# HuggingFace Chat UI — Open-Source AI Chat Interface

> Chat UI is Hugging Face's open-source web interface for conversational AI, powering HuggingChat and supporting any text-generation model via TGI, Ollama, or OpenAI-compatible APIs with features like web search, tool use, and multimodal input.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# HuggingFace Chat UI — Open-Source AI Chat Interface

## Quick Use
```bash
git clone https://github.com/huggingface/chat-ui.git
cd chat-ui
npm install
cp .env.template .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your model endpoint
npm run dev
# Access at http://localhost:5173
```

## Introduction
Chat UI is the open-source SvelteKit application that powers HuggingChat, Hugging Face's public AI assistant. It provides a polished conversational interface supporting multiple models, web search augmentation, tool calling, multimodal inputs, and assistant personas, all deployable on your own infrastructure.

## What Chat UI Does
- Provides a production-ready chat interface for any text-generation model
- Supports multiple model backends: TGI, vLLM, Ollama, and OpenAI-compatible APIs
- Enables web search integration to ground responses in current information
- Offers tool use and function calling for models that support it
- Manages multiple conversations with sharing, starring, and assistant presets

## Architecture Overview
Chat UI is a SvelteKit application with server-side rendering. It uses MongoDB for conversation persistence, session management, and user accounts. The frontend streams tokens via Server-Sent Events. Model inference is delegated to configurable backends defined in environment variables, with each model having its own prompt template and parameters.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Requires Node.js 18+ and a MongoDB instance (local or Atlas)
- Define models in .env.local with endpoint URLs and prompt templates
- Configure authentication via OpenID Connect or run without auth for internal use
- Deploy with Docker using the provided Dockerfile or on any Node.js hosting
- Enable web search by configuring a search API (SearXNG, Bing, or Google)

## Key Features
- Multi-model support with per-model system prompts and sampling parameters
- Web search augmentation with source citations in responses
- Image and file upload for multimodal models
- Custom assistant personas with configurable instructions and tools
- Conversation sharing via public links and export to JSON

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Open WebUI** — Python-based, Ollama-focused; Chat UI is JavaScript/SvelteKit with broader backend support
- **LobeChat** — React-based with plugin marketplace; Chat UI is lighter and battle-tested at HuggingChat scale
- **LibreChat** — multi-provider with file handling; Chat UI emphasizes HF ecosystem integration
- **Chatbox** — desktop client; Chat UI is a web application for team deployments
- **text-generation-webui** — Python/Gradio for power users; Chat UI offers a cleaner end-user experience

## FAQ
**Q: What models work with Chat UI?**
A: Any model served via TGI, vLLM, Ollama, or an OpenAI-compatible API. Configure the endpoint in .env.local.

**Q: Is MongoDB required?**
A: Yes, for conversation storage and user sessions. A free MongoDB Atlas tier works for small deployments.

**Q: Can I add web search to responses?**
A: Yes, configure a SearXNG instance or Bing/Google API key for RAG-style web search augmentation.

**Q: How do I add authentication?**
A: Set OPENID_CONFIG in your environment to enable OAuth/OIDC login with any provider.

## Sources
- https://github.com/huggingface/chat-ui
- https://huggingface.co/docs/chat-ui

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Author: AI Open Source