Standard LLM chat interfaces lack workflow-specific environments. For developers, static code blocks require tedious copy-pasting to external editors to run and preview. For academic researchers and students, writing papers or theses is highly fragmented; they must constantly jump between separate document lists, disjointed chat histories, external PDF readers, and separate word processors to synthesize their research.

Open-WebUI Extended is an advanced modification of the Open-WebUI ecosystem designed for developers and researchers. It introduces two core capabilities: (1) **DevCanvas**, a Claude-like interactive coding sandbox that parses, previews, and runs multi-file web applications (HTML, CSS, JS, SVG) directly in the UI; and (2) **Research Projects Workspace**, a unified dashboard that consolidates related chat threads, uploaded reference literature (PDFs/RAG), and inline rich-text drafting tools in one organized workspace for writing theses and project reports.

1. / 01Designed and implemented **DevCanvas**: a responsive live-rendering iframe sandbox (Desktop/Tablet/Mobile viewports) integrated directly next to the chat window.
2. / 02Embedded CodeMirror for inline code editing and created a reactive virtual file explorer supporting local resource linking (e.g. stylesheet and script resolution).
3. / 03Integrated JSZip for packaging code projects into standard ZIP downloads, alongside individual file exporters for HTML, CSS, JS, and SVG assets.
4. / 04Architected the database schema and UI components for the **Research Projects Workspace** to unify folder organization, document references (RAG), and chat histories.
5. / 05Integrated a document viewer and research paper tagging system to streamline citation retrieval and document analysis during chat sessions.
6. / 06Ensured complete web accessibility compliance (a11y) across new interactive dashboard elements and controls.

• Instant Interactive Prototyping: Developers can run, modify, and preview complex frontend code blocks instantly within the chat window.
• Clean Multi-File Export: Users can download full functional directories as ZIP files or edit individual components dynamically.
• Centralized Academic Research (In Progress): Students and researchers can group all files, notes, draft chapters, and specific AI context folders under dedicated research projects.
• Enhanced UI/UX & A11y: Upgraded Open-WebUI sidebar navigation and panels to meet modern accessibility requirements.

• Live Sandbox
• Code Editor
• Multi-File Explorer
• Project Dashboard
• Document Management (RAG)
• ZIP Export