Foreword¶

In the DeepSeek Harness plugin ecosystem, many capabilities are integrated as plugins. A desktop window can also be a kind of plugin: DeepSeek Harness Desktop provides a native Electron desktop window to load the interface of the current dsh web profile.

It solves a specific problem for using the DSH desktop window: you don’t want to open dsh web via the browser every time and want a local window entry; at the same time, you want the window to load the real Web UI of the current profile, rather than building another frontend.

Below, I introduce its positioning, capabilities, installation methods, and daily usage.

Plugin Positioning¶

The GitHub path of this repository is:

https://github.com/Muelsysel/DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop

The maintainer is Muelsysel. The license is MIT.

It can be understood as a desktop window plugin in the DeepSeek Harness ecosystem: the plugin itself is responsible for opening a native Electron window, which loads the interface of the current dsh web profile. This way, capabilities originally available in the Web UI can be used directly in a local desktop window.

Core Features¶

Desktop Window Launch¶

It supports double-clicking to launch a native Electron desktop window and loading the real interface of the current dsh web profile.

When launching, a whale progress splash screen appears, and the handover is completed once the main window is ready. The official DeepSeek whale icon is used for the window, taskbar, shortcuts, etc.

Coordination with Web UI¶

In the Web UI, you can use /desktop to open or reuse the same backend window.

In other words, the desktop window is not an independent application detached from the dsh web backend, but used in conjunction with the current backend. The same backend window can be opened or reused to avoid launching multiple windows repeatedly.

Appearance and Link Behavior¶

The default is a white light theme, which can also be switched to the dark Codex skin.

External links will open in the system browser.

Launch Entry Points¶

It supports multiple launch entry points:

• Desktop shortcut
• Start menu
• Launch entry in installation directory
• Open via /desktop in Web UI

When DSH_DESKTOP_LAUNCH is not set, ordinary dsh web maintains browser-first behavior and does not automatically pop up the desktop window.

Installation and Enablement¶

Prerequisites¶

git clone, zip portable version, and manual installation all require Node.js:

Node.js >= 22.19

If using the git clone method, git must also be installed. It is recommended to clone the repository to a path without spaces.

Method 1: git clone¶

First, execute the following commands in the command line:

git clone https://github.com/Muelsysel/DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop.git
cd DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop
start.cmd

This step enters the repository and launches the bootstrap script. Once the window starts, you can use the desktop window directly within the interface of the current dsh web profile.

Method 2: Zip Portable Version¶

If using an already unpacked zip portable version, you can enter the extraction path and execute:

cd /d "<Extraction Path>" && start.cmd

This command launches the desktop window entry in the specified directory. For daily use afterwards, you can enter via desktop shortcut, start menu, or launch entry in the installation directory.

Method 3: setup.exe Installer¶

If using the setup.exe installer, you can launch from the desktop shortcut, start menu, or launch entry in the installation directory.

Private data for the installer is placed in:

%APPDATA%\DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop

It does not modify the profile under $DSH_HOME. The installer closes the backend when the window is closed.

Method 4: Manually register to an existing profile¶

If you want to register the plugin to an existing dsh web profile, you can first execute:

bin\install.cmd

This command registers the plugin to:

$DSH_HOME\profiles\web

Afterwards, you can use:

bin\dsh-desktop.cmd

to launch the desktop window.

If you need to separately build or recreate desktop shortcuts, you can use:

create-shortcut.cmd

If you need to remove the plugin from the profile, you can use:

bin\uninstall.cmd

Typical Usage¶

Daily Launch¶

After installation is complete, you can launch via the following methods:

• Desktop shortcut
• Start menu
• Launch entry in installation directory
• bin\dsh-desktop.cmd
• /desktop in Web UI

If using bin\dsh-desktop.cmd, you can additionally pass port parameters:

bin\dsh-desktop.cmd --port 3180

Fixed Port¶

The launcher defaults to using:

--port 0

which means the system assigns an available port to avoid conflicts with existing ports.

If a fixed port is needed, you can set the environment variable:

DSH_DESKTOP_PORT

You can also specify the port in the launch command:

bin\dsh-desktop.cmd --port 3180

Plugin Configuration¶

The plugin supports the following configuration items:

autoOpen
title
width
height
theme
electronArgs

Among them:

• autoOpen controls whether to open the window automatically at startup
• title controls the window title
• width and height control the initial window size
• theme can choose the default light style or the Codex dark skin
• electronArgs is used to pass additional arguments to Electron

Debug Logs¶

If you need to view debug logs, you can set:

DSH_DESKTOP_DEBUG=1

The logs are written to:

%TEMP%\dsh-desktop-debug.log

Applicable Scenarios and Notes¶

Suitable for these situations:

• You are already using DSH’s dsh web profile but want a local desktop window entry
• You want to retain the existing capabilities of the Web UI while opening it via a desktop window
• You want to quickly enter using a desktop shortcut, start menu, or the /desktop command
• You want to switch between the white light style and the dark Codex skin

A few points need attention:

• It will register to $DSH_HOME\profiles\web, affecting the plugin configuration of the current profile
• Installer private data is placed in %APPDATA%\DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop
• The plugin runs with the permissions of the current dsh process; check the source code and license before installing
• When DSH_DESKTOP_LAUNCH is not set, ordinary dsh web maintains browser-first behavior
• The port defaults to an available port assigned by the system; if a fixed port is needed, explicitly set DSH_DESKTOP_PORT or pass --port

Related Links¶

• GitHub: https://github.com/Muelsysel/DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop
• Community Directory Page: https://www.skillhub.cn/plugins/Muelsysel/DeepSeek-Harness-Desktop

The value of DeepSeek Harness Desktop lies in putting the DSH Web UI into a desktop window that can be opened directly by double-clicking. It does not reimplement a frontend but integrates into the current dsh web profile as a plugin, providing desktop shortcuts, start menu entries, the /desktop command, port parameters, and theme configuration.