E-Ink Retro for DeepSeek Harness

English | 简体中文

E-Ink Retro is a client-side theme for DeepSeek Harness. It uses neutral paper surfaces, near-black type, hard offset shadows, compact corners, and black-and-white selection states. The geometry takes cues from classic Macintosh interfaces while keeping the DSH layout and workflows recognizable.

Highlights

• Balanced mode applies the paper-and-ink shell while keeping semantic status colors and user media.
• Immersive mode maps supported DSH surfaces and compatibility layers to a monochrome ink ramp.
• Links, menus, form controls, tree items, and other adapted elements share a visible keyboard focus treatment.
• Images, attachments, video, canvas output, and iframe content keep their original rendering.
• The theme pauses when you select another third-party theme.

Modes

Mode	Behavior
Balanced	Applies the paper-and-ink shell and control language. Semantic status colors and user content remain available.
Immersive	Maps supported DSH surfaces, status tokens, and verified compatibility layers to grayscale. User media remains unchanged.
Off	Releases the theme token layer and removes the active root attribute. The plugin stays installed.

Install

Requirements:

• DeepSeek Harness with a web profile
• Node.js 20 or newer
• pnpm available to the DSH plugin command

Install the tagged GitHub release:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:exoticknight/dsh-theme-eink-retro#v0.1.0

Restart DSH Web after installation, then open Settings → E-Ink Retro.

Update

Install the newer release tag, replacing the version in the command:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:exoticknight/dsh-theme-eink-retro#vX.Y.Z

Restart DSH Web after changing versions. The tag is intentionally pinned, so updates are explicit and reversible.

Disable or remove

Clear Enable theme in Settings → E-Ink Retro to stop applying the theme without removing the plugin.

Remove the package from the profile:

dsh plugin --profile web remove dsh-theme-eink-retro

Restart DSH Web after removal. The plugin removes its injected style and token layer during unload. Two local mode preferences remain in browser storage so a later reinstall can restore your last selection.

Roll back

Install a specific release tag again:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:exoticknight/dsh-theme-eink-retro#v0.1.0

Use

Open Settings → E-Ink Retro, enable the theme, then select Balanced or Immersive.

Selecting another third-party theme pauses E-Ink Retro. Enabling E-Ink Retro or changing its mode while a third-party theme is active switches DSH back to System. Returning to a built-in System, Light, or Dark theme restores the selected E-Ink mode.

Compatibility

The v0.1.0 release was built and checked with:

Component	Version or environment
DeepSeek Harness	0.1.1-rc.2
Node.js	24.19.0
pnpm	11.19.0
Operating system	Windows 10.0.26200.0

DSH is in developer preview. A future DSH release may change UI hooks or theme tokens and require a plugin update.

Compatibility boundaries

The theme uses DSH semantic tokens and verified component surfaces. Components that consume those tokens inherit the palette.

• Native select menus may use operating-system styling after they open.
• Plugins with hard-coded colors, Shadow DOM, or isolated rendering inherit only part of the theme.
• The optional dsh-context adapter targets the v0.31.x interface.
• High-contrast and print media have explicit fallback treatments. This project does not claim full WCAG certification.

Privacy and storage

E-Ink Retro runs in the DSH client. Its host entry performs no theme work.

• It uses the DSH runtime, theme, and settings services.
• It changes DOM attributes, CSS, and theme tokens.
• It stores two mode preferences in browser localStorage.
• The current source contains no network requests, telemetry, conversation access, or file access.
• Removing the plugin does not delete the two stored mode preferences.

Support

Report problems through GitHub Issues. Include the DSH version, plugin version, E-Ink mode, built-in DSH theme, screenshot, and reproduction steps.

Install from source

Clone the repository, install dependencies, and build:

npm install
npm run build

Link the checkout into DSH:

dsh plugin --profile web add link:/absolute/path/to/dsh-theme-eink-retro

Windows example:

dsh plugin --profile web add link:C:/path/to/dsh-theme-eink-retro

Development

Run the complete local check before submitting a change:

npm run check
git diff --exit-code -- lib
npm pack --dry-run

The main implementation files are:

• src/client/tokens.ts: Balanced tokens and the Immersive ink-ramp overlay
• src/theme.css: design tokens, component geometry, interaction states, and compatibility adapters
• src/client/index.ts: mode storage, token installation, DSH theme coordination, settings, and cleanup
• tests/theme.test.mjs: package, release, and theme-boundary regression checks

Conventions:

• Keep theme CSS under html[data-dsh-theme-eink-retro]. The plugin settings block uses .eink-retro-settings because it must remain readable while the theme is off.
• Put authored colors behind --eink-* tokens. A component may consume an official --dsw-* semantic token when that token represents the component's DSH surface role.
• Use --eink-rule for separators and static surfaces. Use --eink-rule-strong for operable or floating surfaces.
• Keep monochrome compatibility adapters under the immersive attribute selector.
• Do not add a global media filter. A generated class selector requires a comment explaining why no stable hook exists.
• Localized accessible-name selectors must use substring matching, include every supported locale, and carry a structural constraint.

License

Apache License 2.0