dsh-skill-manage · Skill Management Plugin
English | 中文
A skill management plugin for DeepSeek Harness (dsh): manage skills from the settings panel (list / enable / disable / delete / add a .zip), and via an agent-callable skill_manage tool that creates, modifies, and deletes skill files programmatically. Works on both the dsh web app and the official desktop app.
Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|
| Skill List | Display all skills grouped by scope (global / workspace), with search |
| Enable / Disable | Toggle switch for hot enable/disable, no restart required |
| Delete Skill | Permanently remove skill files with a custom confirmation dialog |
| Add Skill | Pick a .zip archive and auto-extract it into the global skills directory (~/.dsh/skills) |
| Skill Details | Render skill content as Markdown, display frontmatter metadata table |
Agent Tool skill_manage | LLM-callable tool to create / modify / delete skills via tool calls, in global or workspace scope |
Background
dsh officially has no skill enable/disable control — no CLI command, no settings UI, no slash command, no config file field, no API method. The only official "control" is via frontmatter fields disable-model-invocation and user-invocable, which require manual file editing and don't truly disable the skill (it's still discovered and loaded, just hidden from certain interfaces).
This plugin implements true toggle control via a .disabled file rename mechanism: renaming SKILL.md to SKILL.md.disabled causes dsh's official provider to ignore the file (it only recognizes .md extensions), effectively "disabling" the skill.
Breaking Changes in 0.2.0
This release contains breaking changes for downstream consumers:
- typert RPC contract aligned to the official
create factory. The host/client codec now uses create: () => schema (required since dsh 0.1.6-alpha.1). It is no longer compatible with the old schema-only contract (e.g. dsh-desktop 0.5.0).
- Dependencies moved to
peerDependencies with open ranges. All @deepseek-ai/* packages (including cordis and every dsh-*) are now peerDependencies with ^ ranges, so the plugin binds to the host's dsh version at runtime instead of pinning an exact build. Exact versions are kept in devDependencies for local builds. This also satisfies the desktop plugin-graph validator, which rejects shared packages declared in dependencies.
- Cross-platform by design. The same bundle runs in both the dsh web profile and the official desktop profile — no per-platform rewrite. (Note: plugins are installed per profile; installing into the
web profile does not make them appear in the desktop profile, and vice versa — that is profile isolation, not incompatibility.)
Installation
Prerequisites
- DeepSeek Harness (dsh) web app or official desktop app,
dsh >= 0.1.6-alpha.1
- Node.js >= 18 (local development only)
Install via dsh
dsh plugin --profile web add @lijian-ui/dsh-skill-manage
--profile is required and selects the target profile (web or desktop). Plugins are isolated per profile: installing into web will not make it appear in desktop, and vice versa. Restart the app after installation.
Local Development
# Enter the plugin directory
cd extensions/dsh-skill-manage
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build
npm run build
# Watch mode
npm run watch
# Type check
npm run typecheck
Build output goes to lib/ and is automatically synced to node_modules/@lijian-ui/dsh-skill-manage via junction. Restart the app after each build to load the new bundle.
Usage
- Open dsh (web or desktop)
- Navigate to Settings → Skill Manage
- In the skill list:
- Click the toggle switch to enable/disable a skill
- Click the delete button to permanently remove a skill
- Click a skill card to view details
- Use the search box to filter skills
- Click "Add skill" and pick a .zip archive to import into the global skills directory
Agent Tool skill_manage
The plugin also registers an agent-callable tool named skill_manage, so the LLM can create, modify, or delete skills during a session.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|
action | create | modify | delete | yes | Operation to perform |
name | string | yes | Skill name (lowercase letters, digits, hyphens; e.g. my-skill) |
description | string | create only | Skill description |
when_to_use | string | no | When the skill should trigger |
content | string | create only | Skill body (Markdown) |
scope | global | workspace | no (default global) | Where to write: global → ~/.dsh/skills; workspace → <project>/.dsh/skills |
delete reuses the same file logic as the GUI delete.workspace scope resolves the project root by walking up from the session cwd to the nearest directory containing .git.- All writes land in the dsh-main skills directory (
~/.dsh/skills or <project>/.dsh/skills), which is exactly what dsh scans, so a newly created skill is immediately discoverable.
Skill File Convention
| State | Directory Bundle | Flat File |
|---|
| Enabled | <name>/SKILL.md | <name>.md |
| Disabled | <name>/SKILL.md.disabled | <name>.md.disabled |
Skill Scopes
| Scope | Path | Description |
|---|
| Global dsh | ~/.dsh/skills/ | User global skills |
| Global agents | ~/.agents/skills/ | Agents global skills |
| Workspace | <workspace>/.dsh/skills/ | Project-level skills |
| Bundled | DSH_BUNDLED_SKILL_DIR | Deployment-bundled, read-only |
Technical Architecture
Directory Structure
extensions/dsh-skill-manage/
├── src/
│ ├── index.ts # Host entry (inject: typert, settings, skills, sessions, agents, tools)
│ ├── remote.ts # Host RPC methods (list/setEnabled/deleteSkill/importZip) + skill_manage tool registration
│ ├── skill-files.ts # File conventions (DISABLED_SUFFIX, collectSkillEntries, frontmatter validation)
│ └── client/
│ ├── index.ts # Client entry (SECTION_ID, RPC registration, inject)
│ ├── SkillManageSection.tsx # Main settings component (card list + toggle + detail dialog)
│ └── client-i18n.ts # Client i18n (zh/en)
├── lib/ # Build output
├── docs/
│ └── troubleshooting-and-bugs.md # Troubleshooting & official bug analysis
├── package.json
└── tsdown.config.ts
Host Side (src/remote.ts)
Provides the following RPC methods:
| Method | Function |
|---|
list(sessionId) | List all skills with enabled status |
content(name, sessionId) | Get full skill content |
setEnabled(name, sessionId, enabled) | Enable/disable skill (file rename) |
deleteSkill(name, sessionId) | Delete skill |
importZip(sessionId, payload) | Extract a .zip archive and install the skill into the global skills dir (<DSH_HOME>/skills, default ~/.dsh/skills) |
workspaces() | List available workspaces |
skill_manage (agent tool) | LLM-callable: create / modify / delete a skill via tool calls (scope: global → ~/.dsh/skills, workspace → <project>/.dsh/skills) |
Client Side (src/client/)
index.ts: Registers the settings section via ctx.slots.injectSkillManageSection.tsx: React component rendering skill cards, toggle switches, detail dialog, delete confirmation, and migration dialogclient-i18n.ts: Chinese/English translations
Toggle Mechanism
User clicks toggle
→ Client optimistically updates UI (immediate switch state change)
→ RPC call to host setEnabled
→ Host: rename(SKILL.md ↔ SKILL.md.disabled)
→ dsh chokidar watcher detects file change
→ Registry cache invalidated (revision++)
→ After 800ms delay, ctx.emit('connection/reset')
→ Client fetches Map cleared
→ Next / completion re-queries → gets latest skill list
Known Issues & Solutions
Slash command completion not refreshing after enabling a skill
Issue: After enabling a skill, the / slash command completion menu in the chat doesn't show the newly enabled skill.
Root Cause: dsh's official dsh-client-ui-skill package is missing a subscription to the skills/change event, causing the client-side skill list cache to never be invalidated when skill files change.
Our Solution: In reloadAfterHot, after an 800ms delay, call ctx.emit('connection/reset') to silently refresh all module caches. Since the user is in the settings panel, they won't perceive the cache refresh in the chat interface.
See Troubleshooting & Bug Analysis for details.
Internationalization
Supports Chinese and English. Translation files are in src/client/client-i18n.ts. Language follows the dsh desktop language setting.
Tech Stack
- Language: TypeScript
- Build: tsdown (rolldown)
- Frontend: React 18
- Markdown Rendering:
MarkdownText component from @deepseek-ai/dsh-client-ui-primitives
- YAML Parsing: yaml (frontmatter parsing)
- File Watching: dsh's official chokidar watcher (auto-detects skill file changes)
- Runtime dependencies:
fflate, yaml, zod
- Host dependencies (peer): all
@deepseek-ai/* — cordis ^4.0.0, every dsh-* ^0.1.0, dsh-tools ^0.1.0 — open ranges, resolved to the host dsh version at runtime
License
MIT
Related Links
