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Open WebUI AI Platform & Data · Open WebUI v0.11.4 Launch on AWS

Getting started

This page takes you from the AWS Marketplace listing to your first chat: subscribe, launch, connect, open the UI in your browser, create the admin account and connect a model. It takes about ten minutes.

You need: an AWS account with permission to subscribe to AWS Marketplace products and launch EC2 instances, the AWS CLI with the Session Manager plugin on your computer, and the base URL and API key of an OpenAI-compatible model endpoint.

1. Subscribe

Open the Open WebUI listing, review the pricing and terms, and subscribe.

2. Launch the instance

Launch from the listing with these settings:

  • Instance type: t3.medium or larger.
  • Storage: at least 24 GiB, encrypted gp3.
  • Metadata: IMDSv2.
  • Security group: no inbound rules are needed. Open WebUI listens on loopback only. Allow outbound HTTPS.
  • IAM instance profile: attach a role with the AWS managed policy AmazonSSMManagedInstanceCore so you can connect with Session Manager. Open WebUI itself needs no AWS permissions.

3. Connect

Connect with Session Manager, from the EC2 console (Connect > Session Manager) or with the AWS CLI:

aws ssm start-session --target <instance-id>

Wait for first boot to finish:

cloud-init status --wait

4. Run the walkthrough

sudo -iu ubuntu bash /opt/sushi/docs/demo.sh

The walkthrough runs the self-test, then checks that open-webui.service is active, that port 8080 is bound to 127.0.0.1 only, that /health and the UI page answer, and that the ubuntu user cannot read the session secret. Each step prints STEP, COMMAND and RESULT lines, and the script ends with SUSHI_CUSTOMER_DEMO_PASSED. It does not send a chat to any model.

5. Open the UI from your computer

Because Open WebUI listens on loopback, reach it with Session Manager port forwarding. On your computer:

aws ssm start-session --target <instance-id> \
  --document-name AWS-StartPortForwardingSession \
  --parameters '{"portNumber":["8080"],"localPortNumber":["8080"]}'

Keep that session open and browse to http://127.0.0.1:8080.

6. Create the admin account

Sign up right away. The first account created becomes the administrator.

Create the admin account first

Until an account exists, anyone who can reach the UI can claim the administrator role. Do this before you share access or change the network setup.

7. Connect a model

  1. Open the Admin Panel and go to the connection settings.
  2. Add an OpenAI connection with your endpoint's base URL and API key.
  3. Add or select the model IDs you want to offer.
  4. Start a new chat, pick a model and send a message.

Model chats go to the endpoint you configured; Software Sushi's checks do not test model-backed chat. See the Open WebUI documentation for the details of each setting.

Next steps

Manage connections, users and network access in Configuration.

Last updated October 13, 2026 · Suggest an improvement