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[PR #23548] [CLOSED] feat: add database-agnostic chat encryption at rest (WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY / WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS) #66105

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opened 2026-05-06 12:14:54 -05:00 by GiteaMirror · 0 comments
GiteaMirror commented 2026-05-06 12:14:54 -05:00
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📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/23548
Author: @kraack-tech
Created: 4/9/2026
Status: ❌ Closed

Base: dev ← Head: main

📝 Commits (10+)

📊 Changes

14 files changed (+639 additions, -496 deletions)

View changed files

📝 backend/open_webui/env.py (+13 -13)
📝 backend/open_webui/main.py (+8 -54)
📝 backend/open_webui/models/chats.py (+107 -299)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py (+1 -0)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/auths.py (+44 -4)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/chats.py (+33 -42)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/ollama.py (+7 -5)
➕ backend/open_webui/test/apps/webui/models/test_chats_encryption.py (+96 -0)
➕ backend/open_webui/test/util/test_chat_encryption.py (+60 -0)
➕ backend/open_webui/test/util/test_encrypt_old_chats.py (+78 -0)
📝 backend/open_webui/utils/auth.py (+1 -3)
➕ backend/open_webui/utils/db/chat_encryption.py (+99 -0)
➕ backend/open_webui/utils/db/encrypt_old_chats.py (+79 -0)
📝 backend/open_webui/utils/oauth.py (+13 -76)

📄 Description

Pull Request Checklist

Note to first-time contributors: Please open a discussion post in Discussions to discuss your idea/fix with the community before creating a pull request, and describe your changes before submitting a pull request.

This is to ensure large feature PRs are discussed with the community first, before starting work on it. If the community does not want this feature or it is not relevant for Open WebUI as a project, it can be identified in the discussion before working on the feature and submitting the PR.

Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:

  • Target branch: Verify that the pull request targets the dev branch. PRs targeting main will be immediately closed.
  • Description: Provide a concise description of the changes made in this pull request down below.
  • Changelog: Ensure a changelog entry following the format of Keep a Changelog is added at the bottom of the PR description.
  • Documentation: Add docs in Open WebUI Docs Repository. Document user-facing behavior, environment variables, public APIs/interfaces, or deployment steps.
  • Dependencies: Are there any new or upgraded dependencies? If so, explain why, update the changelog/docs, and include any compatibility notes. Actually run the code/function that uses updated library to ensure it doesn't crash.
  • Testing: Perform manual tests to verify the implemented fix/feature works as intended AND does not break any other functionality. Include reproducible steps to demonstrate the issue before the fix. Test edge cases (URL encoding, HTML entities, types). Take this as an opportunity to make screenshots of the feature/fix and include them in the PR description.
  • Agentic AI Code: Confirm this Pull Request is not written by any AI Agent or has at least gone through additional human review AND manual testing. If any AI Agent is the co-author of this PR, it may lead to immediate closure of the PR.
  • Code review: Have you performed a self-review of your code, addressing any coding standard issues and ensuring adherence to the project's coding standards?
  • Design & Architecture: Prefer smart defaults over adding new settings; use local state for ephemeral UI logic. Open a Discussion for major architectural or UX changes.
  • Git Hygiene: Keep PRs atomic (one logical change). Clean up commits and rebase on dev to ensure no unrelated commits (e.g. from main) are included. Push updates to the existing PR branch instead of closing and reopening.
  • Title Prefix: To clearly categorize this pull request, prefix the pull request title using one of the following:
    • BREAKING CHANGE: Significant changes that may affect compatibility
    • build: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies
    • ci: Changes to our continuous integration processes or workflows
    • chore: Refactor, cleanup, or other non-functional code changes
    • docs: Documentation update or addition
    • feat: Introduces a new feature or enhancement to the codebase
    • fix: Bug fix or error correction
    • i18n: Internationalization or localization changes
    • perf: Performance improvement
    • refactor: Code restructuring for better maintainability, readability, or scalability
    • style: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code (white space, formatting, missing semi-colons, etc.)
    • test: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests
    • WIP: Work in progress, a temporary label for incomplete or ongoing work

Changelog Entry

Description

Adds application-level encryption of chat content at rest, controlled by two environment variables:

  • WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY: When set, chat content is encrypted before being written to the database and transparently decrypted on read. The UI experience is unchanged.
  • WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS : When true, schedules per-user background encryption of existing plaintext chats at sign-in, avoiding bulk-operation container timeouts. Once all historical chats are encrypted the flag can be disabled.

This is a database-agnostic solution that specifically addresses deployments using PostgreSQL (e.g. on Azure or AWS) where the existing SQLCipher approach is not applicable, as confirmed in Discussion #21469.

Outcome: Admin users can no longer view user chat content in plaintext via database exports or direct database access. Both features are optional and entirely controlled with the environment variables.

Added

  • WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY env var: enables encryption of chat content at rest. Encryption is idempotent: plaintext content is detected and encrypted; already-encrypted content is left untouched.
  • WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS env var: when true, triggers per-user background encryption of historical plaintext chats on sign-in.
  • backend/open_webui/utils/db/chat_encryption.py: centralised encrypt/decrypt helper functions.
  • backend/open_webui/utils/db/encrypt_old_chats.py: batch encryption utility function for historical chats.
  • Unit tests:
    • backend/open_webui/test/util/test_chat_encryption.py
    • backend/open_webui/test/util/test_encrypt_old_chats.py
    • backend/open_webui/test/apps/webui/models/test_chats_encryption.py

Changed

  • backend/open_webui/models/chats.py: encrypt chat content on write; decrypt (normalise) on read so the UI always receives plaintext.
  • backend/open_webui/routers/chats.py: normalise chat payloads before returning to callers.
  • backend/open_webui/routers/auths.py: trigger old-chat encryption task on user sign-in when WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS=true.
  • backend/open_webui/env.py: expose WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY and WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS configuration.
  • backend/open_webui/main.py: initialise encryption configuration at startup.

Deprecated

  • None

Removed

  • None

Fixed

  • None

Security

  • Chat content stored in the database is now encrypted at rest when WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY is configured. This prevents direct database access or database exports from exposing user chat content in plaintext, including admin-level accounts.

Breaking Changes

  • None

Additional Information

  • None

Screenshots or Videos

ow_pg

Contributor License Agreement

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/23548 **Author:** [@kraack-tech](https://github.com/kraack-tech) **Created:** 4/9/2026 **Status:** ❌ Closed **Base:** `dev` ← **Head:** `main` --- ### 📝 Commits (10+) - [`fe6783c`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/fe6783c16699911c7be17392596d579333fb110c) Merge pull request #19030 from open-webui/dev - [`fc05e0a`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/fc05e0a6c5d39da60b603b4d520f800d6e36f748) Merge pull request #19405 from open-webui/dev - [`e3faec6`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/e3faec62c58e3a83d89aa3df539feacefa125e0c) Merge pull request #19416 from open-webui/dev - [`9899293`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/9899293f050ad50ae12024cbebee7e018acd851e) Merge pull request #19448 from open-webui/dev - [`140605e`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/140605e660b8186a7d5c79fb3be6ffb147a2f498) Merge pull request #19462 from open-webui/dev - [`6f1486f`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/6f1486ffd0cb288d0e21f41845361924e0d742b3) Merge pull request #19466 from open-webui/dev - [`d95f533`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/d95f533214e3fe5beb5e41ec1f349940bc4c7043) Merge pull request #19729 from open-webui/dev - [`a727153`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/a7271532f8a38da46785afcaa7e65f9a45e7d753) 0.6.43 (#20093) - [`6adde20`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/6adde203cd292a9e3af9c64a2ae36b603fed096a) Merge pull request #20394 from open-webui/dev - [`f9b0534`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/f9b0534e0c442631d1cb7205169588b9b6204179) Merge pull request #20522 from open-webui/dev ### 📊 Changes **14 files changed** (+639 additions, -496 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `backend/open_webui/env.py` (+13 -13) 📝 `backend/open_webui/main.py` (+8 -54) 📝 `backend/open_webui/models/chats.py` (+107 -299) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py` (+1 -0) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/auths.py` (+44 -4) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/chats.py` (+33 -42) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/ollama.py` (+7 -5) ➕ `backend/open_webui/test/apps/webui/models/test_chats_encryption.py` (+96 -0) ➕ `backend/open_webui/test/util/test_chat_encryption.py` (+60 -0) ➕ `backend/open_webui/test/util/test_encrypt_old_chats.py` (+78 -0) 📝 `backend/open_webui/utils/auth.py` (+1 -3) ➕ `backend/open_webui/utils/db/chat_encryption.py` (+99 -0) ➕ `backend/open_webui/utils/db/encrypt_old_chats.py` (+79 -0) 📝 `backend/open_webui/utils/oauth.py` (+13 -76) </details> ### 📄 Description <!-- ⚠️ CRITICAL CHECKS FOR CONTRIBUTORS (READ, DON'T DELETE) ⚠️ 1. Target the `dev` branch. PRs targeting `main` will be automatically closed. 2. Do NOT delete the CLA section at the bottom. It is required for the bot to accept your PR. --> # Pull Request Checklist ### Note to first-time contributors: Please open a discussion post in [Discussions](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/discussions) to discuss your idea/fix with the community before creating a pull request, and describe your changes before submitting a pull request. This is to ensure large feature PRs are discussed with the community first, before starting work on it. If the community does not want this feature or it is not relevant for Open WebUI as a project, it can be identified in the discussion before working on the feature and submitting the PR. **Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:** - [x] **Target branch:** Verify that the pull request targets the `dev` branch. **PRs targeting `main` will be immediately closed.** - [x] **Description:** Provide a concise description of the changes made in this pull request down below. - [x] **Changelog:** Ensure a changelog entry following the format of [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/) is added at the bottom of the PR description. - [ ] **Documentation:** Add docs in [Open WebUI Docs Repository](https://github.com/open-webui/docs). Document user-facing behavior, environment variables, public APIs/interfaces, or deployment steps. - [x] **Dependencies:** Are there any new or upgraded dependencies? If so, explain why, update the changelog/docs, and include any compatibility notes. Actually run the code/function that uses updated library to ensure it doesn't crash. - [x] **Testing:** Perform manual tests to **verify the implemented fix/feature works as intended AND does not break any other functionality**. Include reproducible steps to demonstrate the issue before the fix. Test edge cases (URL encoding, HTML entities, types). Take this as an opportunity to **make screenshots of the feature/fix and include them in the PR description**. - [x] **Agentic AI Code:** Confirm this Pull Request is **not written by any AI Agent** or has at least **gone through additional human review AND manual testing**. If any AI Agent is the co-author of this PR, it may lead to immediate closure of the PR. - [x] **Code review:** Have you performed a self-review of your code, addressing any coding standard issues and ensuring adherence to the project's coding standards? - [x] **Design & Architecture:** Prefer smart defaults over adding new settings; use local state for ephemeral UI logic. Open a Discussion for major architectural or UX changes. - [x] **Git Hygiene:** Keep PRs atomic (one logical change). Clean up commits and rebase on `dev` to ensure no unrelated commits (e.g. from `main`) are included. Push updates to the existing PR branch instead of closing and reopening. - [x] **Title Prefix:** To clearly categorize this pull request, prefix the pull request title using one of the following: - **BREAKING CHANGE**: Significant changes that may affect compatibility - **build**: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies - **ci**: Changes to our continuous integration processes or workflows - **chore**: Refactor, cleanup, or other non-functional code changes - **docs**: Documentation update or addition - **feat**: Introduces a new feature or enhancement to the codebase - **fix**: Bug fix or error correction - **i18n**: Internationalization or localization changes - **perf**: Performance improvement - **refactor**: Code restructuring for better maintainability, readability, or scalability - **style**: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code (white space, formatting, missing semi-colons, etc.) - **test**: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests - **WIP**: Work in progress, a temporary label for incomplete or ongoing work # Changelog Entry ### Description Adds application-level encryption of chat content at rest, controlled by two environment variables: - `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY`: When set, chat content is encrypted before being written to the database and transparently decrypted on read. The UI experience is unchanged. - `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS` : When `true`, schedules per-user background encryption of existing plaintext chats at sign-in, avoiding bulk-operation container timeouts. Once all historical chats are encrypted the flag can be disabled. This is a database-agnostic solution that specifically addresses deployments using PostgreSQL (e.g. on Azure or AWS) where the existing SQLCipher approach is not applicable, as confirmed in [Discussion #21469](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/discussions/21469). **Outcome:** Admin users can no longer view user chat content in plaintext via database exports or direct database access. Both features are optional and entirely controlled with the environment variables. ### Added - `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY` env var: enables encryption of chat content at rest. Encryption is idempotent: plaintext content is detected and encrypted; already-encrypted content is left untouched. - `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS` env var: when `true`, triggers per-user background encryption of historical plaintext chats on sign-in. - `backend/open_webui/utils/db/chat_encryption.py`: centralised encrypt/decrypt helper functions. - `backend/open_webui/utils/db/encrypt_old_chats.py`: batch encryption utility function for historical chats. - Unit tests: - `backend/open_webui/test/util/test_chat_encryption.py` - `backend/open_webui/test/util/test_encrypt_old_chats.py` - `backend/open_webui/test/apps/webui/models/test_chats_encryption.py` ### Changed - `backend/open_webui/models/chats.py`: encrypt chat content on write; decrypt (normalise) on read so the UI always receives plaintext. - `backend/open_webui/routers/chats.py`: normalise chat payloads before returning to callers. - `backend/open_webui/routers/auths.py`: trigger old-chat encryption task on user sign-in when `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS=true`. - `backend/open_webui/env.py`: expose `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY` and `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPT_OLD_CHATS` configuration. - `backend/open_webui/main.py`: initialise encryption configuration at startup. ### Deprecated - None ### Removed - None ### Fixed - None ### Security - Chat content stored in the database is now encrypted at rest when `WEBUI_CHAT_ENCRYPTION_KEY` is configured. This prevents direct database access or database exports from exposing user chat content in plaintext, including admin-level accounts. ### Breaking Changes - None --- ### Additional Information - None ### Screenshots or Videos <img width="2535" height="958" alt="ow_pg" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e82b074d-5fce-4f89-8dbc-517a0c9d80aa" /> ### Contributor License Agreement <!-- 🚨 DO NOT DELETE THE TEXT BELOW 🚨 Keep the "Contributor License Agreement" confirmation text intact. Deleting it will trigger the CLA-Bot to INVALIDATE your PR. Your PR will NOT be reviewed or merged until you check the box below confirming that you have read and agree to the terms of the CLA. --> - [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>
GiteaMirror added the pull-request label 2026-05-06 12:14:55 -05:00
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Reference: github-starred/open-webui#66105
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