The DeepSeek desktop app built for coding

Not another DeepSeek chat wrapper

Search for a "DeepSeek desktop app" and you'll mostly find wrappers: an Electron window around the DeepSeek web chat. They're fine for chatting, but they can't see your project, run a command or edit a file.

DeepSeek's own options are the web chat, the mobile apps, the API, and DeepSeek Harness, a developer preview that runs as a local web app in your browser. Gritcode fills the gap with a real desktop app for coding with DeepSeek:

• A real agent. DeepSeek plans, runs bash, reads, writes and edits files, greps your code and searches the web, in a loop until the job is done.
• Built-in editor. A file tree and a syntax-highlighted editor sit beside the chat, so you can review what DeepSeek wrote.
• ▶ Play button. Once the agent has your project running, one click builds and runs it with no tokens spent.
• Sessions and memory. Every project keeps its history, and DeepSeek can search your past work across projects.
• Native and tiny. The app takes 10.5 MB on disk and 58 MB of RAM at rest. There's no Electron and no browser tab.

Set up DeepSeek in 2 minutes

1. Download and open Gritcode. It works right away on the free Kilo model, so you can try it before adding a key.
2. Create an API key at platform.deepseek.com and add some credit.
3. Click the gear button in Gritcode's bottom toolbar to open Settings, and paste the key. It's saved in your OS keyring, not in a text file.
4. Pick DeepSeek V4 Pro or V4.1 Flash from the Model menu, choose a project folder, and start prompting.

DeepSeek GUI options compared

There are four common ways to code with DeepSeek today. Here's how they differ.

Prefer the terminal? Read our guide to running Claude Code with DeepSeek V4.

Why DeepSeek for agentic coding?

Agents burn tokens. Every tool call and file read goes back to the model, so the price per token matters far more than in a simple chat. DeepSeek V4 offers strong coding ability and a context window of roughly a million tokens at prices that make all-day agent use affordable.

Gritcode is built around that:

• Context management tuned for DeepSeek. It compacts only near the context limit, keeps a budgeted tail of recent turns, and strips reasoning tokens from outgoing requests.
• Live model discovery. Gritcode reads DeepSeek's model list, so new versions show up immediately.
• Vision. Screenshots you drop in are sent to a DeepSeek vision model so the agent can see your UI.
• No middleman. Requests go straight from your machine to DeepSeek, with no proxy and no markup.

DeepSeek V4 Pro vs V4.1 Flash

V4.1 Flash is the latest version of DeepSeek V4 Flash. Both models appear in Gritcode's Model menu as soon as your key is set.

FAQ

Is there an official DeepSeek desktop app for coding?

DeepSeek offers a web chat, mobile apps, the API, and DeepSeek Harness, a developer preview that runs as a local web app in your browser. Gritcode is an independent, open-source native desktop app built for coding with DeepSeek.

Is there a DeepSeek desktop app for Mac?

Yes. Gritcode runs on macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon as a signed .dmg, and connects to DeepSeek V4 Pro and V4.1 Flash with your API key.

Is there a DeepSeek desktop app for Linux?

Yes. Gritcode ships a .deb for Ubuntu 24.04 or later and recent Debian, and builds from source on other distributions. See Gritcode for Linux.

What about Windows?

Gritcode currently ships for macOS and Linux.

Does Gritcode charge extra for DeepSeek?

No. You use your own DeepSeek API key and pay DeepSeek directly. Gritcode is free and adds no markup.

Should I use DeepSeek V4 Pro or V4.1 Flash?

Use V4.1 Flash, the latest DeepSeek V4 Flash, for fast and cheap everyday edits and scaffolding. Use V4 Pro for hard refactors, debugging and long multi-step agent runs.

Can I use Gritcode without a DeepSeek API key?

Yes. The default Kilo Free model runs on Kilo's free tier with no key and no sign-up.

Is Gritcode an official DeepSeek app?

No. Gritcode is an independent open-source project that uses DeepSeek's public API.