Open WebUI update brings coding agents and a new local file companion app

Open WebUI released version 0.13.1, adding the ability to select coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, and Pi directly from its model picker for chat or voice conversations, alongside options to adjust reasoning effort and approve tool use within the chat itself. The release also introduces Tether, a companion app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that lets AI models and agents access local files through a web browser. For security, sign-ins through Tether expire after 90 days of inactivity by default. The update also improves how tool-based chats are structured, keeping a consistent prompt prefix so AI providers can take advantage of prompt caching, which can reduce costs and speed up responses for repeated interactions. These changes reflect a broader trend of chat interfaces merging with coding and file-access tools rather than remaining separate.

Why it matters

Blurs the line between chat interfaces and coding agents, letting users run local file access and agents from one app.

Source: Open WebUI