Introduction

DeepSeek Harness (DSH) uses a plugin-based architecture. When dsh web is embedded in the VS Code sidebar through a community extension, the available width is extremely limited. Expanding the native sidebar can consume a large portion of the conversation area. This plugin aims to resolve this layout conflict by keeping the sidebar collapsed normally and displaying it as an overlay above the conversation when needed.

Plugin Overview

dsh-client-sidebar-overlay is a client plugin for the DSH Web interface. Its core function is to convert the sidebar into an on-demand overlay.

  • Maintainer: quei4r
  • License: MIT
  • Intended use: Designed specifically for narrow-width embedded environments; using the native persistent sidebar is usually more appropriate in full-width desktop browsers.

Core Features

The plugin provides the following interaction and adaptation capabilities:

  1. Whale switch: A whale icon appears in the session header (or as a floating button on the main interface). Clicking it opens the sidebar as an overlay. Clicking outside the overlay or clicking again closes it. While the overlay is expanded, the floating button is automatically hidden.
  2. Left/right toggle: A toggle button at the bottom of the sidebar allows changing the direction from which the overlay slides out (left or right).
  3. Fixed panel adaptation: The sidebar column uses transform positioning, fixing anchor issues for descendant panels with position:fixed (such as Cordis plugin panels).
  4. Select substitute: Native dropdowns are replaced with in-page popups to support clamping logic.
  5. Popup clamping: All role=menu/listbox/tooltip/dialog/alertdialog popups are intercepted to prevent them from extending beyond the left or right edges of the screen; they are automatically translated back into the visible area.

Installation and Enabling

The installation process requires manual file and configuration changes. The steps are as follows:

  1. Copy the plugin directory into the Web Profile’s node_modules:
    cp -r dsh-client-sidebar-overlay ~/.dsh/profiles/web/node_modules/
  1. Edit ~/.dsh/profiles/web/cordis.patch.yml and add the insertion item:
    - insert:
        - id: ui-sidebar-overlay
          name: dsh-client-sidebar-overlay
  1. Restart dsh web. The plugin is automatically mounted with the profile and does not require approval.

To verify that the configuration has taken effect (optional):

dsh --profile web --dump-config | grep ui-sidebar-overlay

Applicable Scenarios and Notes

  • Applicable scenarios: Use only in VS Code (or similar narrow-width embedded environments).
  • Version dependency: Depends on DSH 0.1.0-rc.7.
  • Compatibility risk: After a DSH upgrade, changes to the DOM structure or CSS modules may cause positioning to fail; the structural probes must be checked and adjusted.

The plugin runs with the permissions of the current DSH process. It is recommended to review the source code and license before installation.

Conclusion

By using the overlay mechanism, this plugin restores the full width of the conversation area within the limited embedded space. For more details and the source code, see the project directory or GitHub.