Introduction

DeepSeek Harness (DSH) uses a plugin-based architecture and emphasizes “everything is a plugin.” During agent development or long conversations, frequently switching between the main window and other browser tabs can reduce efficiency. This plugin aims to solve this problem by providing a floating Picture-in-Picture chat window for the Web GUI, allowing developers to view streaming responses, switch conversations, or send instructions without leaving the current context.

What Is This

This is a browser plugin maintained by syncended, adding a compact chat interface to the DeepSeek Harness Web GUI. The interface supports native floating, conversation switching, streaming follow, and immediate replies, while keeping conversation state in sync with the main window.

Core Features

The plugin provides a set of control and display capabilities for multitasking:

  1. Conversation Management and State

    • Provides a conversation switcher, displaying the real-time status of the current conversation (working/waiting/completed).
    • Supports human chat switching grouped by workspace, excluding internal sub-agent conversations.
    • Provides a “New Chat” action to open or create a blank conversation in the current workspace.

  2. Chat Interaction and Control

    • Supports compact Markdown transcripts, including streaming reasoning, tool activity logs, result display, historical images, and copy, branch, and load older history features.
    • Provides generation stop, as well as edit, remove, and “send immediately” controls for queued messages.
    • Supports inline approvals, plan review, and structured user question panels.

  3. Input and Display

    • Supports image attachment preview and submits image plus text via the public conversation API.
    • Provides access mode, plan mode, model selection, reasoning effort, and context controls within a compact editor.
    • Displays compact context information, turn/step counts, throughput, cache hit rate, and input/output token statistics.

  4. Compatibility and Accessibility

    • Multilingual support: Reactively syncs the language selection in Harness settings (English, Chinese), and provides Russian fallback text on compatible hosts.
    • Multi-theme and accessibility: Supports dark theme synchronization, includes full keyboard shortcuts (Enter to send, Shift+Enter to create a new line), and screen reader labels.
    • Fallback: The native Document Picture-in-Picture API is available only on supported Chromium browsers. When the API is unavailable or denied, it automatically falls back to an in-page floating panel.

Installation and Enabling

The plugin is published as an npm package and loaded using the DSH Web profile.

  1. Ensure DeepSeek Harness 0.1.0-rc.6 or a compatible version is installed and the Web profile is running (dsh web).
  2. Run the installation command:
dsh plugin --profile web add @syncended/dsh-pip
  1. After installation, restart dsh web and refresh the existing GUI interface. A chat bubble button will appear in the bottom-right corner; click it to open the floating window.

Typical Usage

  1. Click the chat bubble button in the bottom-right corner to open the floating window.
  2. In the floating window, switch conversations, edit queued messages, or send immediate replies.
  3. Use keyboard shortcuts: Shift+Enter inserts a new line, Enter sends the message.

Applicable Scenarios and Notes

  • Environment requirements: Node.js 18 or a newer version is required.
  • Browser limitations: The native PiP window is available only on supported Chromium browsers; other browsers will use the in-page fallback panel. The operating system and browser control the frame, outer corner shape, and final position of the native PiP window.
  • Feature trade-offs: The general-purpose toolbar is designed to be compact; the main Harness window is more suitable for in-depth inspection of large tool payloads.
  • Security notice: The plugin runs with the permissions of the current DSH process. Before installation, it is recommended to review the source code and license (MIT).

Conclusion

This plugin reduces visual distraction during multitasking by separating the chat interface from the main window and floating it. With features such as conversation synchronization, immediate control, and streaming transcripts, it helps developers focus better on their current workflow. For more details and source code, visit GitHub.