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Docker with External Ollama

Use this setup when Ollama already runs on your host, another server, or a Tailscale/LAN machine.

Work Availability​

This Compose setup changes where Ollama runs; Work remains enabled through the mounted host Docker socket. It grants Libre WebUI root-equivalent control of the Docker host, so use it only where Libre WebUI administrators are also trusted host administrators. On Linux, set DOCKER_GID in .env to the group owning the socket. Remove the mount if Work is not wanted. See Work: Isolated Workspaces.

Prerequisites​

Confirm Ollama is reachable:

curl http://localhost:11434/api/version

Pull a model if the instance is new:

ollama pull gemma3:4b

Start Libre WebUI​

From the repository root:

docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml up -d

Open http://localhost:8080.

The compose file points OLLAMA_BASE_URL to http://host.docker.internal:11434 by default.

Custom Ollama URL​

For a different host:

OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://192.168.1.100:11434 docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml up -d

For Linux hosts that do not resolve host.docker.internal, add this to the service:

extra_hosts:
  - 'host.docker.internal:host-gateway'

Data Persistence​

The compose file stores Libre WebUI data in Docker volumes:

  • libre_webui_data
  • libre_webui_temp

Set stable secrets for production:

JWT_SECRET=replace-with-a-long-random-secret
ENCRYPTION_KEY=replace-with-64-hex-characters

Back up the data volume and encryption key together.

Network Access​

The repository Compose file currently sets CORS_ORIGIN directly. A value in your shell or .env file does not replace that literal. Edit the libre-webui.environment entry or add an explicit Compose override, for example compose.origin.yml:

services:
  libre-webui:
    environment:
      CORS_ORIGIN: http://localhost:8080,http://192.168.1.50:8080
      BASE_URL: http://192.168.1.50:8080

Apply both files:

docker compose \
  -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml \
  -f compose.origin.yml \
  up -d

For a public domain, use the exact HTTPS origin for both values and terminate traffic with HTTPS.

Useful Commands​

docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml ps
docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml logs -f libre-webui
docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml restart
docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml pull
docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml up -d

Troubleshooting​

Libre WebUI cannot reach Ollama

docker compose -f docker-compose.external-ollama.yml exec libre-webui \
  wget -O- http://host.docker.internal:11434/api/version

If that fails, use an explicit LAN/Tailscale IP in OLLAMA_BASE_URL.

Models do not appear

Check the Ollama host:

ollama list

The Model Manager reads from the configured Ollama instance.

CORS errors

Make sure CORS_ORIGIN matches the exact browser origin, including scheme and port.