Use an Installed Coding Agent as a Chat Model
If you already pay for a coding agent and it is signed in on the machine running Libre WebUI, you can talk to it from a normal chat instead of adding a separate API key. Libre WebUI detects the agent's command-line interface and offers it in the model selector like any other model.
What gets detected
On each request for the model list, Libre WebUI looks on the server's PATH for
these commands:
| Model | Command | Provided by |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | claude | Anthropic |
| Codex | codex | OpenAI |
| OpenCode | opencode | SST |
| Pi | pi | Mario Zechner |
Anything found appears under an Agents group in the model selector. Nothing is installed for you, and no configuration file is required — if the command runs in your server's shell, it shows up.
Settings → Chat → Defaults also identifies these entries as Agent, including DeepSeek Harness when enabled. Plugin models keep their provider name, and only Ollama models carry the Ollama label. Disabling Ollama does not hide configured agents or plugins. The model information card shows the selected entry's display name and provider, with size, family, and format only when supplied by its catalog.
Choosing a model, not just a CLI
Each CLI can expose several entries in the Agents group:
- Claude Code offers its signed-in default plus Sonnet, Opus, and Haiku.
- Codex offers its configured default plus the documented ChatGPT sign-in family: GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, Luna, GPT-5.5, and GPT-5.3 Codex Spark. Availability depends on the CLI's sign-in and account access.
- Pi runs with the model configured in the CLI itself.
- OpenCode lists the models of every provider it is authenticated with
(from
opencode models), and always requires an explicit choice — its CLI-level default can point at a local server that is not reachable from the Libre WebUI host.
With the standard Libre WebUI provider adapter, DeepSeek Harness also offers one entry per available provider model, such as DeepSeek Harness · gpt-5.6-sol (Codex (ChatGPT)). The plain DeepSeek Harness entry uses the engine's configured default. A specific entry pins both the model and its provider for that conversation; another available provider cannot replace it during an outage. Only the authenticated administrator's available providers are listed, and listing choices does not start the engine.
The same DSH entries work as the task model under Settings → Chat → Defaults for automatic titles and thinking summaries. Use current running model uses the conversation's saved DSH selection. These short text requests call its underlying provider model directly; they do not run the agent's tools or create an agent session. Other CLI profiles require an Ollama, plugin, or DSH task model for these auxiliary requests.
Pi runs each turn stateless (--no-session), with local tools disabled and a
neutral system prompt, so replies are not colored by — and chats never touch —
the personal Pi configuration of the server's operating-system user.
Using it
- Sign in as an administrator.
- Start a chat and open the model selector.
- Pick an entry under Agents.
- Send messages as usual. Replies stream back token by token.
The conversation is stored like any other chat, so you can leave and come back to it, rename it, and search it from the command palette. Each turn sends a transcript of the recent conversation to the agent and streams its answer back.
Who can use it, and what it can reach
This feature is administrator-only, and the reason matters. The agent runs as the same operating-system user as the Libre WebUI backend, on the host — not inside a Work container. It therefore inherits that user's agent credentials and whatever access those agents normally have, including the ability to read files and run commands on the server if it decides to.
Treat enabling this as equivalent to granting the agent shell access to the machine. Because of that, the feature ships disabled: an administrator must turn it on under Settings → User Management → Access & policies → Agent CLI models. The setting is persisted and takes effect immediately, without a restart.
The Libre Claw switch is separate. It can remain off while installed CLI models are enabled. Changing either control refreshes the model catalogue immediately; the Agents category contains direct CLI entries, while Plugin Models contains provider API integrations such as Codex (ChatGPT). DSH is an additional direct agent entry when both Agent CLI models and Cordis are enabled; its startup cannot block discovery of installed CLI agents.
Existing installations inherit their previous saved Agents decision until an independent CLI setting is saved. Changing Libre Claw preserves that inherited CLI decision, so toggling one feature does not silently change the other.
To pin the decision at the deployment level regardless of the runtime toggle, set the environment variable either way (this also locks the toggle in the interface):
AGENT_CLI_MODELS_ENABLED=false # or true
For a model that can act on files but stays inside a sandbox, use Work instead: it runs tool-capable models in a locked-down container with an isolated workspace.
Usage tracking
Open Provider Usage (/usage) and find Agents near the top. Claude Code,
Codex, OpenCode, Pi, and native DSH activity have explicit entries, including a
clear message when the selected period has no recorded calls.
CLI calls made through LWUI record their outcome, duration, and reported token usage. Each invocation creates one usage event; repeated usage snapshots and per-step reports do not create duplicate events or token counts. Missing token counters remain unreported. Stopping a response records cancellation, and an unsuccessful CLI exit does not become a success merely because it produced partial text. Usage from CLI calls outside LWUI is not imported.
Native DSH provider requests appear in this section. DSH calls through LWUI's model providers keep those providers' existing records. See Agent usage for the breakdown and limits.
Configuration
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
AGENT_CLI_MODELS_ENABLED | unset | Pin the feature true/false; unset defers to the admin toggle (off by default) |
AGENT_CLI_TIMEOUT_MS | 600000 | How long a single agent turn may run before it is killed |
Troubleshooting
No Agents group appears. Confirm the feature is enabled under
Settings → User Management → Access & policies → Agent CLI models (it is off by default) and that you are signed in
as an administrator, then
check that the command is on the PATH of the process running the backend — not
just your interactive shell. A service manager, Docker container, or desktop
launcher often starts with a much smaller PATH than a login terminal.
The reply fails immediately. Run the same command by hand as the server user
(claude -p "hello" or codex exec "hello"). Most failures are the agent asking
for a login that has expired, or a rate limit on the underlying subscription.
OpenCode in particular reports an expired provider login only in its own logs;
re-run opencode auth login as the server user.
Replies stop partway. A long turn may have hit AGENT_CLI_TIMEOUT_MS. Raise
it, or break the request into smaller steps.