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Set a DeepSeek API key

A Bot whose model is on the DeepSeek API route (deepseek-official, for example DeepSeek-V41-Flash) needs a DeepSeek API key. Without one, its turn fails with This Bot's model has no API key yet (MISSING_CREDENTIAL).

FlyBot does not keep the key. DeepSeek Harness (DSH) stores it and sends it with each model request, under the name DEEPSEEK_API_KEY. Get a key on the DeepSeek platform. On DSH Desktop, Sign in to DeepSeek is another way: it uses your DeepSeek account and needs no key.

There are three ways to set the key. Pick one.

1. In the app

  1. Under the error, click Enter a DeepSeek API key (a Bot with no model offers the same button). You can also open Settings → Models and set up DeepSeek there.
  2. Type or paste the key into the API key field.
  3. Click Save and continue, then send your message again.

The dialog belongs to DSH. It keeps only what you type or paste: a value that a script, an accessibility tool or some password managers put into the field can be cleared when you click Save and continue, and nothing is saved (#451). In that case paste the key by hand, or use way 2 or 3.

2. In the credentials file

The dialog saves the key to a file in your DSH home folder. You can write that file yourself, for example on a server or before the first start:

  • ~/.dsh/.credentials.yaml, or .credentials.yaml in DSH_HOME when it is set
  • Windows: C:\Users\<user>\.dsh\.credentials.yaml
version: 1
refs:
  DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: sk-your-key

If the file already exists, add the DEEPSEEK_API_KEY line under refs and keep the other entries. Only you may read the file: on Linux and macOS run chmod 600 ~/.dsh/.credentials.yaml, because DSH refuses to load a file that other users can read. DSH also refuses a file with anything else at the top level. A running DSH picks up the change by itself; no restart is needed.

3. In the environment

Set DEEPSEEK_API_KEY in the shell that starts DSH:

DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-your-key npx -y @deepseek-ai/dsh@0.2.0-rc.2 web --port 3080

DSH reads the environment once, at start, so a key exported later needs a restart. While it is set, it wins over every other place and DSH treats the key as read-only: saving a different key in the app is refused until you start DSH without the variable.

A .env file with a DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-your-key line also works, either in the folder you start DSH from or in your DSH home folder (~/.dsh/.env). A key saved in the app or in the credentials file wins over both.

Which key DSH uses

The first place that has a key wins:

Place Set by
The environment DSH was started in DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=… dsh …
The credentials file the app (way 1) or you (way 2)
.env in the folder you start DSH from you
.env in your DSH home folder you

Keep the key safe

  • Never send the key to a Bot in a chat, and never commit a .env or .credentials.yaml file.
  • Bots run as your own OS user, so a Bot that runs commands could read the credentials file. Use a key that you can revoke on the DeepSeek platform.