Introduction

The DeepSeek Harness (DSH) plugin ecosystem emphasizes modularity and capability extension. During development or use, it is often necessary to reference local files in a conversation or inspect a project’s directory structure. fexp-file-explorer is a dynamic Cordis plugin that integrates file browsing into the left-side workspace of DSH. It provides a standalone file management panel, making it convenient to operate on the file system directly within the conversation flow.

Core Features

The plugin provides file access through a dual-entry design:
* Dual entry: A “File Browser” capsule button at the top of the sidebar, and an “Open Directory” button in the session title bar.
* Browsing panel: Clicking either entry slides out a 320px panel, automatically positioned at the current workspace directory (cwd). The panel supports directory/file switching, breadcrumb navigation, and toolbar actions (go up one level, go to root, refresh).
* File preview: Click a file to preview its text content at the bottom of the panel. Previews have a size limit: the default cap is 256KB, the maximum is 1MB, and exceeding the limit produces the error FS_TOO_LARGE.
* System integration: Supports opening the current directory in the system file explorer and adding file references to the chat input box (using DSH @ command syntax).
* Technical features: Since v1.5.0, this is a static bundle plugin that is automatically loaded with the profile layer stack. It supports both light and dark themes and uses CSS variables for adaptation.

Installation and Activation

Before installing, make sure @deepseek-ai/cordis (^4.0.1) is installed.

dsh plugin --profile web add fexp-file-explorer

After installation, restart the dsh web process for the plugin to take effect. Once installed as a static bundle, it is loaded automatically each time DSH starts.

Typical Usage

  1. Open the panel: Click the “File Browser” capsule at the top of the sidebar, or the “Open Directory” button in the session title bar. The 320px panel slides out from the left and is positioned at the current workspace directory.
  2. Browse directories: Click a directory to enter the next level. Use the toolbar buttons “Go Up”, “Go to Root”, or “Refresh” to navigate, or use the breadcrumb to jump quickly.
  3. Preview a file: Click a file to display a text-content preview at the bottom of the panel.
  4. Add to chat: In preview mode, click “Add to Chat”. DSH appends the file reference (using @ command syntax) to the input draft and supports adding multiple files consecutively (space-separated).
  5. Open in file explorer: Use the rightmost toolbar button to open the currently viewed directory directly in the system file explorer.

Notes

  • File size limit: The default file-preview limit is 256KB, with a maximum of 1MB. Exceeding this limit produces the error FS_TOO_LARGE and requires asking the assistant in the conversation to read the file directly.
  • Static bundle behavior: The static bundle is loaded with the profile and is not subject to process-lifetime limitations. The dynamic fallback form does not persist across DSH processes and must be reloaded after a restart.
  • Security review: This plugin has a WARN security review level (38/300). It depends on fs and rpc capabilities and has no network-request or process-spawning capabilities.
  • Suitable scenarios: Suitable for scenarios that require quickly browsing files, referencing file content, or navigating to a system directory within a DSH workspace.

Ecosystem Background

The DSH plugin directory is independent of the official DeepSeek applications and is maintained by the community. Before using third-party plugins, it is recommended to review the source code and license.