Run a free DeepSeek AI Agent — set up coding agents with DeepSeek API, or try the free online agent in your browser.
Independent DeepSeek AI Agent guide — not affiliated with or endorsed by DeepSeek.
Use the latest DeepSeek V4 models inside a free online AI Agent on iMini — pick Flash for speed and cost, or Pro for deeper reasoning.
Efficiency-oriented V4 MoE for high-throughput coding, chat, and short-to-mid agents — free to try in iMini Agent.
Best for high-throughput agent tasks, everyday coding help, and lower-cost runs.
Flagship V4 MoE for hard-constraint reasoning, full-repo coding, and long multi-step tool jobs — free to try in iMini Agent.
Best for hard reasoning, agentic coding, and multi-step creative or research work.
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab based in Hangzhou that builds and releases large language models, most of them under open licenses. It became widely known for shipping frontier-class reasoning and coding models at a fraction of the price charged by closed-source competitors, and for publishing technical reports detailed enough that other labs could reproduce the ideas.
The current generation is DeepSeek V4, released in April 2026 as two Mixture-of-Experts tiers: V4 Pro for the hardest reasoning and agentic coding, and V4 Flash for high-throughput, lower-cost work. Both share a 1M-token context window and expose reasoning effort as a request parameter rather than a separate model ID.
DeepSeek also offers an OpenAI-compatible API. That compatibility is the practical reason DeepSeek shows up so often in agent tooling: if a coding agent lets you set a custom base URL and API key, you can usually point it at DeepSeek without patching the tool itself.
A DeepSeek AI agent is an autonomous coding assistant that uses DeepSeek models through the DeepSeek API. You describe a goal in plain language; the agent plans steps, calls tools such as the terminal or file editor, and keeps working until the task is done.
This is different from a chatbot that only replies in a message window. An agent runs a loop — plan, act, observe, repeat — so it can refactor a repo, fix failing tests, scaffold a project or automate a workflow without you micromanaging each step.
The DeepSeek API is natively compatible with OpenAI Chat Completions and Anthropic Messages, which makes it a practical backend for coding agents that accept custom endpoints. Point Chat-shaped tools at api.deepseek.com, Anthropic-shaped tools at api.deepseek.com/anthropic, and use a bridge when the agent only speaks OpenAI Responses.
On this site we document how to wire Codex, Claude Code, OpenClaw and other AI coding agents to DeepSeek — so you keep the agent shell you already use and swap in DeepSeek for model inference.
Coding agents speak different wire protocols. DeepSeek natively mirrors two of them — OpenAI Chat Completions and Anthropic Messages. It does not expose OpenAI Responses, which is why tools like Codex need a bridge.
| Aspect | OpenAI Chat Completions | OpenAI Responses | Anthropic Messages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | POST /v1/chat/completions | POST /v1/responses | POST /v1/messages |
| Main payload | messages: [{role, content}] | input (string or item list) | messages + top-level system |
| Auth | Authorization: Bearer | Authorization: Bearer | x-api-key / ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
| Content shape | Mostly plain text strings | Typed items (message, function_call, reasoning…) | Content blocks (type: text, …) |
| State | Stateless — resend full history | Designed for agent loops and richer items | Stateless — resend full history |
| Typical tools | openai SDK, most OpenAI-compatible agents | Codex CLI (Responses-only) | Claude Code, Copilot CLI (Anthropic mode) |
Official DeepSeek docs list two base URLs. Point the matching SDK or agent at the right one, paste your DeepSeek API key, and pick deepseek-v4-pro or deepseek-v4-flash.
Drop-in for most OpenAI-compatible clients. Change base_url and api_key; keep calling /chat/completions.
https://api.deepseek.com
Same key, Anthropic-shaped path. Claude Code and similar tools switch by setting ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL.
https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic
No official /v1/responses. Codex and other Responses-only clients need a local bridge such as Moon Bridge.
bridge required → /guides/codex
Codex speaks OpenAI Responses. DeepSeek speaks Chat Completions and Anthropic Messages. Moon Bridge sits in the middle: Codex → Responses → Moon Bridge → DeepSeek.
Codex + Moon Bridge guideMost setups follow the same pattern: get API access, pick an agent tool, paste your key, then run a small coding task to confirm everything works.
Create an account on the DeepSeek Platform, generate an API key, and check whether free credits or a free tier is available in your region. Keep the key private — you will paste it into your agent config.
Pick a coding agent that fits your workflow. Popular options on this site include Codex, Claude Code and OpenClaw — each has a dedicated setup guide.
Follow the guide for your tool: set the DeepSeek endpoint, model name and API key in its config file or environment variables. Restart the agent, then try a simple task such as fixing a test or adding a small feature.
Codex can run against DeepSeek when the stack supports OpenAI-compatible API routing — often via Moon Bridge or a switching tool. Our guide walks through endpoints, model IDs and common errors.
DeepSeek Agent setup for CodexClaude Code accepts custom provider settings. You can point it at DeepSeek with environment variables in settings.json, or use CC Switch if you prefer a visual setup.
Claude Code with DeepSeek APIOpenClaw supports custom model providers during onboarding. The guide covers provider config, Skills, MCP and chat-platform integration with DeepSeek as the model backend.
OpenClaw DeepSeek API guideWe maintain step-by-step guides for 20+ agents — API keys, endpoints, copy-paste config and troubleshooting for each tool.
Browse all DeepSeek AI agent setup guidesPlan pages: home, industry overview, competitor comparison, charts
Scaffold a Next.js project and install Recharts
Build page components with sample market data
Start dev server… preview at localhost:3000
Terminal · Claude Code
「This test is failing — fix it」
Agent reads the stack trace, patches the test, runs pytest until green. You never opened the file tree.
Terminal · Codex
「Add a refund endpoint to the payment module」
Agent scans routes, writes handler + tests, runs integration tests in the terminal—you only review the final diff.
OA · OpenClaw
「Summarize today's PR comments on my repos」
Agent hits GitHub API, ranks by priority, pushes a digest to OA. You read it on your phone.
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are strong general-purpose assistants. A DeepSeek AI agent is a different idea: you keep a coding-agent shell (Codex, Claude Code, OpenClaw, etc.) and use the DeepSeek API as the model backend. That matters when you want agent workflows — not just chat — at lower API cost.
| Platform | Agent support | API for coding agents | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek AI Agent | Works with Codex, Claude Code, OpenClaw + 20 agents | OpenAI-compatible DeepSeek API | Free credits / low API pricing |
| ChatGPT / Codex (default) | Codex, Copilot CLI (OpenAI models only) | OpenAI API — usage-based | Subscription + API fees |
| Claude (default) | Claude Code (Anthropic models only) | Anthropic API — usage-based | Pro plan + API fees |
| Gemini (default) | Limited agent tooling | Google AI API | Free tier + paid tiers |
These tools can often run as DeepSeek AI agents when configured with an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Open each guide for API key setup, model names and troubleshooting.
Open-source personal AI assistant that plugs into chat tools (Feishu, WeChat) and is extensible via Skills.
Open setup guide
Minimal, extensible terminal coding harness with tree-structured sessions and custom providers.
Open setup guide
AI agent and coding assistant with custom OpenAI-compatible model configuration.
Open setup guideAfter the API is connected, explore skill registries for Codex and OpenClaw, or compare switching tools that route agents to DeepSeek without hand-editing config files.
FAQ
Common questions about building coding agents with the DeepSeek API.
