DeepSeek Harness Desktop packages the official DeepSeek Harness Web UI and runtime in a native desktop window. It starts and stops Harness automatically, so no separate Node.js installation or terminal command is required.

The macOS build uses Tauri and the system WKWebView instead of shipping another browser engine. The published v0.1.2 DMGs are 86.3 MB for Apple Silicon and 88.8 MB for Intel, about 42% smaller than this project's previous Electron DMGs while retaining the bundled Node sidecar and Harness runtime.

The Harness agent runtime is not forked, modified, or reimplemented here. This repository contains a lightweight Tauri host for macOS, an Electron host for Windows, packaging configuration, runtime verification, and release automation.

The desktop host skips the upstream internal-testing announcement before loading the Web UI. The model API key step remains available because it is functional setup, not a promotional notice.

[!IMPORTANT] This is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by DeepSeek AI. DeepSeek Harness is currently a developer preview and may introduce breaking changes.

Compact by design on macOS

Download size is one of this project's clearest advantages. Tauri lets the macOS app reuse WKWebView, which is already part of macOS, instead of bundling Chromium. The release build also removes source maps, type declarations, tests, documentation, and native binaries for unused platforms from the packaged runtime.

The result is visible in the published release assets. Sizes below use decimal MB and compare the same architecture and file type across two consecutive releases.

macOS installer	v0.1.1 Electron	v0.1.2 Tauri	Reduction
Apple Silicon DMG	147.8 MB	86.3 MB	41.6%
Intel DMG	152.6 MB	88.8 MB	41.8%

The ZIP downloads are 49.2% smaller on Apple Silicon and 49.3% smaller on Intel. These figures come directly from the published v0.1.1 and v0.1.2 assets.

The smaller download remains self-contained. Users still get the pinned Node sidecar, the official Harness runtime, native PTY and image modules, and automatic process management. CI enforces a 130 MB DMG budget and a 140 MB ZIP budget so future releases cannot silently give back the size reduction.

Download

Installers are available on the latest GitHub Release.

Platform	Architecture	Recommended file
macOS	Apple Silicon	mac-arm64.dmg
macOS	Intel	mac-x64.dmg
Windows 10/11	x64	win-x64.exe
Windows 10/11	x64 portable	win-x64.zip

Each release also includes ZIP archives and a SHA256SUMS.txt file for integrity verification.

Installation

macOS

1. Download the DMG for your Mac.
2. Drag DeepSeek Harness Desktop to Applications before opening it.
3. Launch the app from Applications.

Tagged macOS releases are hardened and ad-hoc signed by default. When Developer ID and notarization credentials are configured, the same workflow additionally signs, notarizes, and staples the app.

Windows

Download and run the x64 installer, or extract the portable ZIP. Windows SmartScreen may warn about the current unsigned build; confirm that the file came from this repository before continuing.

Getting started

1. Open Settings → Models.
2. Add your model provider and API key.
3. Add or select a workspace.
4. Start a new Harness session.

The desktop app uses the same ~/.dsh configuration and session data as the official CLI.

How it works

DeepSeek Harness Desktop
├── launches the packaged `dsh web` runtime
├── binds it to a random port on 127.0.0.1
├── acknowledges the pinned upstream welcome notice through the Harness API
├── uses Tauri + WKWebView on macOS and Electron on Windows
├── loads only the exact loopback origin in the desktop window
└── terminates the child process when the desktop app exits

Navigation is restricted to the local Harness origin and external HTTP(S) or mail links open in the system browser. The macOS Tauri host runs Harness in a dedicated process group so the runtime and its descendants are stopped together.

Updating

The desktop shell checks GitHub Releases for a newer version a few seconds after startup. The update UI stays hidden unless a newer release is available. When an update is found, it adds a compact row immediately above Settings in the Harness sidebar:

• No update – no desktop update control is shown.
• Update available – the row shows the new version with a blue download indicator; opening it shows the release date and release notes, with Download update (opens the release page in your browser) and Ignore this version (hides the row for that version).
• Check failed – no error control is added to the Harness sidebar; the scheduled check will run again while the app remains open.

The row follows the Harness sidebar's expanded and compact layouts, active language, light or dark theme, keyboard focus, and reduced-motion preference. Update surfaces stay below Harness modal dialogs so they do not interrupt Settings or other product flows.

The check runs again every 6 hours while the app stays open. This is a community project with ad-hoc signed builds, so updates are downloaded manually from the release page rather than installed in place.

Development

Node.js 22.19 or newer is required.

git clone https://github.com/chokwinlee/deepseek-harness-desktop.git
cd deepseek-harness-desktop
npm ci
npm test
npm start

Build an unpacked application for the current platform:

npm run pack
npm run verify:packaged

Build a macOS Tauri release for the current architecture with npm run build:mac; build the Windows Electron release with npm run dist. The application currently pins @deepseek-ai/dsh@0.1.0-rc.6; dependency upgrades require a packaged-runtime smoke test and a real desktop launch before release.

Developer ID signing is optional. To enable it, configure these GitHub Actions secrets: APPLE_CERTIFICATE (base64-encoded Developer ID Application .p12), APPLE_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD, KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD, APPLE_ID, APPLE_PASSWORD (an app-specific password), and APPLE_TEAM_ID. Without them, the release uses ad-hoc signing, matching the earlier unsigned release behavior.

Release verification

Every tagged release is built on GitHub-hosted macOS Intel, macOS Apple Silicon, and Windows x64 runners. The workflow:

1. installs dependencies from package-lock.json;
2. runs the test suite;
3. builds Tauri artifacts on macOS and Electron artifacts on Windows;
4. exercises the packaged native PTY and image modules;
5. starts the packaged runtime, checks its real HTTP UI, and verifies clean shutdown;
6. enforces platform-specific installer size budgets;
7. verifies the macOS code signature, plus notarization when credentials exist; and
8. publishes SHA-256 checksums with the release assets.

Contributing

Bug reports and focused improvements are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. For security issues, follow SECURITY.md instead of opening a public issue.

License

The desktop host is licensed under the MIT License. DeepSeek Harness and bundled third-party software retain their respective licenses; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.