DSH Desktop vs dsh-market
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A desktop app that runs the DeepSeek Harness agent locally, with model choice, phone access and PPT generation
Open source · MIT
A plugin marketplace inside DeepSeek Harness for browsing, searching and installing plugins.
The short answer
Choose DSH Desktop if you need…
- People who want to run the DeepSeek Harness agent as a regular desktop app on macOS or Windows x64
- Users who want to switch between official DeepSeek models and third-party model providers
- Users who want to continue agent sessions from a paired phone
- People who need editable PPTX decks generated from source material
Choose dsh-market if you need…
- DSH users who want to find and install community plugins without using the command line
- People who manage many installed plugins and want groups, notes, or enable/disable toggles
- Users who want to back up or move their plugin list to another machine
- Users who want to browse community themes and switch between them
Side-by-side
| DSH Desktop | dsh-market | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 17.1k | 10.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Download the app | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
DSH Desktop
DSH Desktop is a desktop application that packages the DeepSeek Harness agent runtime as an installed program, so you do not need a separate command line or browser tab to start it. It keeps profiles, plugins, workspaces, model settings and sessions outside the app folder. The README describes it as an early preview, and it is offered in open-source and enterprise editions.
dsh-market
dsh-market is a plugin market that runs inside DeepSeek Harness (DSH). It adds a tab on the Plugins page where you can browse a community catalog, search it, and install plugins or themes with one click. It also includes tools for favorites, groups, notes, updates, and backup and restore of your plugin setup.
Best for
DSH Desktop
- People who want to run the DeepSeek Harness agent as a regular desktop app on macOS or Windows x64
- Users who want to switch between official DeepSeek models and third-party model providers
- Users who want to continue agent sessions from a paired phone
- People who need editable PPTX decks generated from source material
dsh-market
- DSH users who want to find and install community plugins without using the command line
- People who manage many installed plugins and want groups, notes, or enable/disable toggles
- Users who want to back up or move their plugin list to another machine
- Users who want to browse community themes and switch between them
Strengths
DSH Desktop
- Installs as a normal desktop app with a guided startup, so no separate CLI is needed
- Includes a Safe Mode that temporarily blocks third-party plugins to help recover from broken plugins
- Stores profiles and sessions in the per-user data directory, and the README says they are preserved across upgrades
dsh-market
- Installs and updates plugins from inside the host with live progress and little manual setup
- Keeps local state such as favorites, groups, and notes in your profile rather than sending them elsewhere, as the README states
- Includes fallback routes for GitHub resources in the China download region
Not ideal for
DSH Desktop
- Linux users, since the README lists Linux as not currently supported
- Windows ARM64 users, since the README lists it as not currently supported
- People who need a stable, production-grade tool, since the README calls it an early preview built on a rapidly evolving framework version
dsh-market
- People who do not use DeepSeek Harness, since the market only runs inside that host
- Users on older DSH hosts below 0.1.0-rc.6, where the market disables itself
- Users who do not want their comments or discussion widget to contact giscus.app and GitHub, since opening a plugin's discussion thread does so
Trade-offs
DSH Desktop
- The README labels it an early preview, and preview releases may be incompatible with community plugins
- Phone remote access depends on Cloudflare or Pinggy tunnels; the Pinggy fallback expires after about 60 minutes
- Only macOS and Windows x64 are listed as supported platforms
dsh-market
- The README describes a catalog of 4200+ plugins, but this is a self-reported figure and depends on the host version
- Several features depend on the host version and profile setup, so behavior can differ between Desktop and plain dsh web
- Install behavior on Desktop versus the web profile is confusing; the README warns that a command may report success while installing to the wrong profile
Getting started
DSH Desktop
Download the stable release from the official website
https://www.dshdesktop.com/#downloaddsh-market
Install on regular dsh web (replace web with your profile name if different)
dsh plugin --profile web add dshmarketFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between DSH Desktop and dsh-market?
DSH Desktop: A desktop app that runs the DeepSeek Harness agent locally, with model choice, phone access and PPT generation. dsh-market: A plugin marketplace inside DeepSeek Harness for browsing, searching and installing plugins. DSH Desktop suits people who want to run the deepseek harness agent as a regular desktop app on macos or windows x64, while dsh-market suits dsh users who want to find and install community plugins without using the command line.
Are DSH Desktop and dsh-market free?
DSH Desktop: Free and open source. dsh-market: Free and open source.
Is DSH Desktop or dsh-market more popular?
DSH Desktop has more GitHub stars (17.1k) than dsh-market (10.2k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to DSH Desktop and dsh-market?
Other options people compare them with include DSH Desktop, CowAgent, Reasonix.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.