DeepSeek Harness step-by-step tutorial, including 4 usage methods and essential plugins.
Today I'm sharing some tips and tricks for using DeepSeek Harness. DeepSeek Harness has really become popular lately, reaching 120,000 stars on GitHub in just a few days. However, since its release, the amount of content I see daily...
Today I'm sharing some tips on using DeepSeek Harness.
DeepSeek Harness has recently become quite popular, reaching 120,000 stars on GitHub in just a few days. However, since its release, articles have been saying that it can be started with a single command and that everything is a plugin. But after actually experiencing it, you'll find that these statements only describe the entry point.
DeepSeek Harness can be understood as a set of... AI A system for allocating tools and managing tasks. After integration,AI It can read and modify files, run computer commands, search web pages, split tasks, and call other functions. AI Working together. The entire system is...open sourceYes, developers can add, delete, or replace features as needed.
This article starts with installation and explains DeepSeek Harness configuration, four modes, and plugin usage.recommendPlugin.
Before installation, according to the official requirements, Node.js 22 series requires at least version 22.19.0, or you can use Node.js 24 or higher.
Option 1: Launch via npm, suitable for most users.
In PowerShell, enter the preparation to hand over AI Directory used:
cd "D:\你的项目目录"npx -y @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest web
After the command is started, open it in your browser:
http://127.0.0.1:3080
To shut down the service, return to PowerShell and press Ctrl+C. The next time you use it, rerun the startup command in the same directory.
This approach is suitable for most users. npx will temporarily retrieve DeepSeek Harness, eliminating the need to download the entire source code repository to your computer first.
Option 2: Install from source code, for use when developing plugins.
To read the source code, modify the program, or develop plugins, you can clone the official repository:
git clone https://github.com/deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness.gitcd deepseek-harnessnpm install -g pnpm@11.7.0pnpm installpnpm run buildpnpm dsh web
After updating the source code, reinstall the dependencies and build:
git pullpnpm installpnpm run buildpnpm dsh web
The source code will not runautomaticCheck if the front-end files have been rebuilt. If you missed running `pnpm run build` after pulling the new code, the browser may continue to display the old interface.
Option 3: Desktop installation, suitable for users who don't want to use the command line.
DSH Desktop integrates the official Harness web interface into a native desktop application. The installation package includes Electron, Node.js, pnpm, and fixed versions of DSH dependencies, so ordinary users do not need to configure a separate command-line environment.
Open the GitHub Releases page and download the installation package for your platform:
https://github.com/anywhere-labs/deepseek-harness-desktop
- Windows x64: Download the NSIS installer, double-click to run it, and follow the prompts to complete the installation.
- macOS (Apple chip): Download DMG, open it, and drag DSH Desktop into Applications.
First launch meetingautomaticCreate a default desktop profile and launch the official DSH web interface on your local machine. You can then use it via the desktop window and system tray; closing the window stops the service.
Option 4: Command-line TUI installation, suitable for users accustomed to terminal operation.
dsh-TUI is Claude This is a code-style full-screen terminal interface plugin. Prerequisites include a usable terminal (TTY) and pnpm 10+. Running the model also requires configuring DEEPSEEK_API_KEY.
Perform a global installation using PowerShell (the plugin includes direct access to the dsh-tui command):
npm install -g @deepseek-ai/dsh @deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui
Then prepare to hand over AI Startup using the directory:
cd "D:\你的项目目录"dsh-tui
First runautomaticInitialize the dsh-tui profile (pnpm required). Resume the last session using dsh-tui --resume, or press Ctrl+C twice in idle mode to exit. To use it again, run dsh-tui in the same directory.
After opening the web page, we need to enter a DeepSeek API.
To switch to a different model, go to Settings → Models, enter the API Key in the DeepSeek tab, and save. The model configuration will take effect with the next request; no service restart is required.
Click to select the workspace and add the preparations. AI The workspace is determined by selecting the directory to be processed. AI Which files are processed by default.
New sessions use workspace-write by default. In this mode...AI Files in the working directory and temporary directory can be modified; read, network, and process visibility are relatively lenient.
The official DeepSeek chat-completions route is currently processed as plain text. Custom visual models require declaring image input in `$DSH_HOME/settings.yaml`.
llm-pi-ai: providers: my-gateway: apiKeyEnv: GATEWAY_API_KEY api: openai-completions baseURL: https://gateway.example/v1 models: - id: vision-model input: [text, image]
This configuration only declares that the API supports images; it does not change the model itself. If the API does not actually support images, the request will still fail.
The Chinese interface offers standard mode, PTC mode, minimalist mode, and creative mode.
Standard mode
The standard mode includes file editing, shell, file search, web search, skills, plans, goals, sub-agents, and workflows. Regular users can keep the standard mode as the default for an extended period.
Standard models offer more tools and provide longer system specifications for the models. More assistance is available for complex tasks.SimpleSometimes the task involves taking a few extra steps.
PTC mode
The PTC mode retains the capabilities of the standard mode while delegating the tools to the Code Mode SDK. The model can continuously call the tools within a TypeScript program and then process the results uniformly.
When performing batch searches on dozens of files, reading multiple results, and compiling statistics, PTC mode may be more efficient in terms of rounds. For ordinary single-file modifications, there's no need to specifically switch to PTC.
Minimalist mode
The minimalist model retains only persistent Bash and str_replace_editor. It uses fewer tools and has a shorter initial context. The model may get into the task faster, but it may also fail to complete certain steps due to the lack of web search, planning, and sub-agents.
The minimalist mode is suitable for comparative tests under fixed conditions. For daily use, first determine if the task truly only requires command-line operations and text editing.
Creative Mode
Creative mode adds runtime checks, plug-in experiments, and other features to the standard mode. Agent Preset creation guide. Creative mode allows you to copy existing presets and then modify them using tools and...Prompt words。
Custom presets are usually saved in:
$DSH_HOME/.agent-presets/<预设ID>/
It can call plugins and Shell by default, and will check permissions like reviewing program code before modification.
I've seen some people say that the minimalist model is the best, but I want to say that the minimalist model doesn't make the model itself stronger; instead, it makes the model run in an extremely restricted environment.
No, online search, task planning, skills, sub-skills are gone. AgentFeatures such as context compression.
Plugins can add new features to DeepSeek Harness. Plugin sources include npm packages, GitHub repositories, compressed files, and local directories.
DeepSeek Harness currently does not have a unified official app store for review.
You can find plugins by searching for projects with the hashtag #dsh-plugin on GitHub.
Although the web application can be launched directly using npx, the official plugin command still calls pnpm to manage dependencies, so pnpm must be installed before installing the plugin:
npm install -g pnpm@11.7.0pnpm -v
Then check the current version:
pnpm dsh --version
If the plugin README explicitly requires rc.6, the rc.5 source code may not load at runtime.
Then you can install the plugin:
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add <包名或Git地址>
View installed items:
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web list --depth 0
Updates and removals:
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web update <包名>npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web remove <包名>
When running the source code, users should change the beginning of the command to pnpm dsh.
After installation, restart dsh web, then press Ctrl+Shift+R to hard refresh the browser.
Plugins don't need to be installed in large quantities at once. Regular users can install plugins based on their needs. (Memory, multiple) Agent andautomaticThe process may change the task context or execution method; familiarize yourself with the basic functions before installing.
recommendPlugin 1: dsh-at-file, which allows you to reference files in the input box.
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add https://github.com/omdsh-dev/dsh-at-file/archive/refs/tags/v0.6.0.tar.gz
Type @ to search for files or directories in your workspace, select them, and add the path to the message. The plugin will not include the entire file in the commit message.Prompt words，Agent It will read the corresponding path when needed.
recommendPlugin 2: Better Sidebar, adds a file, terminal, and Git panel.
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-better-sidebar@0.12.2
Better Sidebar offers a file tree, editor, document preview, embedded browser, terminal, Git diff, and background task panel. Users with many files who frequently view changes can reduce the need to switch between the browser and file manager.
recommendPlugin 3: ModLens, enabling plain text models to read images.
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add @liustack/modlens3.16.6
ModLens sends images to the selected visual provider, then passes the OCR, layout, and content descriptions to the text model. Error screenshots, design drafts, charts, and web page reference images can all be processed using this method.
recommendPlugin 4: dsh-memento, adds cross-session memory
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-memento
dsh-memento uses a local SQLite database to store memories and provides write approval, character limits, and audit logs. The default policy is to prompt the user for each write.
recommendPlugin 5: dsh-automation, runs independent tasks on a time-based basis.
npx -y --package @deepseek-ai/dsh@latest dsh plugin --profile web add github:titanwings/dsh-automation#v0.1.5
dsh-automation can create scheduled or one-time tasks. A new task will be created each time it is executed. Agent And sessions, and record workspaces, permissions, results, and errors.
DeepSeek Harness is currently a highly open system. Agent Tools. Model interfaces, tools, working modes, session logs, and user interfaces can all be recombined through plugins. Developers can therefore see... Agent What information was received at each step, and why was a certain tool called?
However, openness also brings additional work. Users need to handle Node.js, API keys, model fees, plugin versions, and permissions themselves. The Developer Preview updates very quickly; a community plugin that works today may need to be reconfigured tomorrow after an upgrade.
The DeepSeek Harness plugin may access files, networks, API keys, and processes. The more open the plugin, the more important it is to perform source checks, version fixing, and permission explanations before installation.
DeepSeek Harness grants developers significant modification permissions, which is why DeepSeek Harness, along with Codex,...Claude The main differences between Codex and Codex. Claude Code offers a more mature everyday product experience, while DeepSeek Harness is better suited for research and customization. Agent itself.
Users who are willing to spend the time configuring can understand more clearly. AI Whatever was done, it could also... Agent Change it to a style that better suits your work habits.
Original link:DeepSeek Harness: A step-by-step tutorial with 4 usage methods and essential plugins.