DeepSeek Harness plugin glossary
The vocabulary used across this directory and in the plugin ecosystem. Read this if a listing mentions a seam, a profile or a target and you want the precise meaning rather than a guess.
- DSH
- The common abbreviation for DeepSeek Harness, DeepSeek AI's open-source agent framework.
- DSH plugin
- A package that extends DeepSeek Harness through the Cordis runtime, adding a tool, an interface surface, a model adapter or a capability other plugins consume.
- Cordis
- The lightweight plugin runtime underneath DeepSeek Harness. Plugins export an apply(ctx) function and register capabilities through the context object.
- apply(ctx)
- The entry point of a plugin. The harness calls it during load with a context used for registration, event handling and disposal.
- dshTarget
- The harness release a plugin was tested against, such as rc.6. Used by users and directories to judge compatibility while DSH is in developer preview.
- Profile
- The installation scope for plugins. The web interface uses the web profile, which is why install commands read dsh plugin --profile web add.
- Plugin seam
- A documented point where a capability can be provided or replaced, such as the memory seam or the subagent seam. Plugins that use seams survive releases that break plugins reaching into internals.
- Capability
- Something a plugin provides for other plugins to consume, as opposed to a user-facing feature. Capability providers register early so consumers can find them.
- Skill
- Instructions and supporting files an agent can load on demand, distributed like a plugin but changing what the model knows rather than what the runtime can do.
- Subagent
- A child agent started by the main agent to work on a scoped task, with its own context. Used for delegation, parallel work and long-running jobs.
- MCP
- Model Context Protocol, a common way to expose tools and data to agents. MCP bridges let a plugin or harness consume standard MCP servers.
- Context window
- Everything the model can currently see: conversation, tool output and injected content. Context plugins measure and manage it; memory plugins decide what survives after it is cleared.
- Compaction
- The runtime summarising or dropping older context to stay within the window. Context plugins log when it happens because it silently changes what the model remembers.
- Verification level
- A label from L1 to L5 recording how far a listing's install path was checked, from repository found to plugin loaded and run.
- Web UI
- The browser interface served by npx @deepseek-ai/dsh web at 127.0.0.1:3080, and the target most community plugins are built for.
New to the ecosystem? Start with what DeepSeek Harness is, then read the Cordis lifecycle guide.