The Complete Guide to DeepSeek: How to Use DeepSeek

The Complete Guide to DeepSeek: How to Use DeepSeek?

Let’s be real for a second: keeping up with AI models these days feels like a full-time job. Just when you get comfortable with ChatGPT or Claude, a new player enters the arena.

Enter DeepSeek.

If you’ve been hanging around Twitter (X) or Reddit recently, you’ve probably heard the hype. DeepSeek isn’t just "another AI." It’s an open-weights powerhouse from China that is currently challenging the dominance of Silicon Valley giants—often at a fraction of the cost.

Whether you are a student needing homework help, a developer looking to slash API bills, or a privacy enthusiast who wants to run AI on your own laptop, this guide covers everything.

Here is your ultimate roadmap to mastering DeepSeek.

1. The Casual Route: Web & Mobile (No Code Required)

If you just want to chat, generate text, or debug some code without any technical setup, DeepSeek operates almost exactly like the tools you are already used to.

The Web Portal

The quickest way in is via the browser.

1. Go to chat.deepseek.com.
2. Sign Up: You can use your email, Google account, or phone number.
3. The Interface: It’s clean and minimal. You’ll see a prompt bar at the bottom.
   • DeepThink (Reasoning): Look for a toggle usually labeled "DeepThink" (or "Chain of Thought"). When enabled, the model will "think" visibly before answering. This is amazing for math, logic puzzles, and complex coding architecture, similar to OpenAI’s o1 model.
   • Search: DeepSeek can browse the web for real-time info. Make sure the "Search" globe icon is active if you need up-to-date news.

The Mobile App

Yes, they have an app!

• Download: Available on both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
• Why use it? It’s fast, supports voice input, and syncs your history with the web version. It’s perfect for on-the-go translations or quick brainstorming.

2. The Developer Route: API Integration (The Money Saver)

This is where DeepSeek truly shines. If you are building an app, the DeepSeek API is widely considered the "price-to-performance king."

The Best Part: It is fully compatible with the OpenAI SDK. If you have an app running on GPT-4, you can switch to DeepSeek-V3 in about 30 seconds.

Step-by-Step Integration

Step 1: Get your API Key Head over to the DeepSeek Open Platform, create an account, and generate an API key (it usually starts with sk-...).

Step 2: Install the Library You don’t need a special DeepSeek library. Just use the standard OpenAI one:

pip install openai

Step 3: Write the Code Here is a Python script you can copy-paste. Notice that we just change the base_url and the model name.

from openai import OpenAI

# Initialize client with DeepSeek configuration
client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_DEEPSEEK_API_KEY", 
    base_url="https://api.deepseek.com"  # This is the magic line
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-chat",  # Points to DeepSeek-V3
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a professional coding assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Write a Python script to scrape a website title."}
    ],
    stream=False
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Which API Model to Use?

• deepseek-chat: This usually points to their latest flagship (currently DeepSeek-V3). Use this for 99% of tasks.
• deepseek-reasoner: Use this if you need the model to output its "Chain of Thought" (reasoning process) before the final answer (similar to the DeepThink feature).

3. The Privacy Route: Running Locally (Ollama)

Do you have a powerful gaming laptop (NVIDIA GPU) or a MacBook with an M1/M2/M3 chip? If so, you can run DeepSeek offline. This means zero data leaves your computer.

Using Ollama (The Easiest Method)

Ollama is a tool that manages local LLMs for you.

1. Download Ollama: Install it from the official site.
2. Run the Command: Open your terminal or command prompt.
   • To run the flagship V3 (quantized):

     ollama run deepseek-v3

   • To run the Distilled Reasoning model (DeepSeek-R1-Distill):

     ollama run deepseek-r1

   • Note: If your computer is older, try a smaller version like ollama run deepseek-coder:6.7b.

The "Killer App" for Devs: VS Code + Continue

Imagine having GitHub Copilot, but free and private.

1. Install the "Continue" extension in VS Code.
2. In the settings, select Ollama as the provider.
3. Select DeepSeek-Coder as the model.
4. Enjoy free autocomplete and chat directly in your code editor.

Summary: Which DeepSeek is Right for You?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is DeepSeek better than ChatGPT (GPT-4o)? A: It depends. For coding and logic, DeepSeek-V3 and R1 are extremely competitive and often rank in the top tier on leaderboards. For creative writing or cultural nuances, some users still prefer GPT-4 or Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Q: Is DeepSeek free to use? A: The web chat is currently free (with reasonable usage limits). The API is paid but is significantly cheaper—often 10x to 20x less expensive—than OpenAI's models.

Q: Is my data safe with DeepSeek? A: DeepSeek is compliant with standard data privacy regulations. However, if you are working on highly sensitive, classified, or IP-heavy proprietary code, the safest method is Running Locally (Method 3 above), ensuring no data ever hits a server.

Q: Why is DeepSeek so cheap? A: They use an architecture called Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) and Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA). Simply put, the model is huge, but it only activates a small part of its "brain" for each specific query, saving massive amounts of computing power and electricity.

References & Resources

• Official Chat: chat.deepseek.com
• API Documentation: platform.deepseek.com/api-docs
• Ollama Library: ollama.com/library/deepseek-v3
• DeepSeek GitHub: github.com/deepseek-ai

Enjoyed this guide? Don't forget to share it with your developer friends who are tired of paying high API bills!