Harness Desktop

What does this agent do, and when should you use it?

Harness Desktop is a community-maintained Electron shell for the official DeepSeek Harness Web UI, which remains the product's sole primary interface and agent core. It starts the local Harness Runtime and adds main-model and subagent routing, a DSH plugin marketplace, managed Skills, an integrated terminal, workspace previews, schedule visibility, themes, and a desktop pet. Users can import files into the workspace `uploads/` directory, prepare reviewable edits through the official `read` and `edit` tools, and preview common document and media formats in a right-side workspace. Paired mobile devices can reach the current workbench over a LAN, native WebRTC P2P, or an end-to-end encrypted WSS/443 fallback; Android has a signed preview client, while iPhone and iPad use the Safari workbench. Windows 10/11 x64 is the formally supported stable target, while the macOS DMGs remain public previews pending validation on real Apple hardware. It is aimed at users who want DeepSeek Harness's existing interaction and permission model with stronger desktop integration, mobile continuity, and cryptographically verified delivery.

The application launches the official DeepSeek Harness Web UI and local Runtime inside an Electron desktop shell. Its Electron bridge supplies windowing, installation, updating, and desktop features; the Renderer has no Node.js privileges, and the WebView may access only the local Harness Runtime. Providers, models, and credentials are configured in the official Harness settings, and the shell does not keep a second copy of Provider secrets; the main model and subagents may share a model or use separate selections. The DSH marketplace discovers, installs, and updates plugins, while managed Skills use $ triggers and @ remains the file-reference syntax. MCP settings manage stdio and Streamable HTTP connections and retain credential references rather than raw secrets. User-selected files are imported into uploads/, ordinary workspace files can be downloaded, and the official read and edit tools prepare drafts for review; the right-side workspace provides read-only previews for text, source code, HTML, images, audio, video, and PDF files. Schedule monitoring consumes official append-only events with ETag/304 and since-delta refreshes, falling back to one authoritative full replay after a gap, rewind, or generation fork. Desktop delivery uses an Ed25519-signed manifest, HTTPS, declared file sizes, SHA-256 verification, source fallback, component health checks, and automatic rollback. Mobile Sync pairs trusted devices by QR code and carries workbench state and constrained uploads over LAN, native WebRTC P2P, or an end-to-end encrypted WSS/443 relay.

1. A Windows 10/11 user who wants an installed or portable DeepSeek Harness desktop app while retaining the official workbench as the only main UI.
2. A multi-model user who needs separate model choices for the primary model and subagents while preserving running, resumable, and read-only historical tasks.
3. A Harness user who wants in-app DSH plugin management, $-triggered managed Skills, and @ references to workspace files.
4. Someone who needs to continue a workbench session from Android or a mobile browser, upload constrained documents, and switch between local and encrypted remote connectivity.
5. A technical user who wants MCP stdio and Streamable HTTP configuration, bounded terminal access, and workspace file previews in one desktop application.
6. A deployment-conscious user who requires signed manifests, SHA-256 package checks, rollback, and preservation of themes, plugins, and routing settings across Harness updates.

How do you install or deploy this agent?

For routine Windows use, download and run the current v1.0.60 stable installer; it installs for the current user and does not require administrator privileges. A portable Windows executable is also provided. Windows 10/11 x64 is the formal stable target; Apple Silicon and Intel macOS DMGs are public previews pending acceptance on real Apple hardware.

Scoop users can install from the project's bucket:

scoop bucket add harness-desktop https://github.com/baiyuscc13724-max/scoop-harness-desktop
scoop install harness-desktop/harness-desktop

Source development requires Node.js 24, npm, and Git:

npm install
npm run dev

Run the documented checks and distribution build before submitting changes or producing packages:

npm run verify
npm run verify:release
npm run dist

On first launch, add a provider, model, and the corresponding credentials in the official Harness settings. The desktop shell does not retain a duplicate copy of Provider keys.

How do you use this agent?

1. Launch the installed or portable application, then add the chosen provider, model, and required credentials in the official Harness settings.
2. Select a workspace and start a new session. Configure the main model and subagents separately when different routing is needed.
3. Use the top palette control for desktop themes or open the Deep Whale desktop pet. Plugins, Skills, models, and general preferences remain in the official settings page.
4. Explicitly import files into the workspace uploads/ directory and reference them with @. Use the official read and edit tools to prepare edits for review.
5. Configure MCP connections as stdio or Streamable HTTP in settings. Starting a local MCP process requires explicit confirmation.
6. For mobile use, open Mobile and Remote Sync in settings and scan the pairing code once. LAN connectivity is preferred; for remote use, configure a personal credential-free wss:// endpoint for WebRTC signaling and encrypted relay fallback. The computer must keep Harness Desktop running.

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