DeepSeek Harness vs Claude Code
Claude Code is a closed-source terminal agent from Anthropic; DeepSeek Harness is an open, plugin-composed CLI whose sessions stay in ~/.dsh.
Both run an agent loop in a terminal. The difference that matters is what you can change inside them, and where the conversation record lives.
Claude Code installs from npm as @anthropic-ai/claude-code. DeepSeek Harness installs as @deepseek-ai/dsh and needs Node.js 24.9.0 or newer.
| DeepSeek Harness | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | npm install -g @deepseek-ai/dsh | npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code |
| Source | Open, plugin-composed; the CLI is one launcher over profile patches | Closed source |
| Interfaces | Terminal, browser UI (dsh web), one-shot (dsh headless), ACP and SDK over stdio | Terminal-first, with IDE integrations |
| Extending it | npm plugin packages installed into a profile; every capability is a seam | Hooks, MCP servers and skills configured through settings |
| Session data | Files in $DSH_HOME (~/.dsh), readable and inspectable | Local transcripts managed by the tool |
| Model choice | Whatever the profile and provider plugins configure | Anthropic models |
Pick DeepSeek Harness when
You want to read and repair the session store yourself, swap the sandbox or shell implementation, or drive the agent from your own program over ACP or the SDK. The profile model is the point: every layer is a patch you can inspect with --dump-config.
Pick Claude Code when
You want a finished product with Anthropic's own models wired in, and you do not intend to change how it works internally. Less assembly, less access.
The honest part
What DSH does worse: it is on release candidates, its documentation lives in the repository rather than a docs site, a plugin built for another dsh version is skipped at boot, and the plugin ecosystem is small. If you want a product with a support contract and a decade of tutorials, none of these three comparisons will talk you into DSH.
Common questions
Can I run both on one machine?
Yes. They install as separate npm packages and keep data in separate directories.
Is DeepSeek Harness a fork of Claude Code?
No. It is a separate Node application whose behaviour is assembled from Cordis plugin patches.
Which one is cheaper?
Neither is a subscription in the DSH case — you pay for whatever model API your profile points at. Claude Code is billed through Anthropic.