Where Does Open WebUI Store Chats and Uploads?
Open WebUI data directory with webui.db, uploads and vector_db, for Docker and pip installs.
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Every Open WebUI install funnels state into one data directory. Inside sit the SQLite database with users and chats, the uploads folder, and the vector database for knowledge base content.
Docker users meet it as a named volume mounted at /app/backend/data. Losing that volume means losing accounts, chats and files together, so back it up before upgrades.
Where Open WebUI stores this, by platform
/var/lib/docker/volumes/open-webui/_data
Default host path of the open-webui Docker volume, holding webui.db, uploads, vector_db, cache and audit.log. Run docker volume inspect open-webui to confirm your path, especially with bind mounts like /opt/open-webui or ./data. Pip installs keep a data directory (commonly under the install or ~/.open-webui area) with the same layout. Stop the container before copying webui.db since SQLite WAL mode punishes live copies.
Frequently asked questions
How do I back up Open WebUI?
Archive the data directory or volume with the container stopped: webui.db plus uploads and vector_db are the parts that matter. Test restores into a second volume before trusting the backup.
Will updating the Open WebUI image delete my chats?
No, as long as the same volume is remounted. Data lives in the volume, not the container, so pull and recreate freely.
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