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deepseek-mcp
by Korck-lab

deepseek-mcp

An MCP server that bridges CLI harnesses to the DeepSeek API. Callers (Claude Code, Codex, opencode, or any MCP client) connect over stdio and get DeepSeek chat completions — plus the option to hand work back to a local harness session.

Quickstart

One-shot install straight from the repo (clone lives in ~/.deepseek-mcp, override with DEEPSEEK_MCP_HOME). Fresh installs prompt for your API key — it opens the key page and reads a hidden paste. Updates keep your existing .env untouched:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Korck-lab/deepseek-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Prefer reviewing the script first, or hit terminal weirdness (no controlling tty: SSH without -t, CI)? Download then run — stdin stays yours, no pipe tricks:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Korck-lab/deepseek-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh -o /tmp/deepseek-mcp-install.sh
bash /tmp/deepseek-mcp-install.sh

Manual clone:

git clone https://github.com/Korck-lab/deepseek-mcp
cd deepseek-mcp
npm install
npm run build
cp .env.example .env        # paste your DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
npm run install:cli         # interactive: pick claude/codex/opencode + scope

Then run claude mcp list, codex mcp list, or opencode mcp list to confirm the deepseek server shows Connected, and use it from that client. See Interactive installer for flags and scope details.

Related MCP server: DeepSeek MCP Server

Features

  • Chat completions — OpenAI-style messages → DeepSeek. Supports deepseek-v4-flash / deepseek-v4-pro reasoning models, including reasoning_content.

  • Model discovery — list_models fetches available model ids from the API.

  • Harness bridge — use_harness runs a prompt in a headless host CLI (claude -p, codex exec, opencode run, or any command you configure), letting the DeepSeek model drive local agents, skills, plugins, and MCP tools configured on that host.

  • Locked by default — the bridge is off until you explicitly allowlist hosts.

  • Zero shell — harness commands run as spawn argument arrays, never through a shell. Prompts are positional args, so no injection surface.

  • dotenv config — keys and harness commands live in .env.

Tools

Tool

Description

chat

Send a chat completion request; returns assistant text (reasoning + answer for reasoning models).

list_models

List models available on the DeepSeek API.

use_harness

Run a prompt in a configured host CLI. Host must be allowlisted.

list_harnesses

Show configured harness hosts and their commands.

Setup

npm install
cp .env.example .env   # add your DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
npm run build
npm test               # protocol smoke test + live API + harness bridge

Run the server:

npm start

Configuration

Variable

Default

Purpose

DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

—

Required. DeepSeek API key.

DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL

https://api.deepseek.com

API base URL.

DEEPSEEK_MODEL

deepseek-chat

Default model for chat.

HARNESS_ALLOW_HOSTS

(empty = locked)

Comma-separated hosts the bridge may drive.

HARNESS_CMD_<HOST>

—

Headless command for a host, e.g. HARNESS_CMD_CLAUDE=claude -p.

Example bridge config (opencode is a TUI and needs a PTY wrapper on macOS):

HARNESS_ALLOW_HOSTS=claude,codex,opencode
HARNESS_CMD_CLAUDE=claude -p
HARNESS_CMD_CODEX=codex exec --skip-git-repo-check
HARNESS_CMD_OPENCODE=script -q /dev/null opencode run

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deepseek": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/deepseek-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Interactive installer

Register the server with Claude Code, Codex, and/or opencode — no manual config editing:

npm run install:cli

Prompts ask which CLI(s) to install and the scope:

  • global — your user config (~/.claude.json, ~/.codex/config.toml, ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json)

  • project — local to this repo (Claude --scope local, .codex/config.toml, ./opencode.json; gitignored)

Optionally embeds DEEPSEEK_API_KEY into the client config (recommended for global scope, so the server works outside this repo). Scriptable:

npm run install:cli -- --clis claude,codex,opencode --scope global --embed key --yes

Flags: --clis a,b,c, --scope global|project, --embed key|skip, --yes.

Auto-versioning

Local git hooks bump the version and tag releases automatically from conventional commit messages — no manual version edits, no CI needed.

npm run hooks:install        # git config core.hooksPath .githooks (per-repo)

On every commit it reads the commit message and:

Commit type

Example

Bump

breaking

feat!: drop node 18, or BREAKING CHANGE in body

major

feat:

feat: add installer

minor

fix: / perf:

fix: opencode pty wrapper

patch

anything else

docs:, chore:, test:, refactor:

none

After the commit is created, a post-commit hook reads the real message from COMMIT_EDITMSG (the message is not available earlier — pre-commit runs before it exists), bumps package.json (+package-lock.json), amends the commit so the bump is included, then creates an annotated tag vX.Y.Z. Merge commits never re-bump; amends do re-bump (tag already exists, so it just skips). Run npm version manually at any time to override.

Security

  • The bridge is disabled until you allowlist hosts. With HARNESS_ALLOW_HOSTS empty, use_harness errors.

  • Harness commands run without a shell; the prompt is a single positional argument.

  • The API key lives only in .env (gitignored) and is sent only to the DeepSeek API.

  • Each harness call spawns a fresh headless session — no access to the calling client's session state. Note that a harness CLI runs with its own configured tools and credentials; only allowlist hosts you trust.

Development

  • npm run build — compile src/ → dist/

  • npm run dev — run from source with tsx

  • npm test — MCP protocol smoke test (handshake, tools/list, live chat, model list, harness bridge)

Requires Node.js >= 20.

License

MIT

Available Tools

4 tools
chatA

Send a chat completion request to DeepSeek. Accepts an OpenAI-style message list and returns the assistant's reply text.

Inputs: messages (required), model, max_tokens, temperature.

list_harnessesA

List harness hosts the bridge can drive (from HARNESS_ALLOW_HOSTS / HARNESS_CMD_* config) with their commands.

Inputs: no named parameters.

list_modelsA

List models available on the DeepSeek API.

Inputs: no named parameters.

use_harnessA

Run a prompt in a headless host CLI (claude -p, codex exec, opencode run, ...). Lets the DeepSeek model drive local agents, skills, plugins, and MCP tools configured on that host. Host must be in HARNESS_ALLOW_HOSTS.

Inputs: host (required), prompt (required), cwd, timeout_ms.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    A3.9/5.0

    Scored across 4 tools

    Disambiguation4/5

    chat and use_harness both send prompts, but one targets the DeepSeek API and the other targets local harness CLIs, which is clearly distinguished in descriptions. list_models and list_harnesses are distinct list operations for different resources.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    All tool names follow a clear verb style: chat, list_models, list_harnesses, use_harness. The naming is consistent and predictable, with list_* for listing operations and direct verbs for actions.

    Tool Count5/5

    Four tools is well-scoped for a bridge server that provides chat completion, model listing, and harness control. Each tool serves a distinct purpose without redundancy.

    Completeness4/5

    The core workflow of sending prompts and listing models/harnesses is covered. A minor gap is lack of streaming or more detailed model/harness management, but the essential lifecycle for the stated purpose is present.

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