Introduction

The default unified interface background for the DeepSeek Harness (DSH) desktop application can become monotonous after prolonged use. Given that DSH is built on the philosophy that “everything is a plugin,” customizing the appearance does not require modifying the main program; simply installing a plugin will solve the issue.

The plugin introduced below is exactly that: dsh-wallpaper by author keke050, licensed under MIT. Its function is to set a custom background wallpaper for the DeepSeek Harness desktop application. It supports three sources: presets, image URLs, and local uploads, and provides an opacity slider to control the display intensity of the wallpaper.

What is it

dsh-wallpaper is a DSH plugin, currently version 0.1.0, with a client platform of web (you need to specify --profile web during installation). It solves the problem of allowing the desktop application’s background to be customizable and enables the wallpaper to display through the conversation area, rather than just staying in the sidebar.

The plugin is divided into a Host side and a Client side. Understanding this split is fundamental to grasping how it functions, which will be explained separately later.

Core Features

According to the README description, the plugin provides the following capabilities:

  • Preset Wallpapers: Includes 6 built-in gradient wallpapers (aurora, ocean, sunset, forest, night, sakura), as well as a “none” (no wallpaper) option.
  • Image URL: Paste any http(s) image address as the wallpaper.
  • Local Upload: Select local PNG / JPG / GIF / WebP images, with a maximum size of 10MB. Images are stored on the Host side and persist after a restart.
  • Opacity Slider: Ranges from 0% (hidden) to 100% (dominant display). When pulled to 100%, the base background, cards, and even message bubbles become semi-transparent, allowing the wallpaper to fill the entire window.
  • Persistence: Configuration and uploaded images are stored in $DSH_HOME/storages/wallpaper/ and are provided via the stable /dsh-wallpaper/image path. Data will not be lost even if the desktop application rebinds a random loopback port upon restart.

Installation and Enablement

The installation command is as follows. Note the --profile web parameter, as the plugin’s client platform is web:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:keke050/dsh-wallpaper

After installation, restart DeepSeek Harness, then open Settings → Wallpaper to see the settings interface.

The plugin’s peerDependencies are @deepseek-ai/cordis ^4.0.1 and react ^18.2.0, which you can refer to if you are developing it yourself or troubleshooting dependency issues.

Typical Usage

After entering the settings interface, follow the steps below:

  1. Select a preset gradient, paste an image URL, or upload a local image.
  2. Drag the opacity slider to adjust the wallpaper’s visibility—the higher the value, the more prominent the wallpaper. To make the wallpaper fill the entire window, pull it to 100%; at this point, the base background, cards, and message bubbles will all become semi-transparent.
  3. To restore the default background, simply click Remove wallpaper.

The three sources (presets, URL, upload) can be switched at any time. Combined with the slider adjustment, you can find a suitable display effect in just a few minutes.

Implementation Details

Understanding the internal structure of the plugin helps determine how it works and where the data goes.

The Host side registers three loopback HTTP routes, responsible for configuration, upload, and image reading respectively:

  • /dsh-wallpaper/config
  • /dsh-wallpaper/upload
  • /dsh-wallpaper/image

Wallpaper data is persisted in the $DSH_HOME/storages/wallpaper/ directory. Since images are served via the stable /dsh-wallpaper/image path, even if the desktop application rebinds a random loopback port after a restart, the uploaded wallpapers and configuration will not become invalid.

The Client side is responsible for rendering the settings block and injecting CSS to place the wallpaper on the body. It works by overriding two classes of design tokens, --dsw-alias-bg-* and --dsw-specific-*, making the application’s original background surfaces semi-transparent. This is exactly why the wallpaper can display through the conversation area (rather than just the sidebar).

Applicable Scenarios and Notes

This plugin is suitable for developers who use the DeepSeek Harness desktop client long-term and wish for the interface to better suit their personal preferences. It only modifies the appearance layer and does not involve conversation logic or data processing, making it a typical “cosmetic” plugin.

There are a few points to note before installation:

  1. The plugin runs with the permissions of the current dsh process. It is recommended to check the source code and license before installing third-party plugins. The source code for dsh-wallpaper is public on GitHub and is licensed under MIT.
  2. Image uploads support four formats: PNG / JPG / GIF / WebP, with a size limit of 10MB. Exceeding this limit will result in rejection.
  3. The plugin requires the --profile web environment; do not forget this parameter during installation.

Conclusion

dsh-wallpaper does one simple thing: allows you to customize the background of the DeepSeek Harness desktop application. With three wallpaper sources, one opacity slider, and reliable persistence, it is functional yet restrained. If you work with this interface every day, spending two minutes to change the background is a worthwhile investment.

  • Plugin Directory Page: https://www.skillhub.cn/plugins/keke050/dsh-wallpaper
  • GitHub Repository: https://github.com/keke050/dsh-wallpaper