How to Use KwaFlux with DeepSeek: Connecting DeepSeek Harness (DSH) over MCP

Key takeaways

• DeepSeek Harness (DSH) connects to KwaFlux through one insert row in a cordis.patch.yml file. KwaFlux generates the row for you.
• Put it where the DSH you run will read it: the home patch ~/.dsh/cordis.patch.yml applies to every profile; a profile's own file applies to that profile only.
• DSH hot-reloads patch files, so the tools usually appear without a restart.
• Raise the per-call tool timeout, so a long video job isn't cut off while DeepSeek waits for it.

DeepSeek's agent can drive KwaFlux through the local MCP server that installs with the app. DeepSeek Harness (DSH) loads MCP servers as plugin rows in a layered config file called cordis.patch.yml. In KwaFlux, choose DeepSeek under MCP host, copy the row, and append it to the patch file your DSH profile reads.

In this guide, you'll learn where the row goes, why the profile matters, which timeout to raise, and what to ask DeepSeek first.

Contents

1. How DSH loads MCP servers
2. Before you start
3. Step 1. Copy the row from KwaFlux
4. Step 2. Pick the right patch file
5. Step 3. Append the row
6. Step 4. Check that it loaded
7. Your first requests
8. Troubleshooting
9. FAQ

How DSH loads MCP servers

DeepSeek Harness builds its configuration from layers of patch files. Each profile has its own cordis.patch.yml; a home-level $DSH_HOME/cordis.patch.yml is, in the CLI reference's words, "machine-local preferences shared by every profile, so it outranks the per-profile layer."

MCP servers are rows that use DSH's MCP client plugin, @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client. DSH turns none on by default: the reference explains that "each server command is trusted executable code outside the agent sandbox." Adding KwaFlux is an explicit choice to trust KwaFlux's server.

Before you start

• KwaFlux 1.0.14 or later, open.
• Node.js 18 or newer, on PATH. Check with node --version. KwaFlux's Settings card also looks for Node.js and writes its full path into the config, as in the examples below; if it can't find Node.js, it says so and writes node instead.
• DeepSeek Harness installed. DSH is labeled Preview in its documentation, so paths and commands can change between releases.

Step 1. Copy the row from KwaFlux

In KwaFlux, open Settings › Agent (MCP), choose DeepSeek under MCP host, and click Copy config. For a default Windows install, the row is:

- insert:
    - id: mcp-kwaflux
      name: '@deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client'
      config:
        serverName: kwaflux
        transport: stdio
        command: 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe'
        args: ['C:\Program Files\KwaFlux\Tools\kwaflux-mcp\kwaflux_mcp.mjs']

Sidenote: The path is in single quotes. In YAML, single-quoted strings keep backslashes as they are, so a Windows path needs no escaping.

Step 2. Pick the right patch file

KwaFlux's hint names one file: "Insert this plugin row into ~/.dsh/profiles/web/cordis.patch.yml, then restart the DSH session." That's right if you run DSH's web profile, dsh web. If you use something else, choose accordingly:

On Windows, ~ is C:\Users\<you>. If you've set DSH_HOME, use that folder instead of ~/.dsh.

The most common reason KwaFlux "doesn't show up" in DSH is that the row went into a profile you aren't running.

Step 3. Append the row

1. Back up the file first.
2. The patch file is a YAML list. Add the KwaFlux row at the end, at the same indentation as the other top-level - insert: or - replace: items.
3. If the file doesn't exist yet, create it with just the KwaFlux row.
4. Optionally, raise the tool timeout inside config::

- insert:
    - id: mcp-kwaflux
      name: '@deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client'
      config:
        serverName: kwaflux
        transport: stdio
        command: 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe'
        args: ['C:\Program Files\KwaFlux\Tools\kwaflux-mcp\kwaflux_mcp.mjs']
        toolCallTimeoutMs: 330000

A third-party setup guide reports that DSH's default per-call timeout is 60 seconds. KwaFlux's wait tool can wait up to 300 seconds in one call, so 330,000 milliseconds leaves room. If your DSH version rejects the field, remove it; DeepSeek can still wait again after a cut-off.

Step 4. Check that it loaded

DSH watches patch files and applies valid edits through hot reload, so the server usually starts within seconds of saving. If nothing changes, restart the DSH session, as KwaFlux's hint suggests.

Then ask:

Use the KwaFlux tools to check whether KwaFlux is running.

In DSH, KwaFlux's tools are named mcp__kwaflux__<tool>, such as mcp__kwaflux__kwaflux_get_app_status. If KwaFlux is closed, the tool returns an error starting with app_not_running.

Your first requests

Frame interpolation and the matting and replace tools stay in the app; the assistant is told to send you there for those. Agent downloads stay off unless you set Let agents start downloads under Agent access to Ask every time. KwaFlux then shows a popup for each download, and the assistant also asks you to confirm in the chat that you have the right to download that content.

Troubleshooting

For issues common to every host, see the KwaFlux MCP troubleshooting guide.

Final thoughts

Copy the row from KwaFlux, put it in the patch file the DSH you actually run will read, and add a longer tool timeout for video jobs. DSH reloads it on save. Then keep KwaFlux open and ask DeepSeek to check the app's status before your first real job.

Drive KwaFlux from DeepSeek

KwaFlux includes a local MCP server for DeepSeek Harness and other MCP apps. AI processing runs locally on your GPU — media files are not uploaded for processing. It runs on Windows 10 (64-bit, version 1809 or later), Windows 11, and macOS 12 or newer on Apple Silicon. Importing files and exploring the app need no account. Signing in with an active paid plan is required only to export, convert, repair a file, or download a file from a link.

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