Open WebUI

Before you connect

Create a ZRouter account, add credit, and generate a dedicated account API key. Copy an enabled model ID. The prepaid API supports text chat; turn off tools, web search that injects tools, images, audio, and file-based request features for this connection.

A shared Open WebUI connection key charges one ZRouter account for every person using it. Open WebUI user identities and forwarded headers do not create separate ZRouter billing accounts. For independent balances, each person needs their own ZRouter account and credential through a supported per-user connection setup.

Add the connection

1. Open Settings → Admin → Connections → Manage OpenAI API Connections.
2. Add a connection with URL https://zrouter.si/v1 and your ZRouter account API key.
3. Save, then click Verify Connection beside the URL. Verification calls /models; saving alone does not test the connection.
4. Choose an available gateway model. If needed, add its exact ID to the connection's model allowlist.
5. Start a short plain text chat and review the ZRouter dashboard.

These fields and verification behavior are documented in Open WebUI's OpenAI-compatible setup.

Local development

The Open WebUI server must reach ZRouter. When Open WebUI runs in Docker on macOS or Windows and ZRouter runs on the host, use http://host.docker.internal:8080/v1. Container localhost points to that container, not your computer. Production connections should use HTTPS.

BYOK

Save a provider key in your ZRouter account. If your Open WebUI version offers custom connection headers, add X-ZRouter-BYOK: true and select a provider-qualified model for that saved connection. If headers are unavailable, use the SDK or HTTP Request guides to make BYOK requests. Saving a provider key alone does not enable BYOK on chat traffic.

Verify usage and fix failures

Set a modest maximum output where the client exposes it, within your workspace's limit. Extra title-generation requests can also consume tokens. Check the billing ledger for actual charges and usage for token totals.

For prepaid tool or media errors, disable the feature that creates the unsupported payload. For 401 or model errors, verify the account key and exact model ID. See shared troubleshooting.