Build a private ChatGPT on your own computer (Ollama + Open WebUI)

Symptoms

• You need AI for data you cannot upload
• You want family or a small team to share it on the LAN

Common causes

• Cloud assistants require uploads
• Ollama alone only has a command line

How to fix

1. Check model size with our VRAM calculator; with 8 GB VRAM or 16 GB RAM start with 4–8B models
2. Install Ollama and run ollama run <model> to download and test one
3. Install Docker and follow the Open WebUI quick start: docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway -v open-webui:/app/backend/data ...
4. Open http://localhost:3000, create the admin account and connect the local Ollama in settings
5. No Docker? LM Studio has its own GUI and local server

Notes

• Always mount the -v open-webui:/app/backend/data volume or updates lose your chats (per the docs)
• Use strong passwords on the LAN and never expose it directly to the internet