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140 lines
5.6 KiB
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140 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
---
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sidebar_position: 2
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title: "⚙️ Tools"
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---
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# ⚙️ What are Tools?
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Tools are small Python scripts that add superpowers to your LLM. When enabled, they allow your chatbot to do amazing things — like search the web, scrape data, generate images, talk back using AI voices, and more.
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To use Tools, your chosen LLM must support "function calling". Think of Tools as useful plugins that your AI can use when chatting with you.
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---
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## 🚀 What Can Tools Help Me Do?
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Here are just a few examples of what Tools let your AI assistant do:
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- 🌍 Web Search: Get real-time answers by searching the internet.
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- 🖼️ Image Generation: Create images from your prompts.
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- 🔊 Voice Output: Generate AI voices using ElevenLabs.
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Explore ready-to-use tools here:
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🧰 [Tools Showcase](https://openwebui.com/tools)
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---
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## 📦 How to Install Tools
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There are two easy ways to install Tools in Open WebUI:
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1. Go to [Community Tool Library](https://openwebui.com/tools)
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2. Choose a Tool, then click the Get button.
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3. Enter your Open WebUI instance’s IP address or URL.
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4. Click “Import to WebUI” — done!
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🛑 Safety Tip: Never import a Tool you don’t recognize or trust. These are Python scripts and might run unsafe code.
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---
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## 🔧 How to Use Tools in Open WebUI
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Once you've installed Tools (we’ll show you how below), here’s how to enable and use them:
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You have two ways to enable a Tool for your model:
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### ➕ Option 1: Enable from the Chat Window
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While chatting, click the ➕ icon in the input area. You’ll see a list of available Tools — you can enable any of them on the fly for that session.
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💡 Tip: Enabling a Tool gives the model permission to use it — but it may not use it unless it's useful for the task.
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### ✏️ Option 2: Enable by Default (Recommended for Frequent Use)
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1. Go to: Workspace ➡️ Models
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2. Choose the model you’re using (like GPT-4 or LLaMa2) and click the ✏️ edit icon.
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3. Scroll down to the “Tools” section.
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4. ✅ Check the Tools you want your model to have access to by default.
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5. Click Save.
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This ensures the model always has these Tools ready to use whenever you chat with it.
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You can also let your LLM auto-select the right Tools using the AutoTool Filter:
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🔗 [AutoTool Filter](https://openwebui.com/f/hub/autotool_filter/)
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🎯 Note: Even when using AutoTool, you still need to enable your Tools using Option 2.
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✅ And that’s it — your LLM is now Tool-powered! You're ready to supercharge your chats with web search, image generation, voice output, and more.
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---
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## 🧠 Choosing How Tools Are Used: Default vs Native
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Once Tools are enabled for your model, Open WebUI gives you two different ways to let your LLM use them in conversations.
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You can decide how the model should call Tools by choosing between:
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- 🟡 Default Mode (Prompt-based)
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- 🟢 Native Mode (Built-in function calling)
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Let’s break it down:
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### 🟡 Default Mode (Prompt-based Tool Triggering)
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This is the default setting in Open WebUI.
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Here, your LLM doesn’t need to natively support function calling. Instead, we guide the model using smart tool selection prompt template to select and use a Tool.
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✅ Works with almost any model
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✅ Great way to unlock Tools with basic or local models
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❗ Not as reliable or flexible as Native Mode when chaining tools
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### 🟢 Native Mode (Function Calling Built-In)
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If your model does support “native” function calling (like GPT-4o or GPT-3.5-turbo-1106), you can use this powerful mode to let the LLM decide — in real time — when and how to call multiple Tools during a single chat message.
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✅ Fast, accurate, and can chain multiple Tools in one response
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✅ The most natural and advanced experience
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❗ Requires a model that actually supports native function calling
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### ✳️ How to Switch Between Modes
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Want to enable native function calling in your chats? Here's how:
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1. Open the chat window with your model.
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2. Click ⚙️ Chat Controls > Advanced Params.
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3. Look for the Function Calling setting and switch it from Default → Native
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That’s it! Your chat is now using true native Tool support (as long as the model supports it).
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➡️ We recommend using GPT-4o or another OpenAI model for the best native function-calling experience.
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🔎 Some local models may claim support, but often struggle with accurate or complex Tool usage.
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💡 Summary:
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| Mode | Who it’s for | Pros | Cons |
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|----------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
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| Default | Any model | Broad compatibility, safer, flexible | May be less accurate or slower |
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| Native | GPT-4o, etc. | Fast, smart, excellent tool chaining | Needs proper function call support |
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Choose the one that works best for your setup — and remember, you can always switch on the fly via Chat Controls.
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👏 And that's it — your LLM now knows how and when to use Tools, intelligently.
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---
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## 🧠 Summary
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Tools are add-ons that help your AI model do much more than just chat. From answering real-time questions to generating images or speaking out loud — Tools bring your AI to life.
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- Visit: [https://openwebui.com/tools](https://openwebui.com/tools) to discover new Tools.
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- Install them manually or with one-click.
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- Enable them per model from Workspace ➡️ Models.
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- Use them in chat by clicking ➕
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Now go make your AI waaaaay smarter 🤖✨
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