Description: See “Changelog Entry” / “Description” below.
Changelog: Keep a Changelog–style entry included below under “Changelog Entry”.
Documentation: Open WebUI docs
Dependencies: No new dependencies. Uses existing PyJWT (import jwt) already used elsewhere in the backend.
Testing: Manual verification: with ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS=true and FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET set, outbound requests include FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER (default X-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt) with HS256 JWT; claims sub, email, name, role, iss (open-webui), iat, exp. Without secret, legacy X-OpenWebUI-User-* headers unchanged. Gateway decode with shared secret succeeds.
Agentic AI Code: Confirm per your process (human review + manual testing).
Code review: Self-reviewed; follows existing env.py int-parse patterns and centralizes behavior in include_user_info_headers so all existing call sites pick it up.
Design & Architecture: Opt-in via env only; default behavior unchanged when FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET is unset.
Git Hygiene: Single logical feature (forwarded user identity as optional signed JWT).
Title Prefix:feat: optional signed JWT for forwarded user identity to external backends
Changelog Entry
🔐Signed JWT for forwarded user identity. When "ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS" is enabled, setting "FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET" sends a short-lived HS256 JWT in "FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER" instead of the separate "X-OpenWebUI-User-*" headers, so OpenAI-compatible gateways and tool backends can verify user context with a shared secret.
Description
When ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS is enabled, operators can optionally set FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET so Open WebUI sends one HS256 JWT (header name configurable) carrying sub, email, name, and role instead of the four separate X-OpenWebUI-User-* headers. This lets upstream gateways verify user context cryptographically with a shared secret instead of trusting plain header strings alone which should prevent spoofing of headers by bad actors. If minting fails, behavior falls back to the legacy headers.
Added
Environment variables: FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET, FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER (default X-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt), FORWARD_USER_JWT_EXPIRES_SECONDS (default 300, invalid values fall back to 300).
JWT claims: sub (user id), email, name, role, iss (open-webui), iat, exp (HS256).
Changed
include_user_info_headers: when FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET is non-empty, adds only the configured JWT header and omits the four legacy user info headers for that request path.
Security
Optional signed user context for trusted hops to external OpenAI-compatible backends, RAG, tools, TTS/STT, etc. (same call sites as existing forwarded headers). Operators should use a dedicated secret and short TTL appropriate to their gateway; iss is fixed to open-webui for verification pinning.
Breaking Changes
Behavioral (env-driven): If FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET is set, upstreams that previously relied only on X-OpenWebUI-User-Name / Id / Email / Role will no longer receive those four headers from this path; they must accept the JWT header instead. Unset FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET to restore legacy behavior.
Additional Information
Implementation: backend/open_webui/env.py (env wiring), backend/open_webui/utils/headers.py (_mint_forward_user_jwt + branch in include_user_info_headers).
Session / login JWT (WEBUI_SECRET_KEY) is unchanged; this is a separate optional secret for gateway-facing assertions.
JWT is not exposed to the browser by default; it is attached to server-side outbound requests that already use include_user_info_headers.
Screenshots or Videos
N/A (no UI change; verification via gateway / proxy logs or test upstream).
Contributor License Agreement
By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.
Note
Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.
🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.
## 📋 Pull Request Information
**Original PR:** https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/24626
**Author:** [@jmleksan](https://github.com/jmleksan)
**Created:** 5/12/2026
**Status:** 🔄 Open
**Base:** `dev` ← **Head:** `feat/user-jwt-header`
---
### 📝 Commits (1)
- [`9d07481`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/9d07481b4f4043b1aac30c17b9cf65d2b1986d61) feat: add JWT support for user info headers
### 📊 Changes
**2 files changed** (+51 additions, -3 deletions)
<details>
<summary>View changed files</summary>
📝 `backend/open_webui/env.py` (+10 -0)
📝 `backend/open_webui/utils/headers.py` (+41 -3)
</details>
### 📄 Description
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**Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:**
- [x] **Linked Issue/Discussion:** Relates to Discussion (https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/discussions/24627)
- [x] **Target branch:** This PR targets **`dev`** (not `main`).
- [x] **Description:** See “Changelog Entry” / “Description” below.
- [x] **Changelog:** Keep a Changelog–style entry included below under “Changelog Entry”.
- [ ] **Documentation:** Open WebUI docs
- [x] **Dependencies:** No new dependencies. Uses existing `PyJWT` (`import jwt`) already used elsewhere in the backend.
- [x] **Testing:** Manual verification: with `ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS=true` and `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` set, outbound requests include `FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER` (default `X-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt`) with HS256 JWT; claims `sub`, `email`, `name`, `role`, `iss` (`open-webui`), `iat`, `exp`. Without secret, legacy `X-OpenWebUI-User-*` headers unchanged. Gateway decode with shared secret succeeds.
- [x] **Agentic AI Code:** Confirm per your process (human review + manual testing).
- [x] **Code review:** Self-reviewed; follows existing `env.py` int-parse patterns and centralizes behavior in `include_user_info_headers` so all existing call sites pick it up.
- [x] **Design & Architecture:** Opt-in via env only; default behavior unchanged when `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` is unset.
- [x] **Git Hygiene:** Single logical feature (forwarded user identity as optional signed JWT).
- [x] **Title Prefix:** **feat**: optional signed JWT for forwarded user identity to external backends
# Changelog Entry
- 🔐 **Signed JWT for forwarded user identity.** When `"ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS"` is enabled, setting `"FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET"` sends a short-lived HS256 JWT in `"FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER"` instead of the separate `"X-OpenWebUI-User-*"` headers, so OpenAI-compatible gateways and tool backends can verify user context with a shared secret.
### Description
When `ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS` is enabled, operators can optionally set `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` so Open WebUI sends **one** HS256 JWT (header name configurable) carrying `sub`, `email`, `name`, and `role` instead of the four separate `X-OpenWebUI-User-*` headers. This lets upstream gateways verify user context cryptographically with a shared secret instead of trusting plain header strings alone which should prevent spoofing of headers by bad actors. If minting fails, behavior falls back to the legacy headers.
### Added
- Environment variables: `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET`, `FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER` (default `X-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt`), `FORWARD_USER_JWT_EXPIRES_SECONDS` (default `300`, invalid values fall back to `300`).
- JWT claims: `sub` (user id), `email`, `name`, `role`, `iss` (`open-webui`), `iat`, `exp` (HS256).
### Changed
- `include_user_info_headers`: when `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` is non-empty, adds only the configured JWT header and omits the four legacy user info headers for that request path.
### Security
- Optional signed user context for trusted hops to external OpenAI-compatible backends, RAG, tools, TTS/STT, etc. (same call sites as existing forwarded headers). Operators should use a dedicated secret and short TTL appropriate to their gateway; `iss` is fixed to `open-webui` for verification pinning.
### Breaking Changes
- **Behavioral (env-driven):** If `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` is set, upstreams that previously relied only on `X-OpenWebUI-User-Name` / `Id` / `Email` / `Role` will no longer receive those four headers from this path; they must accept the JWT header instead. Unset `FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET` to restore legacy behavior.
---
### Additional Information
- Implementation: `backend/open_webui/env.py` (env wiring), `backend/open_webui/utils/headers.py` (`_mint_forward_user_jwt` + branch in `include_user_info_headers`).
- Session / login JWT (`WEBUI_SECRET_KEY`) is unchanged; this is a separate optional secret for gateway-facing assertions.
- JWT is not exposed to the browser by default; it is attached to **server-side** outbound requests that already use `include_user_info_headers`.
### Screenshots or Videos
- N/A (no UI change; verification via gateway / proxy logs or test upstream).
### Contributor License Agreement
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- [x] By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.
> [!NOTE]
> Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.
---
<sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>
Blocking a user prevents them from interacting with repositories, such as opening or commenting on pull requests or issues. Learn more about blocking a user.
📋 Pull Request Information
Original PR: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/24626
Author: @jmleksan
Created: 5/12/2026
Status: 🔄 Open
Base:
dev← Head:feat/user-jwt-header📝 Commits (1)
9d07481feat: add JWT support for user info headers📊 Changes
2 files changed (+51 additions, -3 deletions)
View changed files
📝
backend/open_webui/env.py(+10 -0)📝
backend/open_webui/utils/headers.py(+41 -3)📄 Description
Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:
dev(notmain).PyJWT(import jwt) already used elsewhere in the backend.ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS=trueandFORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETset, outbound requests includeFORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER(defaultX-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt) with HS256 JWT; claimssub,email,name,role,iss(open-webui),iat,exp. Without secret, legacyX-OpenWebUI-User-*headers unchanged. Gateway decode with shared secret succeeds.env.pyint-parse patterns and centralizes behavior ininclude_user_info_headersso all existing call sites pick it up.FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETis unset.Changelog Entry
"ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERS"is enabled, setting"FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET"sends a short-lived HS256 JWT in"FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER"instead of the separate"X-OpenWebUI-User-*"headers, so OpenAI-compatible gateways and tool backends can verify user context with a shared secret.Description
When
ENABLE_FORWARD_USER_INFO_HEADERSis enabled, operators can optionally setFORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETso Open WebUI sends one HS256 JWT (header name configurable) carryingsub,email,name, androleinstead of the four separateX-OpenWebUI-User-*headers. This lets upstream gateways verify user context cryptographically with a shared secret instead of trusting plain header strings alone which should prevent spoofing of headers by bad actors. If minting fails, behavior falls back to the legacy headers.Added
FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRET,FORWARD_USER_JWT_HEADER(defaultX-OpenWebUI-User-Jwt),FORWARD_USER_JWT_EXPIRES_SECONDS(default300, invalid values fall back to300).sub(user id),email,name,role,iss(open-webui),iat,exp(HS256).Changed
include_user_info_headers: whenFORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETis non-empty, adds only the configured JWT header and omits the four legacy user info headers for that request path.Security
issis fixed toopen-webuifor verification pinning.Breaking Changes
FORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETis set, upstreams that previously relied only onX-OpenWebUI-User-Name/Id/Email/Rolewill no longer receive those four headers from this path; they must accept the JWT header instead. UnsetFORWARD_USER_JWT_SECRETto restore legacy behavior.Additional Information
backend/open_webui/env.py(env wiring),backend/open_webui/utils/headers.py(_mint_forward_user_jwt+ branch ininclude_user_info_headers).WEBUI_SECRET_KEY) is unchanged; this is a separate optional secret for gateway-facing assertions.include_user_info_headers.Screenshots or Videos
Contributor License Agreement
🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.