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dsh-llm-mlx

DeepSeek Harness plugin for local MLX-LM models with loopback-only defaults and optional managed server startup

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Language
TypeScript
Created
Aug 25, 2026
Updated
Aug 25, 2026
GitHub repo

Introduction

dsh-llm-mlx

中文

Use a local MLX-LM or MLX-VLM model as a DeepSeek Harness provider. The plugin contributes a local-mlx model route through DSH's built-in OpenAI-compatible adapter and can optionally start and own mlx_lm.server or mlx_vlm.server for the lifetime of the DSH process.

No model weights are included. Managed startup is limited to Apple-silicon macOS and binds the server to 127.0.0.1.

Requirements

  • Apple-silicon macOS for managed MLX startup.
  • DeepSeek Harness 0.1.0-rc.6 or 0.1.1-rc.1+.
  • A local Python environment with mlx-lm or mlx-vlm, matching the selected model, and a downloaded MLX model.

The provider can also reuse an independently managed OpenAI-compatible server at http://127.0.0.1:18080/v1; in that mode DSH does not own its process.

Install

For the Web profile:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:robbywang25/dsh-llm-mlx

For DSH Desktop's profile:

dsh plugin --profile desktop add github:robbywang25/dsh-llm-mlx

The package ships committed lib/ output and has no install lifecycle script. It can also be installed from dsh-market after the catalog entry is published.

Option A: reuse an existing MLX server

Start the server from the Python environment that contains mlx-lm:

python -m mlx_lm server \
  --model /absolute/path/to/your-mlx-model \
  --host 127.0.0.1 \
  --port 18080 \
  --max-tokens 512 \
  --chat-template-args '{"enable_thinking":false}'

For a vision-language model, use an environment containing mlx-vlm:

python -m mlx_vlm.server \
  --model /absolute/path/to/your-mlx-vlm-model \
  --host 127.0.0.1 \
  --port 18080 \
  --max-tokens 512

Then open DSH Settings → Models → Local MLX and enter any non-empty local placeholder such as local-only. The local MLX servers do not require this value; the generic OpenAI client requires a non-empty API-key field. The value is sent only to the loopback endpoint.

Create a new session and choose MLX Local Model.

Option B: let DSH own the MLX server

Set these variables before starting DSH:

export DSH_MLX_MODEL_PATH=/absolute/path/to/your-mlx-model
export DSH_MLX_PYTHON=/absolute/path/to/python
dsh web

DSH_MLX_MODEL_PATH enables managed mlx-lm startup by default. The plugin checks for local model configuration, tokenizer configuration, and safetensors weights before it spawns Python. It reuses an already healthy server on port 18080, refuses an occupied unhealthy port, and terminates only a server process that it started.

For a persistent machine-local profile setting, add this to that profile's cordis.patch.yml instead of exporting variables:

- id: llm-mlx-runtime
  config:
    autoStart: true
    serverEngine: mlx-lm
    modelPath: /absolute/path/to/your-mlx-model
    pythonExecutable: /absolute/path/to/python

Set serverEngine: mlx-vlm for a vision-language model. MLX-VLM managed startup uses its own module and supported server flags; MLX-LM-only sampling flags are not passed to it.

Do not commit a user-specific model path to a public repository.

Defaults

SettingDefault
Managed server enginemlx-lm
Providerlocal-mlx
Model iddefault_model
API base URLhttp://127.0.0.1:18080/v1
Context window advertised to DSH16,384 tokens
Maximum output512 tokens
Temperature / top-p / top-k0.6 / 0.8 / 20
Thinking template flagdisabled
Managed startupoff unless DSH_MLX_MODEL_PATH is set

The provider profile remains editable through DSH's Models page. If a server uses another port, update both its runtime configuration and the provider base URL.

Security boundary

  • The managed server host is fixed to 127.0.0.1; the plugin has no LAN or public bind option.
  • Model paths must be absolute and point to existing local MLX files. The plugin does not download models.
  • Python is launched with an argument array, never through a shell.
  • The plugin does not upload weights, prompts, responses, credentials, or telemetry.
  • The placeholder DSH_MLX_API_KEY is not an external credential.
  • Unloading the plugin stops only the child process that the plugin owns. An independently managed server is never stopped.

The MLX HTTP servers are local development servers. Keep them on loopback and do not expose them directly to an untrusted network.

Verify

curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:18080/health
curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:18080/v1/models

The final acceptance test is a new DSH session that has MLX Local Model selected and receives a real reply. A visible model card or a 200 health response alone does not prove the full DSH path.

Repository checks:

npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run check

Uninstall

dsh plugin --profile web remove dsh-llm-mlx
# or
dsh plugin --profile desktop remove dsh-llm-mlx

Managed servers stop when the plugin unloads. Stop an independently managed server separately. The optional local placeholder credential can be removed from DSH's Models settings after uninstalling.

License

MIT. MLX-LM, MLX-VLM, and each model keep their own licenses; this repository does not redistribute them.