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0. Prerequisites

Docker 24.0+ with Compose v2. See Requirements for hardware.

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1. Clone and configure

git clone https://github.com/Yambr/open-computer-use.git
cd open-computer-use
cp .env.example .env
Open .env and set at minimum: 
# Admin account created on first Open WebUI startup
ADMIN_EMAIL=you@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me

# Open WebUI session signing key — generate a fresh one
WEBUI_SECRET_KEY=...  # openssl rand -hex 32

# Browser-reachable URL of the Computer Use Server
PUBLIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8081

# LLM provider (any OpenAI-compatible)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
# OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1  # optional

# PostgreSQL password
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me
Full reference: Configuration.

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2. Start the Computer Use Server

docker compose up --build
The first build downloads tooling and assembles the workspace image (~15 min on a decent connection). Subsequent starts take seconds. When you see Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:8081, the orchestrator is live. Smoke test in another terminal: 
curl http://localhost:8081/mcp-info

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3. Start Open WebUI

In a second terminal: 
docker compose -f docker-compose.webui.yml up --build
The init script auto-installs the Computer Use tool + filter, creates your admin user, and sets function_calling: native + stream_response: true as the default model params. Open http://localhost:3000 and sign in with ADMIN_EMAIL / ADMIN_PASSWORD.

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4. Add a model

  1. Go to Admin → Settings → Connections and add your LLM provider (the same OPENAI_API_KEY you set in .env, or a separate dedicated key).
  2. Go to Workspace → Models and enable at least one model.
  3. Verify Function Calling = Native and Stream Chat Response = On — set globally in Admin → Settings → Models → Advanced Params if you want these to be the default for every model.
If tool calls silently don’t fire, 99% of the time it’s because Function Calling is set to Default instead of Native. See Model settings.

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5. Chat

Start a new chat and ask for something tool-worthy:
“Create a professional cover letter for a Senior Software Engineer applying to a startup in .docx, three paragraphs.”
You should see:
  • The model picks the docx skill.
  • bash_tool and create_file calls execute inside a fresh sandbox container.
  • A file link appears. A preview iframe auto-inserts below it.
If any of that fails, check Known bugs and Open WebUI integration traps.

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Two compose files, on purpose

FileWhat it runsTalks to
docker-compose.ymlComputer Use Server (computer-use-server:8081)Docker socket, per-chat sandboxes
docker-compose.webui.ymlOpen WebUIcomputer-use-server:8081 over the shared Docker network
They’re split so the MCP server and the UI can run on different hosts in production — the split matches how real deployments look. Both files attach to the same external network (computer-use-net) that the server creates on first up.

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Next

Configuration

Full env var reference.

Docker details

Why the server needs the Docker socket, resource limits, image layout.

Model settings

Why Function Calling = Native and streaming matter.

Open WebUI traps

Four things that silently break Computer Use in custom deployments.