staks-sor/free-deepseek-cli

★ 14JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5ActiveSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((free-deepseek-cli))
    Inputs
      Browser login
      Project folders
      Slash commands
    Outputs
      Local chat UI
      REPL replies
      File edits
    Use Cases
      Skip paid API
      Code agent on local files
      Multi-project chat
    Tech Stack
      Node.js
      Chromium
      Localhost 4317

mindmap root((free-deepseek-cli)) Inputs Browser login Project folders Slash commands Outputs Local chat UI REPL replies File edits Use Cases Skip paid API Code agent on local files Multi-project chat Tech Stack Node.js Chromium Localhost 4317

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Sign into DeepSeek once through a browser window and reuse the captured session for weeks of chat without paying for API tokens.

USE CASE 2

Run a local chat UI on localhost port 4317 with several parallel conversations, each tied to its own project folder.

USE CASE 3

Give DeepSeek slash-code read and write access to files in a chosen project folder for code edits.

USE CASE 4

Use the terminal REPL mode to ask DeepSeek quick questions from inside an existing shell script.

Tech stack

JavaScriptNode.jsChromiumPuppeteer

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Installation pulls a 150 MB Chromium build, Linux users need extra system libraries through a sudo command, and the session relies on web cookies that can break if DeepSeek changes auth.

In plain English

free-deepseek-cli is a desktop tool, written in JavaScript, that lets a user talk to DeepSeek's web chat at chat.deepseek.com without going through DeepSeek's paid API. The README is in Russian. Instead of paying for API tokens, the program logs in once through a real browser window, then keeps reusing that browser session for weeks. The repo has 14 stars and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. The pieces are described as follows. There is an auto login step where the user signs in by Google OAuth, email and password, or whatever method the site asks for, then the tool captures the session token from the first authorized network request and stores cookies in a hidden folder under the home directory. There is a chat window served on localhost port 4317, which supports several parallel conversations, each tied to its own project folder on disk. There is a terminal REPL mode for quick questions and scripts. There is a slash code agent that gives DeepSeek read and write access to files in a chosen project folder and to a list of shell commands. There is a small built in file browser for picking that folder when starting a chat. To install, the user clones the repo and runs npm install, which also pulls Chromium of about 150 megabytes through a post install hook. Linux users add system libraries with a single sudo command. The first run is npm start, which opens the login window once, captures the session, and then opens the working window for everyday use. The slash code feature has a settings panel that groups commands by risk: low includes node, npm, python, ls, cat, and similar safe ones; medium includes git, mv, sed, and chmod with extra guards such as blocking git push force; high is just rm with a strict block on rm minus rf. The project also includes 91 unit tests run with the Node built in test runner, and a section that asks for stars and offers a Russian bank card number for donations to support future work on streaming responses, attachments, and other providers like Qwen and Kimi.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Clone free-deepseek-cli, run npm install, and walk me through the first login flow that captures the DeepSeek session.

Prompt 2

Open the localhost 4317 chat UI and connect it to my project folder so DeepSeek can edit files through slash-code.

Prompt 3

Configure the slash-code risk panel so medium-risk commands like git and chmod need confirmation before they run.

Prompt 4

Use the terminal REPL mode of free-deepseek-cli to ask DeepSeek to summarize a long log file from stdin.

Prompt 5

Explain how the captured DeepSeek cookies are stored under the home directory and how to rotate them if the session expires.

Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

Generated 2026-05-22 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.