diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4404b35481c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
+// README at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates/tree/main/src/typescript-node
+{
+  "name": "Node.js & TypeScript",
+  // Or use a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. More info: https://containers.dev/guide/dockerfile
+  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:1-22-bookworm",
+
+  // Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
+  // "forwardPorts": [],
+
+  // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
+  // "postCreateCommand": "yarn install",
+
+  // Configure tool-specific properties.
+  // "customizations": {},
+
+  // Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
+  // "remoteUser": "root"
+}
diff --git a/.env b/.env
index bea0e89a20e..26ecffd7a0b 100644
--- a/.env
+++ b/.env
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ COOKIE_NAME=hf-chat
 COOKIE_SAMESITE=# can be "lax", "strict", "none" or left empty
 COOKIE_SECURE=# set to true to only allow cookies over https
 TRUSTED_EMAIL_HEADER=# header to use to get the user email, only use if you know what you are doing
-
+USE_HFCO_COOKIE=#only if you deploy huggingchat
 ### Admin stuff ###
 ADMIN_CLI_LOGIN=true # set to false to disable the CLI login
 ADMIN_TOKEN=#We recommend leaving this empty, you can get the token from the terminal.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6e5f1104dc0..553e077f6bc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ![Chat UI repository thumbnail](https://huggingface.co/datasets/huggingface/documentation-images/resolve/main/chat-ui/Frame%2013.png)
 
-A chat interface using open source models, eg OpenAssistant or Llama. It is a SvelteKit app and it powers the [HuggingChat app on hf.co/chat](https://huggingface.co/chat).
+A chat interface using open source models, eg Qwen, GPT-OSS, or Llama. It is a SvelteKit app and it powers the [HuggingChat app on hf.co/chat](https://huggingface.co/chat).
 
 0. [Quickstart](#quickstart)
 1. [Database Options](#database-options)
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@ A chat interface using open source models, eg OpenAssistant or Llama. It is a Sv
 4. [Extra parameters](#extra-parameters)
 5. [Building](#building)
 
-> Note on models: Chat UI only supports OpenAI-compatible APIs via `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and the `/models` endpoint. Provider-specific integrations (legacy `MODELS` env var, GGUF discovery, embeddings, web-search helpers, etc.) are removed, but any service that speaks the OpenAI protocol—Hugging Face router, llama.cpp server, Ollama’s OpenAI bridge, OpenRouter, Anthropic-on-OpenRouter, etc.—will work.
+> Note on models: Chat UI v2 only supports OpenAI-compatible APIs via `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and the `/models` endpoint. Provider-specific integrations (legacy `MODELS` env var, GGUF discovery, embeddings, web-search helpers, etc.) are removed, but any service that speaks the OpenAI protocol—Hugging Face router, llama.cpp server, Ollama’s OpenAI bridge, OpenRouter, Anthropic-on-OpenRouter, etc.—will work.
 
 ## Quickstart
 
-Chat UI speaks to OpenAI-compatible APIs only. The fastest way to get running is with the Hugging Face Inference Providers router plus your personal Hugging Face access token.
+Chat UI speaks to OpenAI-compatible APIs only. The fastest way to get running is with the [Hugging Face Inference Providers router](https://huggingface.co/docs/inference-providers) plus your personal Hugging Face access token.
 
 **Step 1 – Create `.env.local`:**
 
diff --git a/src/hooks.server.ts b/src/hooks.server.ts
index ff6d4dc2f64..9104b7e7d2f 100644
--- a/src/hooks.server.ts
+++ b/src/hooks.server.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@ import { config, ready } from "$lib/server/config";
 import type { Handle, HandleServerError, ServerInit, HandleFetch } from "@sveltejs/kit";
 import { collections } from "$lib/server/database";
 import { base } from "$app/paths";
-import { authenticateRequest, refreshSessionCookie, requiresUser } from "$lib/server/auth";
+import {
+	authenticateFromHfCookie,
+	authenticateRequest,
+	refreshSessionCookie,
+	requiresUser,
+} from "$lib/server/auth";
 import { ERROR_MESSAGES } from "$lib/stores/errors";
 import { addWeeks } from "date-fns";
 import { checkAndRunMigrations } from "$lib/migrations/migrations";
@@ -121,10 +126,12 @@ export const handle: Handle = async ({ event, resolve }) => {
 		}
 	}
 
-	const auth = await authenticateRequest(
-		{ type: "svelte", value: event.request.headers },
-		{ type: "svelte", value: event.cookies }
-	);
+	const auth = config.USE_HFCO_COOKIE
+		? await authenticateFromHfCookie(event.request.headers, event.cookies)
+		: await authenticateRequest(
+				{ type: "svelte", value: event.request.headers },
+				{ type: "svelte", value: event.cookies }
+			);
 
 	event.locals.user = auth.user || undefined;
 	event.locals.sessionId = auth.sessionId;
diff --git a/src/lib/server/auth.ts b/src/lib/server/auth.ts
index 34c20a85077..e29976fed6c 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/auth.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/auth.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { logger } from "$lib/server/logger";
 import { ObjectId } from "mongodb";
 import type { Cookie } from "elysia";
 import { adminTokenManager } from "./adminToken";
+import { updateUser } from "../../routes/login/callback/updateUser";
 
 export interface OIDCSettings {
 	redirectURI: string;
@@ -311,3 +312,80 @@ export async function authenticateRequest(
 
 	return { user: undefined, sessionId, secretSessionId, isAdmin: false };
 }
+
+export async function authenticateFromHfCookie(
+	headers: Headers,
+	cookies: Cookies
+): Promise<App.Locals & { secretSessionId: string }> {
+	const cookieHfco = cookies.get("token");
+
+	if (cookieHfco) {
+		const hash = await sha256(cookieHfco);
+		const sessionId = hash;
+		const secretSessionId = hash;
+
+		const cacheHit = await collections.tokenCaches.findOne({ tokenHash: hash });
+		if (cacheHit) {
+			const user = await collections.users.findOne({ hfUserId: cacheHit.userId });
+			if (!user) {
+				throw new Error("User not found");
+			}
+			return {
+				user,
+				sessionId,
+				secretSessionId,
+				isAdmin: user.isAdmin || adminTokenManager.isAdmin(sessionId),
+			};
+		}
+
+		/// Pass the cookie as an actual cookie, not a Bearer token.
+		const response = await fetch("https://huggingface.co/api/whoami-v2", {
+			headers: { Cookie: `token=${cookieHfco}` },
+		});
+
+		if (!response.ok) {
+			throw new Error("Unauthorized");
+		}
+
+		const userData = z
+			.object({
+				id: z.string(),
+				name: z.string(),
+				avatarUrl: z.string(),
+			})
+			.parse(await response.json());
+
+		const locals = {
+			user: userData,
+			sessionId,
+			secretSessionId,
+			isAdmin: adminTokenManager.isAdmin(sessionId),
+		};
+		await updateUser({
+			userData,
+			locals,
+			cookies,
+			userAgent: headers.get("user-agent") ?? undefined,
+		});
+		await collections.tokenCaches.insertOne({
+			tokenHash: hash,
+			userId: userData.id,
+			createdAt: new Date(),
+			updatedAt: new Date(),
+		});
+
+		/// TODO: Get a JWT token for inference from the Hub
+
+		return locals;
+	}
+
+	// Generate new session if none exists
+	const secretSessionId = crypto.randomUUID();
+	const sessionId = await sha256(secretSessionId);
+
+	if (await collections.sessions.findOne({ sessionId })) {
+		throw new Error("Session ID collision");
+	}
+
+	return { user: undefined, sessionId, secretSessionId, isAdmin: false };
+}