What it does

DeepSeek Harness Desktop packages the official DeepSeek Harness Web UI inside an Electron window and includes its own Node.js runtime. A Windows user can install and launch it like a regular desktop application without installing developer tools or opening a terminal.

• One-click, per-user Windows installer
• Native desktop window with the DeepSeek Harness Web UI
• Bundled Node.js runtime and required dependencies
• Desktop and Start menu shortcuts
• Local service bound to 127.0.0.1 on an available random port
• Clean process shutdown and uninstall handling
• Local conversations, configuration, and logs under %APPDATA%\DeepSeekHarness

Screenshots

Startup

API key setup

Workspace

Download and install

1. Download DeepSeekHarness-Setup-1.0.0.exe.
2. Double-click the installer. No administrator permission is required.
3. If Windows SmartScreen appears, choose More info → Run anyway. Version 1.0.0 is not code-signed.
4. Wait for the app to launch. The first startup may take 10–30 seconds.
5. Add your own DeepSeek API key when prompted.

The installer SHA-256 is published in SHA256SUMS.txt and alongside the GitHub Release.

Build from source

Requirements: Windows 10/11, Node.js 18 or later, npm, and PowerShell.

git clone https://github.com/kalimustafa/deepseek-harness-desktop.git
cd deepseek-harness-desktop
.\build-exe.ps1

The build script installs locked dependencies, copies the local Node executable into the application runtime, removes binaries for other platforms, and creates:

release\DeepSeekHarness-Setup-1.0.0.exe

To use npm and Electron mirrors in mainland China:

$env:DSH_USE_CHINA_MIRRORS = "1"
.\build-exe.ps1

Development

npm ci
npm start

Run the packaged install/smoke/uninstall test after building:

.\scripts\e2e-test.ps1

Data and privacy

• The app requires an internet connection to call the model provider.
• Your API key is not included in this repository or installer.
• Local app data is stored in %APPDATA%\DeepSeekHarness.
• The embedded web service listens only on the local loopback interface.

License and attribution

The desktop-wrapper source in this repository is released under the MIT License. DeepSeek Harness is a separate upstream MIT-licensed project; its code and packaged dependencies remain subject to their respective licenses. See Third-Party Notices.