# dsh-TUI review

> dsh-TUI is an interactive terminal UI plugin for DeepSeek Harness (DSH) with streaming output, live agent status, session rewind, and side panels.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ccch1mneyyy-dsh-tui/

## TL;DR

dsh-TUI is a terminal interface for DeepSeek Harness agents, sessions and tools. It is for developers running DSH who want a Claude Code-style fullscreen or inline terminal UI. It uses only DSH's public exports with zero core changes, and it can also run sessions on experimental Claude and Codex backends.

## dsh-TUI at a glance

- **Category:** [Coding agents](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/coding-agents/)
- **Maintained by:** Chimney (individual, [@ccch1mneyyy](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy) on GitHub)
- **License:** MIT
- **Language:** TypeScript, JavaScript, NSIS
- **Repository:** [github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI)
- **Website:** [dshtui.com](https://dshtui.com/)
- **npm package:** [@deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui) 0.16.1
- **Latest release:** [v0.16.1](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI/releases/tag/v0.16.1) on GitHub, Oct 17, 2026
- **First published:** Aug 13, 2026

## What dsh-TUI does

- dsh-TUI renders streaming Markdown, tool cards, Mermaid diagrams as Unicode, and LaTeX formulas as Unicode text or terminal images.
- dsh-TUI shows live state: context bar, TPS, cache hit rate, effort, tokens, session cost estimate, and Git and session metadata.
- dsh-TUI provides session workflow commands such as /resume, /new, /compact, /export and /btw, plus model hot-switch, fork and rewind.
- dsh-TUI connects to DSH presets, skills, MCP, goals, todos, subagents and questionnaires.
- dsh-TUI can run sessions on experimental Claude or Codex backends, chosen through /kernel or the --backend option.
- dsh-TUI sends task completion notifications through terminal protocols, the bell, or native Windows toasts.
- dsh-TUI offers an automation CLI with commands like dst -p and dst run --json that use official DSH headless services.

### How it works

dsh-TUI runs on top of DeepSeek Harness and consumes only DSH's public exports. It is moving from a mounted plugin to an app with its own entry, where DSH loads in process as the backend. You start it with dsh-tui or dst. TUI settings are saved in ~/.dsh-tui/settings.json and shared by every kernel.

## How to install dsh-TUI

**With npm (global)**

```
npm install -g @deepseek-ai/dsh @deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui
```

**As a DSH plugin (manual)**

```
dsh plugin --profile dsh-tui add @deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui
```

### Requirements

- Node.js ^22.19 or >=24
- deepseek-harness (DSH); the primary compatibility target is DSH 0.2.1-rc.2
- pnpm for first-run profile initialization (homepage lists pnpm 11+)
- DEEPSEEK_API_KEY for the deepseek-official API-key route, or deepseek-account sign-in on DSH 0.2.0-rc.1+

### First steps

1. Run dsh-tui to start. The first run auto-initializes the profile and needs pnpm.
2. Follow the four-step first-run wizard for API key, language and theme, model and workspace, and shortcuts. Re-run it with /setup.
3. Sign in to other supported accounts through /provider or /auth after startup.
4. Run dsh-tui doctor for pre-flight environment checks if startup fails.

## Who dsh-TUI is for

- Developers using DeepSeek Harness who want a full terminal UI for agent sessions
- Long agent sessions that need bounded memory through virtualization and bounded caches
- Developers who want one interface for DSH, Claude and Codex sessions
- Windows users who want an offline, per-user installer without preinstalled Node or DSH

### Limitations

- dsh-TUI depends on DeepSeek Harness; command-line installation requires Node.js and deepseek-harness.
- dsh-TUI's Claude and Codex backends are marked experimental, and one process runs only one kernel.
- dsh-TUI's Windows one-click installer is for x64.
- dsh-TUI notifications under tmux require allow-passthrough and focus-events settings; terminals without focus reporting need the always setting.

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #51 overall, #28 in Coding agents, momentum score 75
- Downloads that week: 21k (+24% vs 4-week average)
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: 1.3k; Aug 16: 945; Aug 23: 366; Aug 30: 172; Sep 6: 145; Sep 13: 126; Sep 20: 394; Sep 27: 502; Oct 4: 302; Oct 11: 497; Oct 18: 941; Oct 25: 797

## dsh-TUI alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [Cindy](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/makecindy-cindy/) | 8.8k | – |
| #2 | [OpenMausBot](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/milind-soni-openmausbot/) | 9.6k | – |
| #3 | [Orca](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/stablyai-orca/) | 111.7k | – |
| #4 | [OpenBot](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/copilotkit-openbot/) | 9.1k | – |
| #5 | [Agent Reach](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/panniantong-agent-reach/) | 107.2k | – |
| #6 | [Skill Recorder](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/microsoft-skill-recorder/) | 5.6k | – |

## dsh-TUI FAQ

### Is dsh-TUI free and open source?

Yes. dsh-TUI's source code is on GitHub (ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI) under the MIT license, so you can use it for free.

### How do I install dsh-TUI?

Run `npm install -g @deepseek-ai/dsh @deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui`. It needs Node.js ^22.19 || >=24. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

### Is dsh-TUI still maintained?

Yes. The ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI repository was last updated on Oct 22, 2026, and the latest release, v0.16.1 on GitHub, came out on Oct 17, 2026.

### How popular is dsh-TUI?

dsh-TUI has 6.4k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 797 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 538 a week. Its main package had about 21k downloads that week, +24% against its own 4-week average. That made it #28 among AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### What are the best alternatives to dsh-TUI?

Other AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Cindy (#1), OpenMausBot (#2), Orca (#3), OpenBot (#4), Agent Reach (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

### What is dsh-TUI?

dsh-TUI is an interactive terminal UI for DeepSeek Harness. It adds streaming Markdown, live work status, streaming thinking, double-Esc time rewind, a context progress bar and a TPS gauge without changing DSH's core.

### Can dsh-TUI run on Claude or Codex instead of DeepSeek?

dsh-TUI can run sessions on Claude or Codex backends, marked experimental. Pick one with /kernel or dsh-tui --backend dsh|claude|codex. Claude is driven by the Claude Agent SDK and the local claude CLI.

### How do I update dsh-TUI?

dsh-TUI checks for newer versions in the background after startup. Type /update for a one-shot upgrade, which restarts and resumes the current session. dsh-tui update also updates the profile.

### Does dsh-TUI support automation or scripting?

dsh-TUI includes an automation CLI: dst -p "task", dst run --json and dst session list --json. This engine does not load the TUI and uses official DSH headless services.

### Can I import conversations from Claude Code or Codex into dsh-TUI?

dsh-TUI provides dsh-tui migrate to bring Claude Code, Codex, OMP, zcode or Grok Build conversation histories into the DSH session store.

## Sources

1. [ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI on GitHub](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI)
2. [dsh-TUI README](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI/blob/main/README.md)
3. [@deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@deepseek-harness-tui/dsh-tui)
4. [dsh-TUI website](https://dshtui.com/)
5. [Release v0.16.1 (Oct 17, 2026)](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI/releases/tag/v0.16.1)
6. [Release v0.16.0 (Oct 17, 2026)](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI/releases/tag/v0.16.0)
7. [Release v0.15.0 (Oct 13, 2026)](https://github.com/ccch1mneyyy/dsh-TUI/releases/tag/v0.15.0)
8. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)