Introduction

The Web interface of DeepSeek Harness relies primarily on visual feedback. When an agent is running in the background or producing long-running output, developers can easily miss state changes. UI Beep fills this gap with auditory feedback, translating the agent’s runtime state into three procedurally generated Web Audio tones.

Plugin Overview

This is an agent heartbeat audio plugin for the DeepSeek Harness Web interface. It uses the browser-native Web Audio API to generate three asset-free sound effects: a low-frequency heartbeat during work, a short tick for streamed output, and a chime when user intervention is needed. The code is released under the MIT License and is an independent fork of the ui-beep plugin in the deepseek-harness repository.

Environment Requirements

The plugin depends on a specific version of DeepSeek Harness (DSH).

  • DSH version: Must be >= 0.1.7.
  • Compatibility warning: 0.4.x and earlier versions cannot activate this plugin. DSH 0.1.7 introduced Profile-based configuration forms, which are the foundation for this plugin to work correctly.
  • Semver note: ^0.1.7-rc.2 matches 0.1.7-rc.x and 0.1.7, but does not match future 0.1.8-rc.x.

Installation

Install using npm:

npm install @xain_npm/dsh-client-ui-beep

Enable and Configure

Mount the plugin in the harness’s cordis.yml (or cordis.patch.yml):

- id: ui-beep
  name: '@xain_npm/dsh-client-ui-beep'
  config:
    enabled: true

Configuration options include:
* enabled: Master switch.
* masterVolume: Master volume (0 to 2).
* tickVolume: Tick volume (for streamed output).
* humVolume: Heartbeat volume (for background work).
* chimeVolume: Chime volume (for waiting on user input or work completion).

Note: Configuration values default to the browser defaults. Once a user changes them on the settings page, the values are written to that browser’s localStorage, and browsers store them independently.

How It Works

The plugin does not rely on external audio files; all sound effects are synthesized in real time by code.

  • Hum (heartbeat): Played when a session is running (working) and there are no pending interactions. It simulates a low-frequency “lub-dub” heartbeat once every 4 seconds, and pauses during streamed output or while waiting for input.
  • Tick: Played when the current session is streaming visible text. This is a short, high-frequency 2kHz sound.
  • Chime: Played when a session starts waiting for user input (approval, plan review, etc.) or when the last working session becomes idle. Unanswered interactions repeat the chime after 10 seconds and 30 seconds.

Notes

  • Browser autoplay policy: Most browsers block automatic audio playback. The plugin activates after a pointerdown or keydown user gesture on the page. Before that, the plugin remains silent.
  • License: MIT.

Conclusion

Through auditory feedback, developers can perceive the agent’s state without constantly staring at the screen. For more details, refer to the project homepage: GitHub