Introduction

The Web interface of DeepSeek Harness (DSH) includes a built-in turn timer at the bottom of the conversation. However, it has a 15-second delay and measures the total duration of the entire turn. During long-running tool calls (such as bash), it can be hard to tell whether the current step has just started or has been stuck for a long time. The dsh-step-clock plugin targets this scenario and provides a real-time step-level timer above the Web GUI input box.

Plugin Overview

Name: wste47/dsh-step-clock (package name: @climber47/dsh-step-clock)
Maintainer: climber47
Positioning: Live per-step elapsed clock for the DSH Web GUI.

Core Features

The plugin displays a timing bar in the Composer Dock (the dock area above the input box) of the DSH Web interface. It includes the following capabilities:
1. Real-time elapsed time display: Shows the elapsed time for the currently executing step.
2. Status and tool information: Displays the tool name, step number, and current status (such as “Running” and “Model is thinking”).
3. Compact clock: A compact m:ss-format clock is displayed on the right side.
4. Concurrency support: Supports timing when multiple tools are running in parallel.
5. Thinking step adaptation: Specifically handles the timing anchor for Thinking steps.
6. Completion retention: After a step completes, the timing bar remains on screen until the next step starts, making it easier to review time-consuming steps.
7. Dynamic injection: Dynamically injects the stylesheet by creating a Tagged <style> element.

Installation and Activation

Make sure your DSH version meets the requirement (dsh >=0.1.5-rc.1), then run the following command in the terminal to install the plugin:

dsh plugin --profile web add @climber47/dsh-step-clock

After installation is complete, restart the dsh web service. When the next step executes, the timing bar will appear above the input box.

Typical Usage

The plugin displays different text descriptions based on the current state. Below are possible display examples:

  • Running:
    ● Running bash for 1 minute 12 seconds Step 12 [bash] 1:12
  • Completed:
    ● Previous step (Step 12) completed in 3 minutes 45 seconds 3:45
  • Idle:
    ● Idle, waiting for the next step

Applicable Scenarios and Notes

This plugin is suitable for DSH users who need to precisely monitor the execution duration of each step. It does not rely on polling; instead, it directly reads Facts (engine facts) provided by the DSH engine.

Notes:
1. Version requirement: Requires DSH version >=0.1.5-rc.1, and the host environment must provide React 18.
2. No host-side behavior: The plugin’s host half (lib/index.js) is empty and is registered only via the Bundle mechanism.
3. Data source: It only reads the engine’s Chat timeline snapshot and Live running-call list, without polling data by itself.

Summary

dsh-step-clock addresses the delay and limited granularity of the built-in turn timer by providing real-time step-level timing in the Web interface. For developers who need to observe time-consuming steps or debug the execution flow, it is a practical helper tool.

Resources:
* Plugin directory
* GitHub repository