# Back Open WebUI with the whole catalog through one connection

> Markdown mirror of https://router.one/integrations/open-webui for AI assistants and crawlers. Router One is an OpenAI-compatible LLM API gateway.
> Last updated: 2026-08-12

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 DeepSeek 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-connection`

```bash
# 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 the /models page — IDs are case-sensitive, and the page lists each model's context window, capabilities, and current per-token rates. Create a dedicated API key per tool with its own maxSpend cap, so one runaway tool can't affect other workloads.

## Verify the Open WebUI call in your request trace

After your first request, open Dashboard → Logs to see its full trace: model, tokens, cost, latency, and status code. From here every Open WebUI call has a ledger and a trail instead of being a black box.

## 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?

Any chat-capable model in the catalog — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, GLM, and Kimi families. The /models page is the source of truth for model IDs and per-token rates.

### 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 401/403/429?

Open Dashboard → Logs first to see whether requests reached the gateway and with what status, then walk the error-codes reference to check env vars, key status, and limits.

## See also

- All integration guides: https://router.one/integrations
- Debug 401/403/429 in Open WebUI: https://router.one/llm-api-error-codes
- Cline setup: https://router.one/integrations/cline
- Aider setup: https://router.one/integrations/aider
- What the gateway layer does: https://router.one/llm-api-gateway
- OpenAI-compatible API: https://router.one/openai-compatible-api
- API docs: https://router.one/docs
- Canonical page: https://router.one/integrations/open-webui
- Models and per-model token rates: https://router.one/models (markdown: https://router.one/models.md)
- Pricing: https://router.one/pricing
- API docs (markdown): https://router.one/docs.md
- Company facts: https://router.one/facts/company.md