Preface¶

DeepSeek Harness (dsh) treats model adaptation, tools, sessions, loops and interfaces as replaceable plugins, with the official slogan “Everything is a Plugin”. During the developer preview period, many users first run dsh web to view the smart agent modifying files and running commands in the browser. If you have installed DSH-better-sidebar, the sidebar can act as a file workbench: file explorer, editor, image/Markdown/PDF preview are all in the same area.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office documents are different. Smart agents often generate .docx, .xlsx, .pptx files, but the browser will only treat them as binary downloads by default. Previously, better-sidebar built three rendering libraries into the client, which made the package size extremely bloated. Starting from version 0.6.0, these three previews were split out. When not installed, users can only fall back to code viewing or downloading. To open Office files directly in the sidebar, you need to install a separate plugin: dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office.

This article is organized after cross-checking with the community plugin directory page, the plugin’s GitHub repository (README, package.json, LICENSE, cordis.patch.yml) and the documentation of DSH-better-sidebar: what it is, which layer it should be installed on, how to use it, and version and license related precautions. The community directory deepseek-harness-plugin.com is an independent site, not the official app store of DeepSeek / Huanfang.

What is this¶

dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office is a UI enhancement plugin for dsh web, maintained by HuanLinOTO, with the GitHub repository at HuanLinOTO/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office. The npm package name is @huanlin/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office, and the current version in package.json is 0.1.0. It is also written as dsh-better-sidebar-plugin-office in the repository README.

It only does one thing: register three file viewers for the editor of better-sidebar via ctx.betterSidebar.registerFileViewer, corresponding to .docx, .xlsx and .pptx respectively. The Office rendering libraries are placed in a separate client bundle, and better-sidebar itself no longer includes these dependencies inline. The GitHub repository was created on 2026-08-12, with the latest push on 2026-08-15; on the day this article was checked, the GitHub API showed 18 stars, while the community directory page still showed 8 stars, please refer to the repository page for the accurate star count.

The license shall prevail based on the original materials in the repository: the license field in package.json is AGPL-3.0, and the LICENSE file is the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3 (the copyright line states Copyright (C) 2026 Huanlin). The SPDX identifiers on GitHub and the community directory show NOASSERTION, which means the license was not automatically detected and should not be treated as “no license”. Please read the AGPL-3.0 terms yourself before installation.

Core Features¶

Why split it from the main bundle¶

The background given in the repository README is specific: better-sidebar used to have these three viewers built-in, but docx-preview, Univer (plus SheetJS) and pptx-renderer would bloat the client bundle to about 23MB. After being split into an independent plugin, the main bundle no longer includes Office rendering libraries inline. The comparison stated in the README is that the total size dropped from about 5.9MB to about 2.2MB after compression. Users who do not need to preview Office files can skip installation; those who need it can add this layer separately.

The documentation of DSH-better-sidebar also confirms this: the three Office document previews have been moved to “Recommended Plugins”. When not installed, such files will fall back to code viewing or downloading. You can see the recommended directory and one-click copy installation command in the “Add Plugin” popup in the settings page.

Three Viewers¶

The IDs registered by the plugin are consistent with the original built-in names, and the descriptor shape is also kept the same (mediaUrl strategy, priority 0, title/icon). Therefore, the extension matching will still take precedence over the binary-download/code fallback, and switches for these three viewers will automatically appear in the Side Card settings page. If loading or rendering fails, it will fall back to the “Download View” link. The client component comes with Chinese/English locales and CSS, and does not rely on the internal implementation of the better-sidebar client.

The capabilities corresponding to the three viewers are based on the original text in the README:
- docx: Handles .docx files, uses docx-preview for faithful rendering, covering styles, images and tables, and supports zooming with Alt + scroll wheel.
- xlsx: Handles .xlsx files, uses Univer sheets preset to display data, formulas, merged cells, column widths and row heights.
- pptx: Handles .pptx files, uses @aiden0z/pptx-renderer for native browser preview with page turning navigation.

The repository does not declare support for older formats such as .doc/.xls/.ppt, nor does it provide editable full Excel functionality via table preview. Do not infer editing, macro or older binary format support based on “it can open Office files”.

package.json lists dsh-better-sidebar as a peerDependency of ^0.6.0, and the README is more explicit: better-sidebar >= 0.6.0 is required (the version that has removed the built-in Office viewers). Older versions will cause registration conflicts with the built-in docx/xlsx/pptx viewers and throw an already registered error.

This is a web-side plugin. The dsh.client.platform field in package.json is web, and it declares a dependency on @deepseek-ai/dsh-client-runtime; the plugin ID inserted in cordis.patch.yml is dsh-better-sidebar-plugin-office. The engines.node field requires >=20. It cannot replace better-sidebar itself, nor is it a viewer for headless profiles.

Installation and Activation¶

First confirm that your current environment can run dsh web, and that DSH-better-sidebar (>= 0.6.0) has been installed and enabled. The installation command for the main plugin from the community directory is:

dsh plugin add github:omdsh-dev/DSH-better-sidebar

For installing this plugin, please refer to the original text on the community directory page:

dsh plugin add github:HuanLinOTO/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office

The dsh CLI will parse the plugin from GitHub and install it into the current configuration. For reproducible installations, the directory page provides the method of pinning the commit hash:

dsh plugin add github:HuanLinOTO/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office#commit

Replace the commit at the end with the actual hash value. Do not construct the repository address using the plugin name yourself.

The repository README also recommends installing from npm to the web profile (the command given on the dshfind page is the same):

dsh plugin --profile web add @huanlin/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office

Replace the profile name after --profile with the one you are using. For local development, you can use link: to point to the source code directory for hot reloading. The sample path in the README is the maintainer’s local machine path and cannot be copied directly.

After installation, follow the two steps in the README: restart the dsh web process, then hard refresh the browser (Ctrl+Shift+R). If you only install the plugin without restarting or refreshing, the viewers will not appear in the sidebar.

The community directory has a fixed reminder: the plugin runs with the permissions of the current dsh process, and may execute code during installation. Please check the source code repository and license before installation.

Typical Usage¶

After installation and hard refresh, no additional routing configuration is needed. Just follow the steps in the README:
1. Open the sidebar, click any .docx/.xlsx/.pptx file in the file explorer, and the corresponding viewer will be automatically matched based on the extension name.
2. Open the Side Card settings page, you will see three cards docx/xlsx/pptx in the “File Preview” list, which can be enabled or disabled individually.
3. When a file fails to render, the interface will fall back to the “Download View” link, allowing you to get the file locally and open it with desktop Office.

You can use Alt + scroll wheel to zoom in the Word preview; the PPT preview comes with page turning controls. The spreadsheet view can display formulas, merged cells and row/column dimensions. The specific rendering fidelity is subject to the Univer sheets preset, and the repository does not provide comparison screenshots or a compatibility matrix.

If you entered via the “Add Plugin” popup in the better-sidebar settings page, copying the command will have the same effect: you are still installing this Office preview plugin, not modifying the better-sidebar source code.

Applicable Scenarios and Notes¶

It is suitable for users who are already using dsh web + better-sidebar >= 0.6.0 and often need to view Word/Excel/PPT files generated by smart agents next to the chat window. When you do not need Office previews, you can keep the slimmed-down better-sidebar without installing this plugin.

Before using, please note these verified boundaries:
- Depends on better-sidebar >= 0.6.0. Older versions will cause registration conflicts.
- Only covers .docx/.xlsx/.pptx files. No commitment is made for older formats, password-protected documents, macros, complex SmartArt, etc.
- The running platform is the web client. Installing it on headless or pure terminal workflows will not add a previewer in the browser.
- Requires Node.js >= 20.
- The license is AGPL-3.0. The community directory’s statement “can be installed and used for free” refers to open source availability, and does not mean you can ignore the copyleft obligations; when redistributing modified versions or providing modified versions over the network, please verify the AGPL terms yourself.
- The plugin runs with the same permissions as the current dsh process. Read the source code and LICENSE before installation. For reproducible environments, pin the commit hash, do not install it solely based on the directory page’s introduction.

DeepSeek Harness itself is still in developer preview, and core plugins and APIs are subject to change. This plugin repository was created in August 2026, with version 0.1.0. The interface or bundle size figures are subject to the README at that time. For subsequent updates, please return to the repository for verification.

Summary¶

dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office splits the Office three-document preview from the better-sidebar main bundle into an independent web plugin: install it when needed, and keep the sidebar with a smaller client bundle when not needed. After installing better-sidebar >= 0.6.0, add it to the web profile using the directory page command or the npm package, restart and hard refresh, and you can directly open .docx/.xlsx/.pptx files in the file tree.

Community Directory: https://deepseek-harness-plugin.com/zh-CN/plugins/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office/

GitHub: https://github.com/HuanLinOTO/dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office

Use dsh-plugin-better-sidebar-plugin-office to add Office three-piece preview for better-sidebar