DeepSeek Harness v0.1.6-alpha.1: Terminals, SSH & Experiments

Author
DeepSeekAgent.io Editorial Team
Published
Updated

DeepSeek released dsh-v0.1.6-alpha.1 on September 15, 2026. The public sequence moves directly from v0.1.5-rc.2 to v0.1.6-alpha.1; there is no public v0.1.5-rc.3 or stable v0.1.5 in between. This build is a GitHub Pre-release published on npm's alpha channel, not a default stable upgrade.

The release expands DSH with sidebar terminals, archived sessions, MCP Resources, headless input, SSH workspaces, and experimental Browser Use, Computer Use, and Auto Review. It also changes PTC names, Session events, plugin hot reload, and the default DeepSeek protocol.

Release status

CheckStatus on September 17, 2026
GitHub Releasev0.1.6-alpha.1, Pre-release
GitHub tagdsh-v0.1.6-alpha.1
npm alpha0.1.6-alpha.1
Upgrade basev0.1.5-rc.2

Pin the exact build when testing:

npx @deepseek-ai/[email protected] web

User-facing changes

Web now includes sidebar terminal tabs, shell selection, and terminal restoration after refresh. Archived sessions have a dedicated list and can be restored. File and Skill references, delivered files, image and PDF previews, and Trajectory inspection have also been refined. Runs longer than one hour display hours, minutes, and seconds.

V4.1 Flash image handling adds resizing, token estimation, and a default request-image quality. Vision workflows should still verify both the model ID and its inputModalities; a legacy text-only catalog entry can transform an image before the provider receives it.

New execution surfaces

Headless

Headless can read tasks from stdin, continue a selected session with --session-id, and emit NDJSON events through --json. That gives scripts, CI systems, and external schedulers a stream-oriented interface without depending on Web.

Remote workspaces over SSH

A local DSH process can work against a remote SSH workspace. Test credentials, remote permissions, the working directory, and command auditing independently before using it on a production host.

MCP Resources

DSH can discover and read MCP Resources and URI templates. Servers that expose Resources without Tools can now participate in a workflow. The move to the official MCP SDK v2 also changes negotiation, pagination, and handling for servers with no tools.

Experimental capabilities

CapabilityIntegrationCheck before use
Browser UsePlaywright MCP, Chrome DevTools MCP, Stagehandbrowser permissions, login state, external actions
Computer UseCua Driver MCP and native driverscreen-control permission, misclick recovery, cancellation
Auto Reviewautomatic review workflowtrigger rules, output destination, delivery blocking

Keep each experimental package in a separate Profile with a disposable account and reversible workspace.

Compatibility changes

Default DeepSeek protocol

The default DeepSeek connection now uses the Messages protocol and reuses images through the Files API. Users who manually configured the old official root should remove that override or change it to:

https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic

After upgrading, test a text request, an image's first request, and reuse of the same image.

PTC names

PTC packages and services are consolidated under ptc-runtime with no legacy aliases. Workflow Executor becomes workflow-ptc, and Python PTC is removed. Profiles and plugins that reference the old package names, service IDs, or Python PTC need migration.

Session and plugin lifecycle

agent/session-start is replaced by the asynchronous, serial agent/created event. The synchronous Session APIs snapshotEvents, eventAt, and ownEvents are deprecated. Hot reload no longer provides transactional rollback, so a failed activation may leave part of a change applied.

Agent Team

Experimental Team uses spawn_teammate, disables subagent and subagent_fork, and raises the default teammate creation limit from 8 to 16. That larger concurrency surface makes child-session usage and provider billing more important to monitor separately.

Known installation issue

A community report found that computer-use packages can be missing the required new dsh.bundle manifest, causing a Profile to fail during startup after the packages are added. Test those packages in an isolated Profile and remove the newly added package before making further changes if startup fails.

Upgrade guidance

ScenarioRecommendation
Need Headless, SSH, or sidebar terminalsPin 0.1.6-alpha.1 in a copied environment
Building MCP Resource supportUpgrade and test SDK v2 negotiation, pagination, and templates
Plugin depends on PTC or Session APIsMigrate names, events, and async APIs first
Stable day-to-day useKeep the working release and wait for a later rc or stable channel
Testing Computer UseUse an isolated Profile and check the manifest issue first

Back up Profiles, Sessions, and critical configuration. Record the existing DSH and Node versions, model IDs, and custom plugins. Validate startup, text, images, files, Session restore, and plugin activation in that order.

Related reading

FAQ

Is v0.1.6-alpha.1 stable?

No. GitHub marks it as a Pre-release and npm publishes it on the alpha channel.

Were any v0.1.5 releases skipped?

The public sequence goes directly from v0.1.5-rc.2 to v0.1.6-alpha.1. There is no public v0.1.5-rc.3 or stable v0.1.5 between them.

Which migration deserves the first check?

Users of the official DeepSeek endpoint should check the Messages protocol URL. Plugin authors should check the PTC names, agent/created, and deprecated synchronous Session APIs.