📁 File Management

Open WebUI provides a comprehensive file management system that allows you to upload, organize, and utilize your documents across various features like Knowledge Bases and RAG.

Centralized File Manager

The Centralized File Manager provides a unified interface to view, search, and manage every file you have uploaded to your Open WebUI instance, whether it was uploaded directly to a chat or into a Knowledge Base.

Accessing the File Manager

1. Click on your profile name or avatar in the bottom-left corner.
2. Select Settings from the menu.
3. Navigate to the Data Controls tab.
4. Locate the Manage Files row and click the Manage button.

Key Features

The File Manager modal offers several powerful tools for maintaining your data:

• Universal Search: Quickly find any file by its filename using the integrated search bar.
• Advanced Sorting: Organize your file list by:
  • Filename: Sort alphabetically to find specific documents.
  • Created At: See your most recent uploads or find older files.
• File Details: View important information at a glance, including:
  • File Size: See how much space each document occupies (e.g., KB, MB).
  • Upload Date: Track when each file was added to your instance.
• Built-in Viewer: Click on any file to open the File Item Viewer, which displays the file's metadata and specific details (such as size and type).
• Safe Deletion: Easily remove files you no longer need.
  • :::info Knowledge Base Cleanup When you delete a file through the File Manager, Open WebUI automatically performs a deep cleanup. It removes the file from all associated Knowledge Bases and deletes its corresponding vector embeddings, ensuring your database stays clean and efficient. :::

Using Files in Open WebUI

Files are at the heart of the platform's advanced capabilities:

1. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)

By uploading documents (PDFs, Word docs, text files, etc.), you can ground your AI's responses in your own data.

• Chat Uploads: Simply drag and drop files into a chat or use the upload icon.
• Knowledge Bases: Add files to structured collections for more permanent and organized retrieval.

2. File Metadata

Every file carries metadata that helps both you and the AI understand its context. This includes content type, original filename, and size.

Best Practices

• Naming Conventions: Use clear, descriptive filenames. This improves the accuracy of the File Manager's search and helps you identify specific documents.
• Regular Audits: Periodically use the Manage Files dashboard to delete old or redundant documents. This saves disk/database space and improves the performance of your system by ensuring only relevant data is retained.

FAQ

Q: If I delete a file, is it gone from my chats?
A: Yes. Deleting a file via the File Manager removes it from the system entirely. Any chat that referenced that file using RAG will no longer be able to pull information from it.

Q: Can I download my files back from the File Manager?
A: Currently, the File Manager focuses on viewing metadata and management (deletion). To download a file, you should typically access it from the original chat or Knowledge Base where it was used.

Q: Are there limits on the number of files I can manage?
A: There is no hard-coded limit in Open WebUI. The scalability depends on your storage (disk/S3) and your Vector Database (e.g., ChromaDB, PGVector).

Q: Does managing files require Admin privileges?
A: Regular users can manage their own uploaded files. Administrators have additional tools to manage global files and configuration via the Admin Panel.