Reinstall DSH without losing data: uninstall & ~/.dsh

Uninstalling DeepSeek Harness does not lose data: the program and data are separate — removing the program only touches the npm package or source repo, while config, keys and sessions live independently in $DSH_HOME (default ~/.dsh). Follow four steps — back up, uninstall by method, confirm the data survived, reinstall or migrate — and everything is still there afterwards; migrating to a new machine is a simple copy of ~/.dsh.

Overview: four steps — data always stays independent

Uninstalling dsh is not deleting data: the program lives in the core, the data lives in $DSH_HOME (default ~/.dsh), and the two do not affect each other. DeepSeek Harness keeps program and data apart: the program is an npm package or source repo, while the data directory is defined by $DSH_HOME and defaults to ~/.dsh (source). So whether data survives an uninstall-and-reinstall depends entirely on whether you touched ~/.dsh. The full flow runs in four steps:

1. Back up: copy ~/.dsh (or at least sessions) to a safe location first;
2. Uninstall: remove the program according to your install method;
3. Confirm: check that the $DSH_HOME data directory is intact and was not deleted;
4. Reinstall / migrate: run it again or move the data directory to a new machine.

Each step is unpacked below.

Step 1: uninstall the core by install method

The uninstall command depends on how you installed: npx leaves nothing, npm global runs npm uninstall -g, source builds delete the repository. Three install methods map to three removal approaches:

# Method 1: npx (no local install, nothing to remove; optionally clear the npx cache)
rm -rf ~/.npm/_npx

# Method 2: npm global install of the dsh command
npm uninstall -g @deepseek-ai/dsh

# Method 3: source build (delete the cloned repository)
rm -rf ~/path/to/deepseek-harness

npx pulls packages temporarily from npm on every run and leaves no persistent local install, so there is no core to uninstall — at most clear the ~/.npm/_npx cache directory; a source-built DeepSeek Harness has no global side effects, so deleting the repository directory completes the uninstall (source). On machines where dsh was installed globally, which dsh shows the command path and Method 2 removes it.

Step 2: know the difference between uninstalling and wiping data

Uninstalling removes only the program; everything under $DSH_HOME — config, keys, sessions, profiles — is kept as-is, and only a manual rm -rf ~/.dsh actually wipes the data. This is the most important distinction in this guide. The data directory holds all your assets (source):

So the key to "uninstall and reinstall without losing data" is to leave ~/.dsh alone. If it ever gets touched by accident, restore from the backup you made in Step 1:

cp -r ~/.dsh-backup/sessions ~/.dsh/sessions

Step 3: does my data survive a reinstall?

A reinstall only replaces the program, and $DSH_HOME stays intact — rerunning npx @deepseek-ai/dsh web brings back your config, sessions and plugins. By install method:

1. npx reinstall: rerun npx @deepseek-ai/dsh web; the web profile re-initializes automatically and your model keys, history and installed plugins are all still there (source).
2. Global reinstall: npm install -g @deepseek-ai/dsh overwrites with a new version; the data directory is unaffected.
3. Source reinstall: clone again, pnpm install && pnpm run build, then start — the data is retained as well.

Verify the data in three steps after reinstalling: ① dsh --version confirms the core version; ② start the Web UI and check that history sessions are still there; ③ open Settings → Plugin Center to check installed plugins — with DSH Plugin Hub installed, the installed list shows everything and missing plugins can be reinstalled in one click.

dsh-plugin-hub · Settings

Step 4: migrate data to a new machine

Moving to a new machine is a straight copy of the ~/.dsh directory — config, sessions and keys travel together. Migration steps:

# 1. Package the data directory on the old machine (skip node_modules to shrink it a lot)
tar -czf dsh-data-backup.tar.gz -C ~ .dsh

# 2. Copy it over and extract to the same location on the new machine
tar -xzf dsh-data-backup.tar.gz -C ~

Two things to watch: .credentials.yaml holds model keys — after the move, confirm on the new machine that the keys still work and are not blocked by security software; $DSH_HOME defaults to ~/.dsh, and if you want it elsewhere, set the $DSH_HOME environment variable to the new directory before starting (source). Absolute paths recorded inside profiles (such as workspace directories) may be invalid on another machine, so re-point them as needed after migrating.

Notes on uninstall-and-reinstall

In one sentence: do not delete ~/.dsh when uninstalling and your data survives; if you want a fully fresh start, back up first, then wipe. Three reminders:

1. Back up before anything: whatever you uninstall or wipe, cp -r ~/.dsh ~/.dsh-backup first — it costs almost nothing.
2. Verify with which dsh: after uninstalling, no output means the program is gone; confirm ~/.dsh is intact before reinstalling.
3. No manual plugin reinstall needed: as long as $DSH_HOME is kept, plugin dependencies are kept too; if a plugin does not load, reinstall it in one click from Settings → Plugin Center in DSH Plugin Hub.

Sources: dsh CLI README, DeepSeek Harness Docs - Configure Providers, Official Quickstart