🐳 DeepSeek Harness for Windows

The Windows desktop client for DeepSeek Harness — no Node.js / npm / server setup required. Double-click and go.

_{English · 中文}

⚠️ Platform note: Windows only

This client supports Windows 10/11 (x64) only - it does not run on macOS / Linux.

💡 For Mac users: the official DSH itself is cross-platform - run npx dsh web in a terminal and open http://127.0.0.1:3080 in a browser for the same experience.

What is this?

The official DeepSeek Harness ships as a browser Web UI and a CLI. This project is its Windows desktop edition: the same DSH, wrapped in a native Windows window with the whole runtime (Node + DSH server + UI) bundled together, ready out of the box.

Puts the DeepSeek Harness local Web UI into a native Windows window, bundled with the whole runtime (Node + DSH server + UI) in one package:

• For end users: download → double-click → add your API key → start chatting. No terminal required.
• For the agent: the companion @lqing2018/dsh-desktop-client plugin lets the harness agent locate and launch the desktop client for you.

Features

Feature	Description
⚡ Zero setup	Node runtime, server and UI ship together — no Node.js / npm / services to install
📦 Two flavors	Single-file installer (recommended) or portable ZIP (USB-friendly)
🔧 Self-managed server	Client starts a hidden background server automatically; port conflicts handled
🐳 Native window	WebView2 engine + whale icon, no browser chrome
🤖 Companion plugin	Agent can check / launch the client via the desktop_client tool

Quick start (2 minutes)

Option A: Single-file installer (recommended)

1. Open Releases and download DeepSeek-Harness-Setup.exe
2. Double-click it — it extracts to %LOCALAPPDATA%\DeepSeek-Harness-Portable and launches the client
3. First launch initializes the local server (30–60 s, that's normal) — please wait
4. Click Settings (gear) → Models in the top-right and add your model API key (e.g. DeepSeek API)
5. 🎉 Start chatting. Every later launch is instant.

Option B: Portable ZIP (USB / no install)

1. Download DeepSeek-Harness-Portable.zip
2. Unzip anywhere (USB drive works)
3. Run DeepSeek Harness.exe inside the folder — same steps as above

Requirements: Windows 10 / 11 (x64) with the WebView2 Runtime (bundled with Edge / Win11; install here if missing)

First-run walkthrough

1. Download — see Quick start above
2. Launch — a whale-icon window appears; the first start initializes the local server (the window shows up by itself after a short wait)
3. Add your API key — Settings (gear icon) → Models, add a model and paste your key (DeepSeek, OpenAI-compatible, etc.)
4. Chat — type in the input box. Long-running tasks keep running in the background; multiple sessions are supported

Detailed step-by-step guide: User Guide

Daily usage

Action	How
Open the client	Desktop shortcut, or DeepSeek Harness.exe in the install folder
Close the window	Click ✕ — the server keeps running (background tasks aren't interrupted)
Stop the server	Double-click stop-server.cmd in the install folder (only kills the server the client spawned)
Change port	Create client.json in the install folder: {"port": 1234}
Where is my data	Sessions live in dsh-home\sessions; API keys in dsh-home (don't share the folder)
Move / backup	Copy the whole folder; after moving, delete dsh-home once and it rebuilds automatically

Companion plugin

Let the DeepSeek Harness agent operate the desktop client (check / launch / auto-install / update):

dsh plugin --profile web add @lqing2018/dsh-desktop-client

Then just ask:

You say	What the agent does
"Is the desktop client installed?"	status: check install + server port
"Open the desktop client"	launch: open the client window
"Install the desktop client for me" ⭐	install: download the latest release and install silently - zero manual steps
"Is there a new version?"	version: compare local vs latest GitHub release
"Update the desktop client"	update: upgrade to the latest release

On blocked networks install fails gracefully and returns the manual download URL.

Prefer no npm plugin? A filesystem Skill form is also available:

git clone https://github.com/LQing2018/dsh-desktop-client.git
Copy-Item -Recurse dsh-desktop-client\skills\dsh-desktop-client "$env:USERPROFILE\.dsh\skills\"

Then say "use the dsh-desktop-client skill" in a DSH conversation.

FAQ

Problem	Solution
Nothing happens / white screen	Make sure WebView2 Runtime is installed; retry after disabling antivirus interception
First launch is slow	Normal — first boot initializes the local server (30–60 s); later launches are instant
Port already in use	Change it via client.json (see Daily usage)
Fails after moving the folder	Delete the dsh-home folder once; it rebuilds on next launch
Forgot API key / switch account	Re-enter it in Settings → Models
How to upgrade	with the plugin: just say "update the desktop client"; or re-run the Setup installer (overwrites in place)
How to fully uninstall	See below

Uninstall

• Installer edition: delete the whole %LOCALAPPDATA%\DeepSeek-Harness-Portable folder
• Portable edition: delete the whole unzipped folder
• Plugin: dsh plugin --profile web remove @lqing2018/dsh-desktop-client

Docs

Doc	Content
User Guide	Install, configure, daily use, troubleshooting
用户指南	中文详细图文指南
PUBLISH.md	Maintainers: release flow (npm / GitHub / plugin marketplace)

Development

# Build the portable client folder from a local DeepSeek Harness install
.\scripts\build-portable.ps1 -Source D:\path\to\deepseek-harness -OutDir .\dist

• plugin/dsh-desktop-client/ — npm plugin source (pure ESM, zero build)
• scripts/build-portable.ps1 — portable-folder build script
• The WebView2 client (C#) sources are tracked in the dist/ artifacts and the client plan doc

Relationship to the official project

Built on deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness, which provides the core agent capabilities, plugin system and Web UI. This project adds the Windows desktop shell (window, local server hosting, no-install packaging) and the companion client-management plugin.

Star History

License

MIT