Preface

If you typically start the DeepSeek Harness Web UI on Windows, you usually need to first open the terminal, execute dsh web, and then switch to the corresponding tab in the browser. The dsh-whale-desktop-launcher solves specific steps in this process: moving the entry point to the desktop, opening the Web UI in app mode, and reducing interference from the terminal window, tabs, and browser toolbars.

In DSH’s plugin architecture, this plugin belongs to the Windows desktop launcher provided by the community; it is not a complete application nor an official DeepSeek AI product.

What is this

dsh-whale-desktop-launcher is a Windows desktop launcher plugin for DeepSeek Harness, maintained by HUITianYi. It creates a DeepSeek Harness.exe with a whale icon on the desktop and opens the DSH Web UI in an application mode window of Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

The runtime environment requirements are as follows:

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11
  • DeepSeek Harness with a web profile
  • Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome
  • Node.js 22.19 or later

Core Features

The following lists the capabilities confirmed to be provided by this plugin.

  • Create DeepSeek Harness.exe with an icon on the desktop
  • Click to launch or reconnect dsh web without opening a terminal window
  • Start the local DSH Web service in the background when needed
  • Provide a compact desktop-style window using Chromium --app mode
  • Open the UI in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome app mode, without tabs, address bar, or standard browser toolbars
  • Built-in whale PNG and multi-resolution ICO icons
  • Capture the current DSH executable, arguments, and working directory upon plugin activation, so both npm and source code checkouts are usable
  • Reuse existing health servers; it will fail noticeably if another service occupies the configuration port
  • Installer refuses to overwrite unrelated desktop executables
  • No preinstall, install, postinstall, or prepare lifecycle scripts are run during package installation

Installation and Activation

  1. Install the plugin to the web profile:
dsh plugin --profile web add github:HUITianYi/dsh-whale-desktop-launcher#v0.1.0
  1. Restart dsh web once after installation. The plugin writes local configuration and creates the file on the desktop when activated:
Desktop\DeepSeek Harness.exe
  1. For subsequent launches, simply double-click DeepSeek Harness.exe on the desktop.

When installing from GitHub, precompiled executables are committed to assets/, so no additional build script approval is needed.

Typical Usage

Daily usage can be divided into two categories: launching and cleaning up.

Launch DSH Web UI:

Double-click Desktop\DeepSeek Harness.exe

For restarts or reconnections, you can also continue to click DeepSeek Harness.exe on the desktop.

Uninstall DSH bundle:

dsh plugin --profile web remove dsh-whale-desktop-launcher

The plugin does not delete user-visible files upon uninstallation. To clean up completely, you need to manually remove these files:

%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\DeepSeek Harness.exe
%USERPROFILE%\.dsh\whale-desktop-launcher\

If you also want to use the maid-atelier plugin from the related dsh-deep-whale skin, you can install and use it according to its own license and attribution requirements.

Applicable Scenarios and Notes

Scenarios suitable for this type of plugin are quite clear: you are using DeepSeek Harness with a web profile on Windows 10 or Windows 11, want to launch the Web UI with a desktop icon, and prefer a compact app mode window.

It is recommended to confirm the following points before use:

  • It is a community project, not an official DeepSeek AI product
  • Source code license is MIT
  • Whale image license is CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, non-commercial use only
  • The plugin activates in the current dsh environment and captures the current DSH executable, arguments, and working directory
  • Since it runs with the current dsh process permissions, you should check the plugin source, source code, and license before installing

Conclusion

The value of dsh-whale-desktop-launcher lies not in extending DSH’s inference capabilities, but in making the process of launching the DSH Web UI on Windows more direct: desktop icon, app mode window, no terminal, and on-demand reconnection of the local service.

Related Links:

  • GitHub: https://github.com/HUITianYi/dsh-whale-desktop-launcher
  • Community directory link (not independently verified): https://www.skillhub.cn/plugins/HUITianYi/dsh-whale-desktop-launcher