| # Running Locally | |
| ## Quick Start | |
| 1. Create a `.env.local` file with your API credentials: | |
| ```ini | |
| OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://router.huggingface.co/v1 | |
| OPENAI_API_KEY=hf_************************ | |
| ``` | |
| 2. Install and run: | |
| ```bash | |
| npm install | |
| npm run dev -- --open | |
| ``` | |
| That's it! Chat UI will discover available models automatically from your endpoint. | |
| ## Configuration | |
| Chat UI connects to any OpenAI-compatible API. Set `OPENAI_BASE_URL` to your provider: | |
| | Provider | `OPENAI_BASE_URL` | | |
| | ------------ | ---------------------------------- | | |
| | Hugging Face | `https://router.huggingface.co/v1` | | |
| | Ollama | `http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1` | | |
| | llama.cpp | `http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1` | | |
| | OpenRouter | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | | |
| See the [configuration overview](../configuration/overview) for all available options. | |
| ## Database | |
| For **development**, MongoDB is optional. When `MONGODB_URL` is not set, Chat UI uses an embedded MongoDB server that persists data to the `./db` folder. | |
| For **production**, you should use a dedicated MongoDB instance: | |
| ### Option 1: Local MongoDB (Docker) | |
| ```bash | |
| docker run -d -p 27017:27017 -v mongo-chat-ui:/data --name mongo-chat-ui mongo:latest | |
| ``` | |
| Then set `MONGODB_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017` in `.env.local`. | |
| ### Option 2: MongoDB Atlas (Managed) | |
| Use [MongoDB Atlas free tier](https://www.mongodb.com/pricing) for a managed database. Copy the connection string to `MONGODB_URL`. | |
| ## Running in Production | |
| For production deployments: | |
| ```bash | |
| npm install | |
| npm run build | |
| npm run preview | |
| ``` | |
| The server listens on `http://localhost:4173` by default. | |