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How to Connect DeepSeek Harness to a Local Model or API Provider

Connect DeepSeek Harness to the DeepSeek API, a catalog provider, or a local server with the right credentials, endpoint, protocol, and model identifier.
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To connect a model in DeepSeek Harness, open Settings → Models. Use the DeepSeek card for the direct DeepSeek API, an installed provider’s setup for a catalog integration, or add a custom provider for a gateway or compatible local endpoint. For a custom provider, configure a stable provider ID, reachable base URL, API protocol, credential if required, and at least one model whose ID matches the endpoint.

Choose the connection route that fits your setup

Route Who manages the endpoint and protocol? Credential setup When to use it
DeepSeek API DeepSeek’s configured integration Enter your DeepSeek API key on the DeepSeek card. You want requests sent directly to DeepSeek.
Installed catalog provider Harness provides the catalog endpoint, protocol, and model metadata. Follow that provider’s setup; some require native authentication rather than a generic API key. Your provider is available in the installed catalog.
Custom provider You supply the endpoint, protocol, and model entry. Enter a credential if the endpoint requires one. You use a gateway, company endpoint, self-hosted server, or provider not in the catalog.

These setup paths do not establish a general winner for cost, latency, privacy, or output quality. Compare current provider terms and your own requirements rather than assuming one route is better.

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Connect directly to the DeepSeek API

  1. Open Settings → Models.
  2. Find the DeepSeek card, enter your DeepSeek API key, and save.
  3. Use the new route on your next request; the official Harness quickstart says a server restart is not required.

For clients using the OpenAI-compatible format, DeepSeek lists https://api.deepseek.com as its base URL and also documents compatibility with Anthropic API formats. Use the current model identifier in DeepSeek’s API documentation; model names can change, so an old tutorial may show a retired ID.

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Set up an installed catalog provider

  1. In Settings → Models, select the installed provider.
  2. Complete the credential and authentication steps shown for that provider, then save.

Harness’s provider guide names Bedrock, Vertex, Azure, and Codex as examples with distinct setup requirements. A generic API-key field may not be sufficient for providers that use native authentication.

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Add a custom API or local endpoint

  1. In Settings → Models, choose the option to add a custom provider.
  2. Enter a lowercase Provider ID, a display name, the base URL, and the API protocol that the endpoint supports.
  3. Add a credential if the endpoint requires one.
  4. Use model discovery if available, or add at least one model manually using the exact identifier served by the endpoint.
  5. Save the provider and select its model for a request.

Harness can query an OpenAI-compatible GET /models endpoint with the base URL and credential currently entered. If the endpoint does not support discovery, enter the model manually. The ID must match the endpoint’s model catalog; a display label or a similar-looking name is not a substitute.

Keep the provider ID stable

The Provider ID is persistent: requests, saved sessions, defaults, and credential references use it. The official custom-provider documentation says it cannot simply be renamed; create a new provider and remove the old one if the ID needs to change. The display name, endpoint, protocol, credential, and models can be edited.

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Make a local server reachable from Harness

Use the network address reachable from the environment where the Harness process runs. 127.0.0.1 and localhost refer to that process’s own environment—not automatically to the computer running your browser. If Harness runs in a container, virtual machine, WSL environment, or remote machine, a server bound to loopback on your desktop may not be reachable from it.

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Check the local runtime’s current documentation for its API path, protocol, and model identifier. The Harness provider guide supports self-hosted endpoints but does not establish vendor-specific settings for runtimes such as Ollama; do not assume a particular path or protocol without confirming what your runtime exposes.

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Diagnose common connection problems

  • 401 while fetching models: Check whether the credential is correct and whether the endpoint expects authentication. Discovery uses GET /models; if discovery is unsupported, enter the exact model manually.
  • Unknown model: Confirm that the model is configured in Harness and that its ID exactly matches one served by the endpoint.
  • Missing credential: Store the key in the provider settings or supply the environment variable referenced by the configuration, as described in the troubleshooting guide.
  • Local endpoint unreachable: Test reachability from the same host, container, VM, or remote environment where the Harness process runs—not just from the browser’s computer.
  • Images refused before sending: The model’s configured input capabilities must match the endpoint. The troubleshooting guide describes DeepSeek’s chat-completions route in this configuration as text-only. For a custom provider, declare image input only if the endpoint actually accepts it.
  • Provider sign-in fails: Check whether the provider requires native credentials or another provider-specific setup instead of a generic API key.

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