Complete Guide: OpenWEBUI with SearXNG and OpenEDAI Speech

Introduction

Running containers with Podman provides enhanced security through unprivileged containers and rootless execution. Using systemctl --user for systemd services allows for better process management without requiring root privileges. While this guide uses Podman, the commands can be adapted for Docker with minor modifications.

Setting Up SearXNG

1. Service Configuration

Create the systemd service configuration:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user/
nano ~/.config/systemd/user/searxng.quadlet.service

Add the following content (replace “christian” with your username):

[Unit]
Description=SearXNG Podman Container
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman run --replace \
  --name searxng \
  -v /home/christian/github/searxng/settings.yml:/etc/searxng/settings.yml:Z \
  -p 8081:8080 \
  docker.io/searxng/searxng:latest
ExecStop=/usr/bin/podman stop -t 10 searxng
ExecStopPost=/usr/bin/podman rm -f searxng
# Service configuration
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
Type=simple
Environment=HOME=/home/christian

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

2. SearXNG Settings

Create the settings file:

mkdir -p ~/github/searxng
nano ~/github/searxng/settings.yml

Add the following configuration:

use_default_settings: true
server:
    port: 8080
    bind_address: "0.0.0.0"
    secret_key: "Generate_A_Random_Key_Here"
    base_url: http://localhost:8081/
    image_proxy: false
    http_protocol_version: "1.0"

search:
    safe_search: 0
    autocomplete: "google"
    default_lang: "en"
    ban_time_on_fail: 5
    max_ban_time_on_fail: 120

ui:
    static_path: ""
    templates_path: ""
    default_theme: simple
    default_locale: en
    results_on_new_tab: false

3. Enable and Start SearXNG

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now searxng

Setting Up Open-WebUI

1. Service Configuration

nano ~/.config/systemd/user/open-webui.quadlet.service

Add the following content (replace “christian” with your username):

[Unit]
Description=Open Web UI Podman Container
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman run --replace \
  --name open-webui \
  --network=host \
  -v open-webui:/app/backend/data \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434 \
  -e USE_CUDA_DOCKER=True \
  --device nvidia.com/gpu=all \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:cuda

ExecStop=/usr/bin/podman stop -t 10 open-webui
ExecStopPost=/usr/bin/podman rm -f open-webui
# Service configuration
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
Type=simple
Environment=HOME=/home/christian

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

2. Enable and Start Open-WebUI

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now open-webui

Setting Up OpenEDAI Speech

1. Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/matatonic/openedai-speech
cd openedai-speech

2. Docker Compose Configuration

Create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  server:
    build:
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    image: ghcr.io/matatonic/openedai-speech
    env_file: speech.env
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./voices:/app/voices
      - ./config:/app/config
    restart: unless-stopped
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: all
              capabilities: [gpu]

3. Environment Configuration

Create speech.env:

COQUI_TOS_AGREED=1
CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0
PORT=8000

4. Voice Configuration

Create config/voice_to_speaker.yaml:

tts-1:
  alloy:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: 79 # 64, 79, 80, 101, 130
  echo:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: 134 # 52, 102, 134
  echo-alt:
    model: voices/en_US-ryan-high.onnx
    speaker: #159 # 55, 90, 132, 136, 137, 159
  fable:
    model: voices/en_GB-northern_english_male-medium.onnx
    speaker: # default speaker
  onyx:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: 159 # 55, 90, 132, 136, 137, 159
  nova:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: 107 # 57, 61, 107, 150, 162
  shimmer:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: 163
  norman:
    model: voices/en_US-norman-medium.onnx
    speaker: 159 # 55, 90, 132, 136, 137, 159
  bryce:
    model: voices/en_US-libritts_r-medium.onnx
    speaker: # default
tts-1-hd:
  alloy-alt:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/alloy-alt.wav
  alloy:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/alloy.wav
  echo:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/echo.wav
  fable:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/fable.wav
  onyx:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/onyx.wav
  nova:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/nova.wav
  shimmer:
    model: xtts
    speaker: voices/shimmer.wav

5. Deploy OpenEDAI Speech

docker-compose up -d

Integrating Web Search in Open-WebUI

Navigate to Extensions in Open-WebUI
Install the Web Search extension: https://openwebui.com/t/constliakos/web_search/
Configure the extension:
- Set SearXNG URL to: http://dockerlocalhost:8081
- Enable the extension in your chat settings

Service Management

Check Service Status

# For SearXNG
systemctl --user status searxng

# For Open-WebUI
systemctl --user status open-webui

# For OpenEDAI Speech
docker-compose ps

View Logs

# For SearXNG
journalctl --user -u searxng

# For Open-WebUI
journalctl --user -u open-webui

# For OpenEDAI Speech
docker-compose logs

Troubleshooting

If services fail to start, check logs for errors
Ensure all ports are available and not in use
Verify NVIDIA drivers and CUDA are properly installed
Check file permissions for mounted volumes

Notes

Replace all instances of “christian” with your username
Adjust ports if there are conflicts
Ensure proper GPU support for OpenEDAI Speech
Back up configuration files before making changes
All services run as unprivileged containers for enhanced security

This setup provides a complete environment for AI interactions with web search capabilities and text-to-speech synthesis, all running as unprivileged containers for enhanced security.