dsh-semble

Semantic code search for DeepSeek Harness.

Ask where something lives instead of recalling what it is called, and the agent finds the file, reads it, then edits.

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dsh-semble brings Semble's code index into every DSH session as two native MCP tools. grep needs a string you already know; this needs a description of behaviour — "where is the retry policy applied when a request fails", "which module decides the scoring weights". That is usually the moment an agent starts guessing file names.

Nothing to learn beyond that: after installation the tools sit next to read and grep, and the agent decides when the index is worth a call.

What you get

Tool	Hand it	Back comes
mcp__semble__search	a sentence describing the code or where it lives	ranked file:line hits with snippets
mcp__semble__find_related	one location you already know	its neighbours: other implementations, callers, tests

A typical exchange:

You: Where does DSH decide that a plugin is "loaded"?

Agent: calls search, gets a hit in the plugin inventory, opens it with read, finds isEntryLoaded comparing loader entry names against the package name, and answers from the source rather than from a guess.

Using the tools

• repo — required. Absolute path of the repository, or an https:// git URL. A list searches several repositories at once.
• top_k — default 5. Raise to 10–20 when the first pass misses.
• max_snippet_lines — default 10; 0 returns locations only.
• content — code (default), docs, config, or all.

The first query against a repository builds its index (slow, one-time); later queries reuse it. Hits are ranked by similarity, so a score near 0.0x usually means "nothing relevant here" rather than "the best answer".

Install

Desktop app

Settings → Plugins → Install, and paste:

dsh-semble

Pin a version with dsh-semble@2.0.0. The settings page is the only supported route for the desktop profile — the CLI refuses it because the Electron app owns that profile's node_modules and lockfile.

CLI

dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-semble

The subcommand runs pnpm add inside the profile and reconciles dsh.profile.bundles, so the bundle mounts on the next start. There is no build step, so pnpm needs no allowBuilds exemption.

From source

To track main, a fork, or an unreleased commit, install from the repository instead:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:CodeIntegrity/dsh-semble

github:owner/repo, git+https://…, https://github.com/owner/repo and .tgz URLs are accepted; these need git on PATH.

Local checkout

dsh plugin --profile web add link:/absolute/path/to/dsh-semble   # macOS / Linux
dsh plugin --profile web add link:D:\path\to\dsh-semble          # Windows

The profile then points at your working copy, so edits to cordis.patch.yml apply on the next start without reinstalling.

Prerequisites

uv must be on PATH — uvx launches Semble from PyPI:

winget install astral-sh.uv                      # Windows

brew install uv                                  # macOS
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh  # macOS / Linux

First start downloads the package and the embedding model (~1–2 min, one-time, offline afterwards). Restart DSH once after installing; until then the settings row may read 待重启.

Settings

Edit the semble-mcp row in Settings → Plugins:

Field	Default	Why change it
args	--from 'semble[mcp]' semble	append --content all to index docs and config too
args (version)	floating	semble[mcp]==X.Y.Z pins a release
env	empty	HF_ENDPOINT on restricted networks, SEMBLE_CACHE_LOCATION to move the index
cwd	inherited	keep unset; per-call repo values should be absolute paths
command	uvx	point it at uvx.exe if only a .cmd shim is installed

Changing settings restarts the MCP connection; disk index caches survive.

Platform notes

The bundle ships no OS-specific path and no region-specific endpoint, so one installation serves all three platforms. What differs is only what you type:

Concern	Windows	macOS / Linux
Executable	uvx.exe, resolved through PATH	uvx
Repository paths	D:\work\repo	/home/me/repo
Profile home	C:\Users\<you>\.dsh	~/.dsh
Retrieved paths	keep \ separators	POSIX /

Bundled skill

Installation also registers one routing skill, semble-code-search. The tools do not advertise when they are worth calling, and a model that reaches for grep first never learns that the index existed.

DSH loads skills lazily:

When	Enters the session	Cost
Before the first request	one catalog entry (name + capped description)	a few hundred bytes per session
Model calls skill	the full skills/semble/SKILL.md body	~2 KB, only when used
You type /semble-code-search	same body, injected into that step	manual

The body never enters the system prompt. To keep the tools and drop the skill, delete the ctx.skills.register(...) call in lib/index.js.

How it works

The bundle inserts two loader rows:

1. semble-mcp-anchor — a no-op plugin loaded under this package's own name. DSH decides "loaded" by matching loader entry names against the installed package name, and the MCP client row loads under @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client; without the anchor the settings row reads 未加载 / 待重启 while the tools work fine.
2. semble-mcp — the official @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client row, configured to start uvx --from "semble[mcp]" semble over stdio.

Semble itself is not vendored. The plugin declares how to launch it from PyPI with a floating spec, so upstream bugfixes and new tools arrive on the next server start; only a breaking change to the CLI surface would need an edit here.

Update

Re-run the install with a newer version, or press 更新 in settings:

dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-semble@2.0.0

Source installs re-run with the new ref, e.g. dsh plugin --profile web add github:CodeIntegrity/dsh-semble#v2.0.0.

Uninstall

Settings → Plugins → 卸载, or:

dsh plugin --profile web remove dsh-semble

Installed the 1.x source build? Remove it by its old name first: dsh plugin --profile web remove @local/semble-mcp. The package was renamed in 2.0.0, and the anchor row only matches an install whose package name is dsh-semble.

The cached index and the HuggingFace model stay on disk and are reused after a reinstall.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Row reads 待重启 after install	the host loaded its layer list before the install	restart DSH once
Tools work, row reads 未加载	cordis.patch.yml lost the anchor row	reinstall this version or newer
mcp__semble__* never appears	uvx missing, or the first download failed	run uvx --from "semble[mcp]" semble --version and read the error
First search takes minutes	one-time model download	wait, or set HF_ENDPOINT
ERR_PNPM_GIT_RESOLVE_FAILED	no network route to github.com	use a tarball URL or a mirror

Development

git clone https://github.com/CodeIntegrity/dsh-semble
dsh plugin --profile web add link:$(pwd)   # then edit and restart DSH

No build step: lib/index.js is plain ESM and cordis.patch.yml is read directly. The only runtime dependency is uv.

License

MIT