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DeepSeek

DeepSeek provides powerful AI models with an OpenAI-compatible API.

Property	Value
Provider	text `deepseek`
Auth	text `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`
API	OpenAI-compatible
Base URL	text `https://api.deepseek.com`

Getting started

Get your API key

Create an API key at [platform.deepseek.com](https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys).

Run onboarding

```bash} openclaw onboard --auth-choice deepseek-api-key ```


text
This will prompt for your API key and set `deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash` as the default model.

Verify models are available

```bash} openclaw models list --provider deepseek ```


text
To inspect the bundled static catalog without requiring a running Gateway,
use:

```bash}
openclaw models list --all --provider deepseek
```

warning

If the Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY` is available to that process (for example, in `~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv`).

Built-in catalog

Model ref	Name	Input	Context	Max output	Notes
text `deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash`	DeepSeek V4 Flash	text	1,000,000	384,000	Default model; V4 thinking-capable surface
text `deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro`	DeepSeek V4 Pro	text	1,000,000	384,000	V4 thinking-capable surface
text `deepseek/deepseek-chat`	DeepSeek Chat	text	131,072	8,192	DeepSeek V3.2 non-thinking surface
text `deepseek/deepseek-reasoner`	DeepSeek Reasoner	text	131,072	65,536	Reasoning-enabled V3.2 surface

tip

V4 models support DeepSeek's `thinking` control. OpenClaw also replays DeepSeek `reasoning_content` on follow-up turns so thinking sessions with tool calls can continue. Use `/think xhigh` or `/think max` with DeepSeek V4 models to request DeepSeek's maximum `reasoning_effort`.

Thinking and tools

DeepSeek V4 thinking sessions have a stricter replay contract than most OpenAI-compatible providers: after a thinking-enabled turn uses tools, DeepSeek expects replayed assistant messages from that turn to include

text

reasoning_content

on follow-up requests. OpenClaw handles this inside the DeepSeek plugin, so normal multi-turn tool use works with

text

deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash

and

text

deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro

If you switch an existing session from another OpenAI-compatible provider to a DeepSeek V4 model, older assistant tool-call turns may not have native DeepSeek

text

reasoning_content

. OpenClaw fills that missing field on replayed assistant messages for DeepSeek V4 thinking requests so the provider can accept the history without requiring

text

/new

When thinking is disabled in OpenClaw (including the UI None selection), OpenClaw sends DeepSeek

text

thinking: { type: "disabled" }

and strips replayed

text

reasoning_content

from the outgoing history. This keeps disabled-thinking sessions on the non-thinking DeepSeek path.

Use

text

deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash

for the default fast path. Use

text

deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro

when you want the stronger V4 model and can accept higher cost or latency.

Live testing

The direct live model suite includes DeepSeek V4 in the modern model set. To run only the DeepSeek V4 direct-model checks:


bash
OPENCLAW_LIVE_PROVIDERS=deepseek \
OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS="deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash,deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro" \
pnpm test:live src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts

That live check verifies both V4 models can complete and that thinking/tool follow-up turns preserve the replay payload DeepSeek requires.

Config example


json5
{
  env: { DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: "sk-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash" },
    },
  },
}

Model selection

Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.

Configuration reference

Full config reference for agents, models, and providers.

OpenClaw Docs

DeepSeek

Getting started

Get your API key

Run onboarding

Verify models are available

warning

Built-in catalog

tip

Thinking and tools

Live testing

Config example

Related

Model selection

Configuration reference