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DeepSeek Harness has more than one desktop client. They all reduce the setup required to run Harness locally, but make different choices about desktop technology, platform coverage, plugin strategy, and extensions.
This comparison uses public READMEs, repository manifests, and latest releases as of 2026-08-28. “Not confirmed” means the public material makes no clear promise; it does not prove that a feature is absent. Check the relevant repository before choosing.

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Project positioning

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DeepSeek Harness Desktop (this project)

A ready-to-use desktop client that runs DeepSeek Harness with no environment setup, focused on a lightweight native experience, no commercial bundling, and a restrained codebase. It uses Tauri 2 and React; the desktop manages runtimes and plugin health while models, sessions, and Agent workflows track the latest Harness core directly. It covers Windows, macOS, and Linux, prioritizes reliable first-party capabilities, and treats Codex-level feature completeness as an explicit goal.

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anywhere-labs/dsh-desktop

anywhere-labs/dsh-desktop implements the desktop shell itself as a DSH/Cordis plugin so desktop capabilities and Harness plugins use the same composition model. It uses Electron, pins an upstream version, includes a community plugin market, and provides a per-profile setup wizard, window materials, browser opening, and optional LAN access. Current releases target Windows x64 and macOS Universal.

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dataelement/dsh-desktop

dataelement/dsh-desktop is a local-first Electron client for macOS and Windows with portable Agent presets, model providers, plugin diagnostics, and non-destructive Safe Mode. Phone access uses a separately paired bridge that requires desktop approval and can continue sessions over a LAN or optional temporary tunnel. Current releases cover Windows x64 and both macOS architectures, not Linux.

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Deepseek Harness EAC

Deepseek Harness EAC is positioned as an integrated, ready-to-use enhanced distribution. Its current main line uses Tauri 2 and bundles themes, a file tree, file changes, terminals, a plugin market, automatic compaction, and plugin protection. It ships Windows installer and portable packages, macOS Apple Silicon packages, and maintains Linux x64 through an older separate release line.

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Feature matrix

Legend: ✅ documented support; ◐ partial, plugin-provided, or a separate release line; — explicitly unsupported; “Not confirmed” means no clear statement was found.

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Platforms and installation

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Harness and desktop management

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Workspaces, sessions, and development

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Built-in UI plugins and extension protocol

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Plugins, recovery, and distribution

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This project’s roadmap

The following comes from the public dsh-tauri-desk Roadmap. It is strictly separate from shipped capabilities: Planned does not mean available and does not guarantee a release date. The roadmap also includes Idea-stage candidates such as plugin signature verification, more update delivery, more preset plugins, a website redesign, and low-priority built-in plugin management. Idea means research direction; this page does not call them “coming soon.”
Roadmaps change. Use the latest Status, Priority, and Quarter in GitHub Projects. Anything not marked Shipped must not appear as an available capability.

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Understanding the differences

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Close to upstream does not mean featureless

This project preserves Harness workspaces, file tree, file changes, diff, and terminal while adding a small first-party desktop set. dsh-tauri-worktree provides per-session Git isolation; dsh-tauri-panel provides a stable sidebar/panel protocol; and dsh-tauri-panel-extension provides Skills, skill repositories, and MCP management. The difference is explicit boundaries, protocols, and maintenance ownership rather than installing many unrelated community plugins for every user. EAC favors a broad bundled enhancement suite; this project favors a smaller, verifiable default set.

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Why the panel protocol matters

sidebar.panel.action lets plugins register entries in one sidebar area, while panel.protocol standardizes opening, replacing, and closing panel content. Extensions do not need to copy the whole sidebar or depend on unstable DOM/CSS details. The Skills/MCP panel is both a user feature and the first complete consumer of this protocol.

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Tauri or Electron

Tauri uses the system WebView and a Rust native layer, which can keep the shell smaller. Electron ships a consistent Chromium/Node environment. Total package size and memory also depend on Harness, Node, and plugins, so the framework name alone is not a benchmark.

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Loopback or remote access

This project binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. dataelement uses a separate phone bridge with desktop approval. anywhere-labs offers optional LAN exposure and warns that it has no authentication. These designs have different trust boundaries.

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Recovery strategy

This project identifies a plugin implicated in startup failure and guides removal. dataelement provides Safe Mode; EAC emphasizes snapshots, checks, repair, and rollback. Users who experiment with community plugins should compare recovery, not only plugin counts.

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Sources

All four projects run Harness and plugins that can execute local code. Verify installers, review plugins, understand network exposure and data paths, and use OS-level isolation for untrusted work regardless of the client.