Open WebUI 0.12.4: on-demand skills and security fixes
Updated Open WebUI
Summary
Open WebUI v0.12.4 (October 25, 2026) loads skills on demand, shows context compaction, lets admins hide controls and ships unlisted security fixes.
- Tool
- Open WebUI
- Category
- Agent infra
- Date
- License
- Open WebUI License
- Pricing
- Not stated in the sources we cited.
Open WebUI published v0.12.4 on October 25, 2026, nine days after 0.12.3. The release notes say it contains security fixes that are not listed in the changelog and that advisories will follow once CVEs are assigned, so the maintainers recommend updating all deployments as soon as possible. Besides that, it changes how skills and context compaction work and adds several defaults that can break existing setups.
Release facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | Open WebUI |
| Version | v0.12.4 |
| Release date | October 25, 2026 |
| License | Open WebUI License, see the release LICENSE file |
| Security | Unlisted security fixes; advisories to be published after CVE assignment |
What changed for agent and tool users
- Skills load on demand. With "Load selected skills on demand" (Admin Settings > General, or
ENABLE_SKILL_LAZY_LOADING), selected skills are only listed to the model, which loads their full instructions when it needs them. Skills mentioned in the message still load right away. It is off by default and needs the built-in Skills tool. - Compaction is visible. A "Context compacted" line marks where older messages were summarized and opens to show the summary. Compaction now also runs in temporary chats and in short chats that are already over the threshold, such as one question with a long tool-output reply.
- MCP 2026-07-28. MCP connections also work with servers using the stateless 2026-07-28 protocol version; older servers still use the earlier handshake.
- Prompt cache survives restarts. Tools from tool servers, Open Terminal included, reach the model in the same form after every restart, so provider prompt caching keeps working on long chats.
- OAuth over the API. Connections set to OAuth now send the user's OAuth token when the user calls the API with an API key or bearer token.
Admin features
- Hide controls. Admins can hide single controls from users under Visible controls in Admin Settings > Interface or with
UI_VISIBILITY. Hidden controls keep their values, and admins still see everything. - Hidden base models. A Hidden Models permission (
USER_PERMISSIONS_WORKSPACE_MODELS_HIDDEN) lets chosen users build workspace models on top of hidden models that stay out of their model picker. - Analytics by tokens. The admin dashboard now ranks models and users by tokens by default, with volume, activity and period comparison views.
- Audit and LDAP. Audit logs record model usage, and LDAP gets a default email domain setting.
Check before upgrading
| Change | What it can break |
|---|---|
| Direct Integrations off now disables connections | Tool servers and Open Terminal connections saved in users' Integrations settings stop working in chats unless an admin turns on Direct Integrations or sets ENABLE_DIRECT_INTEGRATIONS |
| Docker image moves to Python 3.12 on Debian 13 | Custom functions, tools and pip packages inside the container must support Python 3.12 |
| Stricter MCP timeouts | MCP_INITIALIZE_TIMEOUT (10 seconds by default) now also limits listing tools and reading resources; slow servers may need a higher value. MCP connections only follow redirects to the same address |
| Sharing permissions enforced everywhere | Sharing through the API now follows Models, Knowledge and Folders Sharing permissions, and disallowed Access changes return an error |
| Manage Files shows only your files | Admins no longer see every user's files there, even with BYPASS_ADMIN_ACCESS_CONTROL on |
Questions
Should I upgrade right away? The maintainers say yes. The release notes describe security fixes that are not in the changelog and strongly recommend updating all deployments as soon as possible.
Why did my users' tool servers stop working after the update?
If Direct Integrations is off, which is the default, connections saved in users' Integrations settings are no longer used in chats. Turn it on in Admin Settings > Connections or set ENABLE_DIRECT_INTEGRATIONS.
Does skill lazy loading change anything by default? No. It is off by default and only works with the built-in Skills tool.
For more, see the Open WebUI tool hub, the earlier Open WebUI 0.12.3 launch and the Agent infra category.
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Pricing: Not stated
Questions
What is Open WebUI?
Its site says "Open WebUI is the platform for running AI on your own terms."
Which model providers does Open WebUI connect to?
Its site says you can "Connect to Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, or anything compatible."
Is Open WebUI open source?
The source is public under the Open WebUI License, a BSD-3-Clause-style license with an added branding clause: deployments with more than 50 end users in a rolling 30-day period may not remove or alter Open WebUI branding without permission or an enterprise license. The GitHub API does not detect it as a standard license.
What is the latest Open WebUI release?
v0.13.3, published November 8, 2026, the same day as v0.13.1 and v0.13.2. 0.13.1 changed the database schema, turned Preload files off by default and included security fixes that are not listed in the changelog.
Can Open WebUI run coding agents?
Yes, from 0.13.1. On an Open Terminal that offers them, coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Pi appear in the model picker, and from 0.13.3 automations can run them on a schedule in a chosen terminal and folder.
Filed on Agent Radar. Claims in this note are limited to the sources above.