manual_slop/conductor/tracks/deepseek_support_20260225/spec.md

Specification: DeepSeek API Provider Support

Overview

Implement a new AI provider module to support the DeepSeek API within the Manual Slop application. This integration will leverage a dedicated SDK to provide access to high-performance models (DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1) with support for streaming, tool calling, and detailed reasoning traces.

Functional Requirements

• Dedicated SDK Integration: Utilize a DeepSeek-specific Python client for API interactions.
• Model Support: Initial support for deepseek-v3 (general performance) and deepseek-r1 (reasoning).
• Core Features:
  • Streaming: Support real-time response generation for a better user experience.
  • Tool Calling: Integrate with Manual Slop's existing tool/function execution framework.
  • Reasoning Traces: Capture and display reasoning paths if provided by the model (e.g., DeepSeek-R1).
• Configuration Management:
  • Add [deepseek] section to credentials.toml for api_key.
  • Update config.toml to allow selecting DeepSeek as the active provider.

Non-Functional Requirements

• Parity: Maintain consistency with existing Gemini and Anthropic provider implementations in ai_client.py.
• Error Handling: Robust handling of API rate limits and connection issues specific to DeepSeek.
• Observability: Track token usage and costs according to DeepSeek's pricing model.

Acceptance Criteria

• User can select "DeepSeek" as a provider in the GUI.
• Successful completion of prompts using both DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 models.
• Tool calling works correctly for standard operations (e.g., read_file).
• Reasoning traces from R1 are captured and visible in the discussion history.
• Streaming responses function correctly without blocking the GUI.

Out of Scope

• Support for OpenAI-compatible proxies for DeepSeek in this initial track.
• Automated fine-tuning or custom model endpoints.