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kRouter
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Use DeepSeek TUI with any AI provider

DeepSeek Terminal Coding Agent (Rust TUI). Pointing DeepSeek TUI at kRouter gives it 100+ providers behind a single local endpoint — free tiers, subscriptions you already pay for, and paid APIs — with automatic failover when one runs out. DeepSeek TUI is configured through a config file.

Note: DeepSeek TUI uses ~/.deepseek/config.toml for configuration. kRouter will update the provider to 'openai' mode with your base_url, api_key, and model.

Heads up: Config path: Linux/macOS ~/.deepseek/config.toml • Windows %USERPROFILE%\.deepseek\config.toml

Setup

  1. Install kRouter

    Install globally, then start it in the background.

  2. Connect a provider

    Open the dashboard and connect whichever providers you want DeepSeek TUI to reach.

  3. Point DeepSeek TUI at kRouter

    Set the base URL to http://localhost:20128/v1 and paste a kRouter API key.

Model slots DeepSeek TUI exposes

Each slot maps to whichever provider model you choose, so DeepSeek TUI keeps its own naming while the request goes wherever you point it.

  • DeepSeek V4 Pro
  • DeepSeek V4 Flash
  • DeepSeek V3 Chat

DeepSeek TUI documentation

What changes for DeepSeek TUI

Nothing about how you use DeepSeek TUI changes — same interface, same workflow. What changes is where its requests land. Instead of being tied to one vendor and one bill, every request goes through your own machine first and out to whichever provider you mapped: a free tier for routine edits, a subscription you already pay for on the heavy turns, a paid API only when nothing else fits. When one account hits a limit, the next takes over mid-session rather than failing the task. And because the router runs locally, your prompts are not passing through a third-party service on the way.

Troubleshooting DeepSeek TUI

The config file change has no effect

Confirm you edited the file the tool actually reads — some tools keep separate global and project configs, and the project one wins. Restart the tool after editing.

Model not found after switching

Model ids are provider-prefixed here (provider/model). Call GET /v1/models against kRouter to see the exact ids your connected providers expose.

DeepSeek TUI + kRouter FAQ

Can DeepSeek TUI use providers other than its default?

Yes — that is the point of routing it through kRouter. kRouter presents one OpenAI-compatible endpoint that fans out to 100+ providers, so DeepSeek TUI can reach any of them without knowing they exist.

How is DeepSeek TUI pointed at kRouter?

Through a config file. Nothing about DeepSeek TUI itself changes — it still speaks the same API.

Does routing DeepSeek TUI through kRouter cost anything?

kRouter is free and MIT-licensed and adds nothing to your bill. What you pay is whatever the provider you routed to charges — which is often nothing, if you route to a free tier or a subscription you already hold.

What happens when a provider runs out of quota mid-session?

kRouter parks that account until its real reset time and fails over to the next one you have connected, so DeepSeek TUI keeps working instead of erroring out mid-task.

Get DeepSeek TUI routing in two minutes

kRouter is free, MIT-licensed, and runs entirely on your machine — no account, no proxy in the middle.

Install kRouter