To update local AI tools without losing your settings, back up the interface’s persistent data first, export custom model configurations, then update the interface and model runtime as separate components. Pull the desired model revision, reload it if it was already running, and verify your saved settings and a fresh model session afterward. The exact steps depend on your setup; the example below covers Open WebUI connected to Ollama.
What to protect before you update
Local AI setups keep different kinds of data in different places. A model file is not a backup of your chat history or interface settings, and an interface backup may not preserve a custom model definition. Identify each part before changing versions:
- Interface data: Open WebUI stores chats, users, settings, uploads, knowledge-base content, generated content, and exported data in its Docker volume or local database—not inside the container. Its update guide explains backup and restore for supported installation types.
- Custom model presets: Open WebUI presets sit above a base model and can bind prompts, tools, knowledge, skills, and parameter overrides. Export them separately as JSON from the Models workspace.
- Custom Ollama model definitions: Keep the Modelfile and any local base model or referenced files. A Modelfile describes how to recreate a model; it does not back up Open WebUI settings or all model weights. See Ollama’s Modelfile reference.
- Model weights and revisions: These are managed by the model runtime. Updating a tag is separate from preserving interface data and custom definitions.
Back up Open WebUI before changing its version
For Docker installations, preserve the existing open-webui volume mounted at /app/backend/data when recreating the container. That persistent data store is where the interface’s important state lives. For other installation methods, follow the backup instructions for that method in the official guide.
Make sure the backup archive exists and that you know which volume it belongs to before proceeding. Open WebUI’s documented restore procedure deletes the target volume contents before restoring, so a mistake about the target volume can overwrite the wrong data. The guide recommends a backup before every update and regular backups—daily or weekly depending on how heavily the instance is used.
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If you recreate a container, retain the same persistent WEBUI_SECRET_KEY. The guide notes that keeping it avoids invalidating sessions when the container is replaced.
Export presets and save custom model definitions
Export Open WebUI presets
In Open WebUI, export custom model configurations as JSON from the Models workspace before updating. Keep that file somewhere outside the data store being changed. Presets can contain behavior layered on a base model, so do not assume that downloading the model again will restore them.
Record custom Ollama Modelfiles
For an Ollama custom model, inspect its definition with ollama show --modelfile MODEL_NAME, replacing MODEL_NAME with the model’s actual name. Save the resulting Modelfile and retain any referenced local base model or file. Ollama documents using a saved Modelfile with ollama create to recreate a model; this is distinct from backing up Open WebUI’s database or model weights.
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Choose a predictable interface release
Open WebUI’s release guidance is specific to Open WebUI, not a universal rule for every local AI application. It distinguishes between the moving :main image tag and pinned version tags:
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|---|---|---|
| Personal or homelab instance | Use :main and manually pull the latest image when you choose to update. |
It tracks the latest build and may include breaking changes without warning. |
| Shared or team instance | Pin a version tag. | Updates are more predictable than following a moving tag. |
| Production or critical instance | Pin a version, review release notes, and test in staging before updating the live instance. | Requires deliberate release review and a separate test environment. |
For preview testing, Open WebUI recommends a separate :dev instance with its own volume. Do not point that development instance at production data: migrations may make the database unreadable by a release image. The guide describes rollback by pinning an earlier image or package version, but database migrations can be one-way. If an older version cannot read the migrated database, restore a compatible backup rather than assuming that changing the image tag reverses the migration.
Update the interface and model runtime separately
First update the interface using the procedure for your installation method and selected Open WebUI release. Keep its data volume and secret key in place. Then update models through the runtime that serves them. Open WebUI can connect to local servers including Ollama, llama.cpp, and vLLM, as well as OpenAI-compatible servers; the available connections are listed in Connect Local and Cloud Models. Their update procedures are not interchangeable.
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For Open WebUI connected to Ollama
In Open WebUI’s Ollama model manager, Update All Models updates pullable installed model tags serially. It pulls each model to the latest version of its tag and downloads only changed content. Models it cannot pull—for example, custom models that cannot be updated from Ollama.com—may be skipped. This action does not upgrade every model or every runtime in a local AI setup.
A model that was already loaded when its tag was updated can continue running the old revision. Eject or unload it, then load it again so the new session uses the updated revision. Open WebUI’s Ollama model management instructions describe the update behavior and the Eject control for supported providers.
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Verify the update before relying on it
After updating, check the parts that matter independently:
Quick Recap
- Open WebUI starts and the saved chats, settings, users, uploads, and knowledge content you expect are present.
- Your exported presets are available, and any custom model definition can be recreated if needed.
- The expected model name and tag appear in the connected runtime; note that a skipped model may need a provider-specific update path.
- A newly loaded model responds in a fresh session, rather than continuing to use a revision loaded before the update.
- If the page looks stale, try a browser hard refresh to clear old frontend assets; consult the update guide’s logs and verification steps if the interface does not start correctly.
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