DeepTide

Built by DeepSeek, for DeepSeek.
An AI coding agent that flows through your codebase like a tide.
_{The name: DeepSeek + tide (terminal IDE).}

Three flavors, same team

This repository is the community front door for all three — docs, FAQ, issue tracking — and is the home of two npm packages:

• deeptide — the current TypeScript/Bun CLI (forwards to @paean-ai/zero-cli)
• deeptide-rs — the Rust CLI (ships a native binary via GitHub Releases postinstall)

The two CLI packages do not conflict — they expose different binary names (deeptide/tide vs deeptide-rs) so you can install both and switch between them freely while we mature the Rust port.

The Rust port lives under crates/. It is intended to grow into the canonical cross-platform CLI over time, but the deeptide package will remain available as long as users find value in it — there is no forced migration.

It also contains the open-source native local inference runtime under native/: a hard-forked ds4 DeepSeek V4 Flash Metal engine plus dsgo, the local OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible gateway intended to pair with DeepTide.

Install on macOS (recommended)

For Mac users, the recommended path is the native Deeptide build from deeptide.sh. It downloads the signed build for your Mac architecture and installs both deeptide and the shorter tide command:

curl -fsSL https://deeptide.sh/install.sh | sh

Then start with:

tide auth login   # Paean OAuth, multimodal-aware
tide login        # or save a DeepSeek API key directly
tide              # launch the REPL
tide doctor       # diagnose install + network

If you want a native Mac terminal to pair with Deeptide, also try Clide — a modern macOS terminal with file explorer, multi-pane layouts, drag-and-drop, and native voice input.

Install on Linux / Windows (Zero CLI alias)

Prerequisite: Bun must be installed and on PATH. The CLI runtime requires it (matches the underlying Zero CLI). Bun does not replace your Node install — it sits alongside.

On non-Mac systems, this npm package is the cross-platform DeepTide-flavored entrypoint powered by Zero CLI. It installs the deeptide and tide aliases for a workflow close to Deeptide, but it is not the Swift-native macOS build from deeptide.sh.

# bun (recommended, fastest install)
bun add -g deeptide

# npm (works too; bun is still required at runtime)
npm install -g deeptide

# pnpm
pnpm add -g deeptide

Two commands are installed; pick whichever your fingers prefer:

tide                          # interactive REPL (preferred — short)
deeptide                      # same thing, full name
tide -p "explain this repo"   # one-shot mode
tide --help                   # all options

You can also install the upstream package directly:

bun add -g @paean-ai/zero-cli

Build the macOS native app from source

The macOS native build is open source at paean-ai/deeptide (Swift). Most users should install from deeptide.sh, but source builders can inspect and build from the source tree when they need to modify the native runtime or local inference components.

Quick start (CLI)

DeepTide CLI talks to the DeepSeek API by default (matching the DeepTide native app), and can also drive any Anthropic-protocol-compatible endpoint via BYOK — Zhipu GLM, Volcengine, Paean, Qwen, Moonshot, self-hosted gateways, and so on.

# Default path — DeepSeek
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="sk-..."
tide

# BYOK to another provider
tide --base-url https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/anthropic --api-key <GLM_KEY>

# One-shot, non-interactive
tide -p "Explain the auth middleware"

For the full configuration surface (settings.json schema, hooks, permissions, MCP servers, sub-agents, model aliases) see the upstream Zero CLI README, which is the authoritative reference.

Desktop GUI (deeptide-rs)

The Rust port ships a native desktop app — a single Rust binary (egui, no Electron/webview) that is a thin window over the same engine the CLI uses. It fully shares the CLI's configuration, session history, and the entire tool set — there is no separate config to maintain:

• Same config — reads the identical ~/.config/tide/settings.json (and project .deeptide/settings.json); set your provider/model/API key once and both the CLI and the GUI pick it up.
• Same sessions — conversations save to the same on-disk store, so a chat started in the GUI is deeptide-rs --resume-able from the terminal, and a CLI session shows up in the GUI's sidebar to resume with one click.
• Same tools — the full agent tool set (Read/Write/Edit, Bash, Glob/Grep, WebFetch, MCP servers, sub-agents, …) is available identically.

What it does: streaming chat with markdown rendering, live reasoning ("💭 thinking") and tool-call cards, interactive tool approvals (with a coloured diff preview for Write/Edit), a session sidebar (resume past chats), a provider/model picker, New chat, Stop/interrupt, and a cost/usage bar (↑/↓ tokens · cache · $).

Launch

# Via the CLI launcher (execs the desktop binary, sharing this config/cwd):
deeptide-rs --gui

# …or run the GUI binary directly:
deeptide-gui

Build from source

# From the repo root (the Rust workspace under crates/):
cargo run -p deeptide-gui            # dev run
cargo build -p deeptide-gui --release # release binary at target/release/deeptide-gui

Configure a model the same way as the CLI — e.g. export DEEPTIDE_API_KEY=… (or set it in settings.json) before launching. Without a credential the GUI opens in a safe local-echo mode and shows a "no API key" banner. To point it at a non-default provider, use the in-app picker or export DEEPTIDE_PROVIDER=… (e.g. deepseek, ollama, openai, gemini).

Built-in capabilities

DeepTide is an agentic coding assistant — the model plans, calls tools, observes results, and adapts. Out of the box:

• Multi-turn agentic loop — plan → tool → observe → adapt
• Streaming responses — see the model think and act in real time
• 30+ built-in tools — file I/O, shell, web, tasks, MCP, scheduling, sub-agents
• 25+ slash commands — /status, /cost, /diff, /init, /permission, /hooks, …
• Permission modes — default · accept-edits · plan · bypass
• Hooks engine — pre/post tool, user-prompt, session, compaction shell hooks
• Memory system — persistent project memory across sessions
• Sub-agents from markdown — define custom agents in your project
• Custom slash commands from markdown — drop a <name>.md under .deeptide/commands/ (or ~/.deeptide/commands/) and run it as /<name>; the body becomes a prompt with $ARGUMENTS / $1…$11 substitution. Built-in commands always take precedence.
• Plan mode — design before you code, get approval before execution
• Web research — /deep-seek <question> uses the model's built-in knowledge to propose likely official/canonical URLs, then verifies them with WebFetch. Optional BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY / SERPER_API_KEY credentials can improve source discovery, but are not required for URL-based research. Sources are labeled [verified], [known], or [unverified].

The tool catalog, slash command set, hook event names, and model aliases are kept aligned with the macOS native DeepTide app via the tide-spec shared interface contract — your hooks and muscle memory port between the two.

Documentation

• tide-spec — shared interface contract: tool catalog, slash commands, CLI flags, hook env vars, model aliases.
• Zero CLI docs — comprehensive reference for the CLI engine.
• DeepTide native source — Swift codebase for the macOS app.
• native/ — local DeepSeek runtime source: ds4 inference engine and dsgo gateway.
• docs/deepseek-v4-flash-q2.md — what the stock local V4 Flash Q2 build is and is not good for, and why deeptide caps it at 64k context. Also covers the higher-fidelity Q4_K mixed-precision build (153 GiB) for hosts with 192 GB+ memory.
• docs/deepseek-v4-flash-iq2-asymmetric.md — dialectical analysis of the asymmetric IQ2_XXS + Q2_K + Q8_0 + F16 quant (80.8 GiB), the size sweet spot for 128 GB Macs and single 80 GB H100 boxes. Walks through what the per-tensor-group precision plan gets right and the failure modes it takes on (expert collapse risk, FFN residual contamination, iMatrix dependence).

Samples

• samples/pixel-roguelike — a dependency-free HTML Canvas roguelike showcase with editable pixel-art sprites, procedural terrain, responsive mobile controls, combat effects, and a pixel-art preview helper.
• samples/pixel-backpack-roguelite — a pixel backpack roguelite with spatial item planning, merging, artifact forging, autonomous TD-style combat waves, and infinite scaling rewards.
• samples/deeptide-deck-template — a responsive HTML presentation deck template for desktop demos, mobile reading, and polished browser-to-PDF export, using Deeptide as the reference product.
• samples/agent-workbench-template — a polished coding-agent handoff template for plans, diffs, verification, risks, and PR-ready review notes.
• samples/agent-brief-template — a professional research and decision brief template for general-agent outputs, option comparisons, evidence matrices, and action plans.
• samples/void-descent — a matching pixel-art turn-based dungeon crawler showcase with fog of war, room-and-corridor exploration, floor descent, persistent upgrades, items, and mobile swipes.

Skills

• skills/ — English, sample-derived agent skills for pixel-art coding, premium visual design, HTML decks, roguelike game loops, casual game systems, responsive Canvas game shells, coding-agent delivery, and research brief workflows.

Local DeepSeek runtime

The native runtime source is managed in this repository without changing the npm package install surface. package.json uses an explicit files allowlist, so native/ is available to GitHub users and source builders but is not packed into the published npm wrapper.

Build both native components on macOS:

npm run build:native

Or build individually:

npm run build:ds4
npm run build:dsgo

See native/README.md, native/ds4/README.md, and native/dsgo/README.md for runtime details.

Reporting issues

Open an issue. The new- issue form will route you to the right template:

• CLI bug or feature — typically forwarded to a8e-ai/zero-cli where the CLI code lives, but feel free to start here if you're not sure.
• macOS native app — report here. Please redact any sensitive paths, file names, or model output before pasting logs.
• Documentation, install, or general questions — start here.
• Security vulnerabilities — use private vulnerability reporting, not public issues.

⚠️ Privacy reminder: crash logs and console output may contain project paths, file names, environment variable values, or model output. Review before pasting into a public issue. If a report genuinely needs sensitive data, contact the maintainers privately instead.

About this npm package

The deeptide npm package is an intentionally thin redirect to @paean-ai/zero-cli, which contains all CLI source code. We publish under both names so users can install whichever feels natural; both resolve to the same binary with the DeepTide brand surface. There is exactly one source of truth (a8e-ai/zero-cli) — no duplicated implementation.

License

MIT — see LICENSE and NOTICE.

DeepTide is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic, Inc. or DeepSeek (Hangzhou) AI Co., Ltd.

_{Built with 🐳 by a8e — for DeepSeek, on every platform.}