Deep Code CLI

Deep Code is a terminal AI coding assistant optimized for the deepseek-v4 model, with support for deep thinking, reasoning effort control, and Agent Skills.

Installation

npm install -g @vegamo/deepcode-cli

Run deepcode inside any project directory to get started.

Configuration

Create ~/.deepcode/settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "MODEL": "deepseek-v4-pro",
    "BASE_URL": "https://api.deepseek.com",
    "API_KEY": "sk-..."
  },
  "thinkingEnabled": true,
  "reasoningEffort": "max"
}

The configuration file is shared with the Deep Code VSCode extension — configure once, use everywhere.

Key Features

Skills

Deep Code CLI supports agent skills that allow you to extend the assistant's capabilities:

• User-level Skills: discovered and activated from ~/.agents/skills/.
• Project-level Skills: loaded from ./.agents/skills/ for project-specific workflows, with legacy ./.deepcode/skills/ compatibility.

Optimized for DeepSeek

• Specifically tuned for DeepSeek model performance.
• Reduce costs by using Context Caching.
• Natively supports Thinking Mode and Thinking Effort Control.

Keyboard Shortcuts

| Key | Action | |-----------------|----------------------------------------------| | Enter | Send the prompt | | Shift+Enter | Insert a newline (also Ctrl+J) | | Ctrl+V | Paste an image from the clipboard | | Esc | Interrupt the current model turn | | / | Open the skills / commands menu | | /new | Start a fresh conversation | | /resume | Choose a previous conversation to continue | | /skills | List available skills | | /exit | Quit Deep Code | | Ctrl+D twice | Quit Deep Code |

Supported Models

• deepseek-v4-pro (Recommended)
• deepseek-v4-flash
• Any other OpenAI-compatible model

FAQ

Does Deep Code have a VSCode extension?

Yes. Deep Code offers a full-featured VSCode extension, available on the VSCode Marketplace. The extension shares the ~/.deepcode/settings.json configuration file with the CLI, so you can switch seamlessly between the terminal and the editor.

Does Deep Code support understanding images?

Deep Code supports multimodal input — you can paste images from the clipboard with Ctrl+V. However, deepseek-v4 does not support multimodal yet. Some models have multimodal capabilities but impose strict limits on multi-turn dialogue requests. For multimodal input, we recommend using the Volcano Ark Doubao-Seed-2.0-pro model, which has the best integration.

How to automatically send a Slack message after a task completes?

Write a shell notification script that calls a Slack webhook, then set the notify field in ~/.deepcode/settings.json to the full path of the script. For detailed steps, refer to: https://binfer.net/share/jby5xnc-so6g

How do I enable web search?

Deep Code comes with a built-in, free Web Search tool that works well for most use cases. If you prefer to use a custom script for web search, set the webSearchTool field in ~/.deepcode/settings.json to the full path of your script. For detailed steps, refer to: https://github.com/qorzj/web_search_cli

Does it support Coding Plan?

Yes. Just set env.BASE_URL in ~/.deepcode/settings.json to an OpenAI-compatible API endpoint. Take Volcano Ark's Coding Plan as an example:

{
  "env": {
    "MODEL": "ark-code-latest",
    "BASE_URL": "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/coding/v3",
    "API_KEY": "**************"
  },
  "thinkingEnabled": true
}

Getting Help

• Report bugs or request features on GitHub Issues (https://github.com/lessweb/deepcode-cli/issues)

License

• MIT

Support Us

If you find this tool helpful, please consider supporting us by:

• Giving us a Star on GitHub (https://github.com/lessweb/deepcode-cli)
• Submitting feedback and suggestions
• Sharing with your friends and colleagues