DeepSeek Harness Desktop

A minimal, local-first, cross-platform desktop shell for DeepSeek Harness.

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DeepSeek Harness Desktop packages the official DeepSeek Harness Web experience as a standalone desktop application. It removes the need to start the CLI manually or manage local ports while preserving the full Harness interface.

This project focuses on desktop hosting. It does not fork, modify, inject into, or reimplement the Harness UI. Models, sessions, settings, plugins, and agent capabilities remain provided by the official @deepseek-ai/dsh package.

Download

Platform	Architecture	Package	Download
macOS	Apple Silicon	DMG	Download for Apple Silicon
macOS	Intel	DMG	Download for Intel Mac
Windows	x64	Setup installer	Download Windows installer
Windows	x64	Portable ZIP	Download Windows ZIP
Linux	x64	AppImage	Download AppImage
Debian / Ubuntu	x64	deb	Download deb

All current and historical packages are available on the GitHub Releases page, and you can also download from the Quark Drive mirror: Quark Drive - DeepSeek Harness Desktop v0.3.1

Why this project exists

DeepSeek Harness already provides the complete agent runtime and Web UI. This project supplies the host capabilities required for a desktop product:

• Start and stop the local Harness service automatically
• Allocate a random 127.0.0.1 loopback port
• Wait for Harness readiness before displaying the window
• Provide a single-instance desktop window and safe external navigation
• Enable sandboxing, contextIsolation, and navigation restrictions
• Package installable releases for macOS, Windows, and Linux

Features

• Opens the official Harness interface as soon as the local service is ready
• Shows a lightweight loading screen while the local Harness service starts
• Includes Settings → Plugin Market, powered by dsh-market and the curated awesome-dsh-plugin catalog
• Bundles pnpm so catalog plugins can be installed, updated, and removed without a separate Node.js toolchain
• Keeps running in the system tray when the main window is closed
• Opens the active local Harness URL in the system browser from the tray menu
• Preserves the complete settings, models, sessions, plugins, and agent experience
• Gracefully terminates the Harness child process on application exit
• Listens only on a random local loopback port
• Supports macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel
• Blends the macOS title bar with the active DSH light or dark theme
• Provides a Windows x64 installer and portable ZIP
• Provides Linux x64 AppImage and deb packages
• Uses the official in-app directory browser on Windows to avoid packaged native-dialog worker failures
• Reserves a draggable Windows title bar so native window controls do not cover Harness content
• Removes the default Electron File, Edit, View, and Window menu bar on Windows

Plugin market

Open Settings → Plugin Market to browse and search the community catalog, inspect plugin sources, and install, update, disable, or remove plugins. The catalog is fetched live from awesome-dsh-plugin.com, while package changes use the official dsh plugin --profile web workflow and remain in your local DSH profile.

The desktop package includes dshmarket@1.40.0 and a compatible pnpm runtime. Market-triggered process restart is disabled because application lifecycle remains owned by the desktop host; refresh the page or restart DeepSeek Harness Desktop when a plugin indicates that a restart is required.

SSH and remote operations

For optional SSH access, search for dsh-ssh-ops in Settings → Plugin Market. It provides SSH terminals, SFTP, port forwarding, batch commands, and database connections. The plugin has been verified to load with the DSH version bundled by this project.

SSH access is not enabled or installed by default because it handles remote credentials and can execute commands on other machines. Review the plugin source and requested permissions, install it only when needed, then restart DeepSeek Harness Desktop after installation.

Installation

macOS

The macOS builds are integrity-signed but are not Apple-notarized. On first launch:

1. Open the DMG and drag DeepSeek Harness into Applications.
2. Try to open the app; if macOS blocks it, click Done.
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
4. Find DeepSeek Harness in the Security section and click Open Anyway.
5. Confirm by clicking Open once more.

This confirmation is normally required only once.

Windows

The Windows installer is not commercially code-signed. If Microsoft Defender SmartScreen appears:

1. Click More info.
2. Click Run anyway.
3. Complete the setup wizard.

Linux

• AppImage: run chmod +x DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop-*.AppImage, then launch it directly.
• Debian / Ubuntu: open the deb with the system software installer, or run sudo apt install ./DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop-*.deb.

Security model

• Harness binds only to 127.0.0.1 on a random port
• Node.js integration is disabled in the renderer
• contextIsolation and the Chromium sandbox are enabled
• New windows and cross-origin navigation open in the system browser
• Harness runs in a separate Electron Node child process
• The --expose-internals permission required by Cordis HMR is granted only to the Harness child process
• Plugin Market mutation endpoints require same-origin requests, and install sources are restricted to the curated catalog
• Third-party plugins still execute with the current user's permissions after installation

Runtime architecture

DeepSeek Harness Desktop
├── Electron Main
│   ├── Single-instance window
│   ├── Harness child-process lifecycle
│   ├── Random loopback port and readiness checks
│   └── Platform menu and external-link handling
│
├── Harness Child Process
│   └── @deepseek-ai/dsh web
│       └── http://127.0.0.1:<random-port>
│
└── Sandboxed BrowserWindow
    └── DeepSeek Harness Web UI

Validation status

Platform	Packaging	Packaged startup	Web UI
macOS Apple Silicon	DMG / ZIP passed	Passed	HTTP 200
macOS Intel	DMG / ZIP passed	Passed	HTTP 200
Windows x64	NSIS / ZIP passed	Passed	HTTP 200
Linux x64	AppImage / deb passed	Passed	HTTP 200

Every release package is built on a matching GitHub-hosted runner and runs a packaged-app smoke test before publication.

Known limitations

• Upstream DSH is still an RC release and may change rapidly
• Apple Developer ID signing and notarization are not integrated
• Commercial Windows code signing is not integrated, so SmartScreen may appear
• Windows ARM64 and Linux ARM64 packages are not currently provided
• Automatic updates are not integrated

Upstream version and license

The project currently pins @deepseek-ai/dsh@0.1.1-rc.2 for reproducible packaging.

The desktop wrapper is available under the MIT License. The bundled DeepSeek Harness, dsh-market, and pnpm packages are also MIT-licensed; their notices are preserved under third-party-licenses.

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by DeepSeek. DeepSeek Harness and related names belong to their respective owners. The application icon uses the black whale artwork from the upstream DeepSeek Harness Web favicon.