Preface

DeepSeek Harness (DSH) adopts the philosophy of “everything is a plugin.” In the Web interface, directly monitoring the real-time status of MCP (Model Context Protocol) connections often requires relying on developer tools or unofficial UI components. The dsh-mcp-pill plugin aims to provide a native, visual status pill, paired with the official settings card, to address the pain points of checking and switching connection status.

Plugin Positioning

This is a client-side plugin for the DSH Web process, maintained by YrracOwl and licensed under the MIT License. It provides a local same-origin RPC interface, an official-style settings card, and an input box status pill, aiming to provide lifecycle-safe status management for MCP connections.

Core Features

Status Pill and Interaction

  • Provides an input box status pill for displaying the JSON status of all configured MCP connections.
  • The pill is hidden by default and must be enabled in settings.
  • Supports dragging the pill icon to switch among four corner anchors; the position is saved in localStorage (dsh.mcpPill.anchor).
  • The pill is located at the input box layer and will cover DSH Web native popups (modals, menus, tooltips, etc.).

Settings Card

  • Provides an official settings card with a “Show Status Pill” toggle.
  • The card is registered in two settings locations: plugins.row.config (DSH >= 0.1.7-rc.2) and settings.plugin.item (DSH <= 0.1.5), ensuring compatibility.

RPC Interface

  • Provides the GET /api/mcp-pill/status interface, returning all connection statuses and pill visibility.
  • Provides the POST /api/mcp-pill/set interface, switching connection status via the disabled flag.

Compatibility

  • Prioritizes support for remote.settings in DSH 0.1.2+; older RC versions will automatically fall back to the connection API.
  • Depends on @deepseek-ai/schemastery (version >= 3.18.4).

Installation and Enablement

  1. Install the plugin
    Ensure the environment meets the requirements: Node.js >= 18, and DSH version 0.1.2 or higher.
    Run the installation command:
   dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-mcp-pill
  1. Load and Configure
    - After installation, restart the DSH Web process; otherwise, the Host will not detect the plugin.
    - Open the settings panel, find the plugin card (or the dsh-mcp-pill configuration row), and enable “Show Status Pill.”

Typical Usage

  • Check status: The pill displays the current status of each MCP connection.
  • Switch connections: Click the toggle in the settings card, or modify the connection’s disabled field via the POST /api/mcp-pill/set interface.
  • Adjust position: Hold and drag the pill icon to switch the display position among the four corners of the input box.

Use Cases and Notes

  • Default behavior: The pill is hidden by default and must be manually enabled in settings.
  • Overlay layer: Because the pill is rendered at the input box layer, it may obscure DSH Web native popups.
  • Source code and license: It is recommended to check the source code and license (MIT) before installation.

Ecosystem Background

The DSH community maintains a plugin directory (SkillHub), which is independent of the official DeepSeek and serves only as a community resource index.

Conclusion

This plugin provides DSH Web with a standardized entry point for MCP status monitoring, suitable for developers who need to frequently debug MCP connections.

Directory | GitHub