-processing-failure alerts to a webhook, either only while you are away or always.

Install on Your Device​

Chrome / Edge (Desktop)​

  1. Open your Open WebUI instance in Chrome or Edge.
  2. Click the install icon (⊕) in the address bar, or go to Menu → Install Open WebUI.
  3. Click Install.

Open WebUI now appears in your app launcher and runs in its own window.

Chrome (Android)​

  1. Open your Open WebUI instance in Chrome.
  2. Tap Menu (⋮) → Add to Home Screen or Install app.
  3. Tap Install.

Safari (iPhone / iPad)​

  1. Open your Open WebUI instance in Safari.
  2. Tap the Share button (↑).
  3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  4. Tap Add.
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Safari is the only browser that supports PWA installation on iOS. Chrome and Firefox on iOS cannot install PWAs.

Firefox (Android)​

  1. Open your Open WebUI instance in Firefox.
  2. Tap Menu (⋮) → Install.

Customizing the PWA (Admins)​

Admins can white-label the PWA by pointing to a custom manifest with the EXTERNAL_PWA_MANIFEST_URL environment variable. This lets you set a custom app name, icon, and theme color. The server fetches that URL itself on every /manifest.json request, so it must be reachable from the server, not only from the browser. Without it, the manifest uses WEBUI_NAME as the app name (with (Open WebUI) appended when it is not the default) and the Open WebUI logo as its icon.

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.