DeepSeek CLI is a command-line AI coding assistant designed to accelerate development workflows and enhance coding experiences by leveraging the powerful DeepSeek Coder models. It targets developers and engineers seeking intelligent code completion, generation, refactoring, debugging, and project scaffolding across over 100 programming languages, offering both local privacy and cloud flexibility.

How It Works

This project provides a command-line interface (CLI) that integrates with DeepSeek Coder models. It offers two primary operational modes: local execution via Ollama for enhanced privacy and offline capabilities, and cloud-based execution requiring a DeepSeek API key. The CLI is designed to understand repository-level context, enabling sophisticated code analysis, refactoring, and generation tasks.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Installation: Install the CLI globally using npm: npm install -g run-deepseek-cli.
• Local Setup Prerequisites: Node.js (version 18 or higher) and Ollama. Ollama can be installed via package managers (macOS/Linux) or downloaded from its official site.
• Local Model Setup: After starting the Ollama service (ollama serve), pull a DeepSeek Coder model (e.g., ollama pull deepseek-coder:6.7b).
• Cloud Setup Prerequisites: An API key from the DeepSeek Platform and setting the DEEPSEEK_API_KEY environment variable.
• Resource Footprint: Local models vary in size: 1.3b (1GB, 2GB RAM), 6.7b (4GB, 8GB RAM), 33b (19GB, 32GB RAM).
• Documentation: Full documentation and examples are available within the repository.

Highlighted Details

• Code Completion & Generation: Provides intelligent suggestions and generates complete functions across 100+ programming languages.
• Repository-Level Understanding: Analyzes and works with large codebases, understanding project architecture and identifying components.
• Code Refactoring & Migration: Assists in modernizing legacy code, migrating between frameworks, and applying best practices.
• Debugging & Code Review: Helps identify bugs, security vulnerabilities, and code quality improvements.
• Project Scaffolding: Generates new applications, components, and boilerplate code from natural language descriptions.

Maintenance & Community

The project welcomes contributions via GitHub Issues and Discussions. Support is available via service@deepseek.com. The CLI is built upon the foundation of Gemini CLI and powered by DeepSeek Coder models.

Licensing & Compatibility

The DeepSeek CLI itself is licensed under the MIT License, which is permissive for commercial use and modification. However, the use of the underlying DeepSeek Coder models is subject to the separate DeepSeek Model License, which may impose specific terms and restrictions.

Limitations & Caveats

Local setup requires significant disk space and RAM for larger models (e.g., 33b model needs 19GB disk and 32GB RAM). Cloud mode necessitates an active internet connection and a valid API key. The README provides placeholder information for citation authors and repository URLs, indicating these should be updated by the user.