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Show HN: An n8n-like orchestration toolkit for DeepSeek harnesses

An open-source macOS desktop app for DeepSeek Harness (dsh), called dsh-desktop, wraps the harness's Web UI in a native window, enabling local chat, file operations, terminal use, and approvals without a browser or cloud account. The app, which requires Node.js ≥ 22 and pnpm, is in early developer preview and uses dsh as a dependency without forking the upstream kernel. It features a visual canvas for plugin orchestration, local-first storage, and optional signing for self-built DMGs.

read2 min views6 publishedAug 18, 2026
Show HN: An n8n-like orchestration toolkit for DeepSeek harnesses
Image: Michielbdejong (auto-discovered)

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An open-source macOS desktop app for DeepSeek Harness (dsh

) — a Codex / Claude Code desktop counterpart built on top of the harness, with no fork of the upstream kernel.

It wraps the harness's Web UI in a native window: chat with the agent, let it read/write files, run commands, use a terminal, and handle approvals — all locally, no browser tab, no cloud account.

Status: early developer preview. The upstream harness (dsh

) is also a developer preview and iterates fast; pin the@deepseek-ai/dsh

version and upgrade explicitly.

Native desktop shell around the full dsh Web UI (chat, sessions, workspace, model settings, terminal, approvals, plan/goal/todo, trajectory).Local-first, no account: your API key lives in the app (~/.dsh/.credentials.yaml

), your sessions stay on your machine.Key self-management: the desktop app does** not**inheritDEEPSEEK_API_KEY

from your shell environment — the key comes only from what you enter in the app (Settings → Models).Native extras: macOS menu, Dock badge + notifications for pending approvals/questions,dsh-desktop://

deep link, auto-update (packaged builds).Follows upstream, never forks:dsh

is used as a dependency; update@deepseek-ai/dsh

to track upstream releases.

The plugin orchestration engine ships with a visual canvas: pick nodes (skills, tools, event hooks) from the library, wire them into a flow on the canvas, and configure each node in the inspector. The compiled flow becomes a reusable agent preset.

Requires Node.js ≥ 22 and pnpm.

pnpm install
pnpm dev

The app spawns a local dsh web

server on a random loopback port and opens it in a native window.

Anyone can build a dmg — no certificates needed.

pnpm install
pnpm dist          # macOS dmg for your current architecture (arm64/x64)

Notes for self-builders:

  • Signing/notarization is optional. Without a certificate you get an unsigned dmg; the first launch shows a Gatekeeper warning — right-click the app →** Open**(orxattr -cr /Applications/dsh-desktop.app

) to run it. - The packaging config is fully generic — no personal signing credentials are committed. Maintainers sign by injecting their Apple credentials as environment variables / CI secrets (see .env.example

and.github/workflows/release.yml

). - We deliberately build with asar: false

so the spawneddsh

child can resolve its plugin packages through real files on disk.

Packaged builds check GitHub Releases for updates via electron-updater

(publish: github

). This requires the release artifacts to be attached to a GitHub Release (see the release.yml

workflow). Unsigned local builds skip this.

No API key / model unavailable: open** Settings → Models**in the app and enter your key. The desktop app intentionally ignores ambientDEEPSEEK_API_KEY

from the shell.Packaged app won't start: make sure you built on the same architecture you're running (arm64 vs x64); the packaging follows your machine's arch.** Dev vs packaged behave differently**: the packaged app runsdsh

under Electron's Node (ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE

) with--expose-internals

, which the harness's config-watch HMR service requires.

MIT. The upstream kernel is DeepSeek Harness (MIT).

DeepSeek Harness— the agent harness this app is built on.Electronandelectron-builder.

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