Back Open WebUI with the whole catalog through one connection
Open WebUI is the most widely deployed self-hosted chat interface, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint can sit behind it. Added as a connection, Router One is auto-discovered through the /models endpoint — GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok family models show up in the model selector for every user on your instance, and each conversation is traced for cost on the gateway.
Configure Open WebUI to use the Router One base URL
On a running instance, open Admin Panel → Settings → Connections, add an OpenAI API connection with the gateway URL and your key, and models are discovered automatically — use the connection's model ID filter if you want to trim the list your users see. A fresh Docker deployment can seed the same connection with two environment variables:
# Open WebUI → Admin Panel → Settings → Connections → OpenAI API URL: https://api.router.one/v1 API Key: sk-your-router-one-key # Or seed the connection at first launch: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 \ -e OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=https://api.router.one/v1 \ -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-router-one-key \ ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main
Which model ID should Open WebUI send?
Copy the exact model ID from /models, preserving case, hyphens, and version suffixes; do not substitute a display name. Open its detail page and match the supported API endpoints, context window, and capabilities such as tool calling to the provider and features selected in Open WebUI. A catalog listing does not mean the client can use every feature of that model. Give each tool a dedicated API key with a maxSpend cap.
Which API protocol is Open WebUI using?
OpenAI-compatible describes an interface format; it does not make Chat Completions (/v1/chat/completions), Responses (/v1/responses), and Anthropic Messages (/v1/messages) interchangeable. Check the installed client version, provider configuration, and actual request path against the model detail page and API compatibility fact sheet. A successful plain-text chat does not establish support for hosted tools, conversation state, or file-editing features.
Verify the Open WebUI call in your request trace
Send a simple text request from Open WebUI, then match its trace in Dashboard → Logs by time, model, and request_id: tokens, cost, latency, and status. Next, test streaming, tool calls, and multi-turn history separately. For failures, retain the actual request path, full error message, and request_id. If there is no matching log, check client configuration and connectivity before attributing the error to the gateway or upstream.
FAQ
I changed OPENAI_API_BASE_URL but Open WebUI ignores it — why?
Connection settings are persistent config: Open WebUI writes them to its database on first launch, and environment changes afterwards are ignored. Edit the connection under Admin Panel → Settings → Connections instead, or start over with a fresh data volume.
Which models can Open WebUI use through the gateway?
Choose a current catalog model that supports both the endpoint and the features Open WebUI uses. Check /models and the model detail page for the exact ID, current rates, and capabilities; a family name such as GPT or Claude is not a compatibility guarantee. Seeing a model in the picker confirms discovery, so verify an actual request too.
Models are listed, but requests fail with 400 or 404. What should I check?
Record the actual request path and error message, then check the exact model ID. A 400 can indicate invalid parameters, unsupported tools, or a model/endpoint mismatch; a 404 can indicate an incorrect path or missing resource, so it does not by itself establish that a model was retired. If the error says must be called via, use the named endpoint or select a model supported on the current endpoint. Do not add or remove /v1 or /chat/completions across all clients indiscriminately.
Does this work from Mainland China?
Yes. The gateway is reachable from Mainland China without a VPN, and the configuration is identical to the global setup.
How do I debug a 401/402/403/429?
Match the request and error message in Dashboard → Logs. For 401, check whether the key was sent and is valid; for 402, check wallet balance and maxSpend; for 403, check key permissions and access restrictions. For 429, distinguish request/token limits from upstream throttling using the error details. Keep the request_id and follow the error-codes reference.