Practical guides · Independent guide

DeepSeek Harness API Key vs Account: Credential Boundaries

An account sign-in and an API key are distinct credentials. The reviewed DeepSeek adapter documents separate deepseek-account and deepseek-official routes. Do not assume that signing in supplies an API key, that one route falls back to the other, or that either grants free model usage.

Reviewed Oct 4, 2026Developer previewIndependent guide

Evidence status: Official documentation reviewed at dsh-v0.2.1-alpha.1 (5badb15). npm and PyPI release identities are separate; no newer local runtime result is claimed. Re-check the linked first-party source after a new release candidate.

Track setup progress →

Sharing includes the public link only, without local progress or private configuration.

Identify the route first

Check the selected model provider before changing credentials. The reviewed transport resolves the API-key reference for deepseek-official and the stored account grant for deepseek-account. Troubleshoot the route you actually selected.

Keep secrets in the local provider setup

Use the local DSH credential interface for keys. Configuration should retain references rather than a literal secret. The field guide’s tools never need your key and cannot validate account entitlement.

Check which credential mode your installed version supports.
Consult the provider for billing and access.
Do not paste a key into a shared configuration example.

Verify without conflating modes

Try one small task on the selected route. If it fails, note whether the problem concerns missing credentials, rejected authorization or model availability. Signing out of the account route does not remove separately stored API keys in the reviewed implementation.

First-party sources

Open the pinned or retrieved source before acting on a changed release candidate.

Identify the route first

Keep secrets in the local provider setup

Verify without conflating modes

First-party sources

Continue by layer