dsh-launcher

dsh-launcher

⚠️ Discontinued (2026-09-29): the official DeepSeek Harness desktop app has launched → https://www.deepseek.com/download/ , please switch to it. This project stops being updated: v0.5.3 is the final release (an announcement only — it ships no installer), and issues and PRs will no longer receive replies. The source, docs, tests and past releases stay publicly readable.

A lightweight Windows launcher for DeepSeek Harness. Double-click to run — no command line needed.

What this is

A native Windows shell for DeepSeek Harness (dsh): double-click to run, optional autostart at logon, a small standalone window, with service lifecycle and error diagnostics handled for you. The installer is ~1.4MB; it does not bundle dsh, and missing dependencies (Node.js, etc.) are filled on demand without touching system settings.

Restraint: it only recreates the original dsh experience — no file panel, no built-in terminal, nothing extra.

Install

MSI (recommended for beginners): download dsh-launcher-<version>.msi from Releases, double-click to install (choose autostart in the wizard). Uninstall: Settings → Apps → dsh-launcher.

Portable ZIP: download dsh-launcher-windows-<version>.zip, extract, run DshWeb.exe; delete the folder to uninstall.

Double-click does nothing? Run check-prereq.cmd from the extracted folder — it checks .NET / WebView2 / Node and prints install commands for anything missing.

Features

• Autostart · standalone WebView2 window · auto-launch the service and wait until ready
• Error dialogs carry error codes; unified log at ~/.dsh\dsh-launcher\dsh.log
• DshWeb.exe --diagnose exports a sanitized diagnostic package in one command
• Service lifetime: follow-window / always-on / tray-resident (see "Plugin")
• Theme follow · window position memory · deferred dsh updates (no session interruption)

Plugin

Install dsh-launcher-lifetime to switch service modes from the dsh settings page:

dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-launcher-lifetime

FAQ

• MSI vs ZIP? Same contents; the MSI adds a standard install/uninstall flow.
• Does uninstall delete my dsh data? No — only the launcher's own data; profiles/, settings.yaml, etc. stay untouched.
• The service uses a lot of memory? dsh is a full service; staying resident is by design. For less memory choose "follow-window".
• Port 3080 taken? Set DSH_WEB_PORT=3090 and restart.
• No update notification? System toasts were removed entirely because of a native crash in the Windows Notification Platform (wpnapps.dll) — issue #25, reported on both Win10 and Win11. Every notice is now a self-drawn card in the lower-right corner: no tray dependency, it never steals your focus, it dismisses itself, and it is clickable when an action is available ("download the update", "leave safe mode"). The title bar also keeps a （有更新） marker, so a missed card is still discoverable. Your plugins' own web notifications are unaffected (the permission is still granted; WebView2 renders them natively).
• Something wrong? Run check-prereq.cmd; if it persists, DshWeb.exe --diagnose exports a sanitized package to attach to an issue. Log: ~/.dsh\dsh-launcher\dsh.log.

More

Implementation / Security / Building: docs/DETAILS.md · Changelog: CHANGELOG.md

Disclaimer & License

Independent third-party tool, not affiliated with DeepSeek / DeepSeek AI. The window icon uses the DeepSeek brand mark, copyright of DeepSeek, used locally only. MIT © dsh-launcher contributors

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