dsh-plugins/dsh-thought-buddy

dsh-thought-buddy

A DeepSeek Harness Web plugin that puts a dynamic little buddy — a GrokBot-style animated avatar with a synchronized typewriter status line — right in front of the "Deep diving..." indicator.

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dsh-thought-buddy is a Web plugin with profile-backed configuration for the DeepSeek Harness Web GUI. While the model is working, the status pill that reads Deep diving... grows a tiny Grok-style robot avatar: it blinks, swaps expressions with a springy morph, wanders its gaze, and gently bobs — all drawn live as SVG via requestAnimationFrame, with no additional animation library. Every time the avatar switches expression, the status text rewrites itself with a typewriter effect (deleting character by character, then typing out the next word).

The avatar animation is ported from nasawz/GrokBot (a pure Flutter CustomPaint widget) to the web: all 25 expressions × 2 eyes × 48-point eye rings, 18 body shapes, and 39 states with their expression/blink cadences are preserved.

Features

Feature	Description
GrokBot avatar	thinking-state expression pool [8,16,14,17,5] cycles automatically; springy morph between expressions; 320 ms blinks (random 3.5–7 s interval); spherical head-turn projection + wandering gaze; gentle 1.7 s breathing bob
Expression-synced typewriter	on every expression switch, the status text leaves Deep diving... via a typewriter effect (delete character by character, pause, then type out the next word) cycling through 55 candidates (Accomplishing…Working), e.g. Reticulating...
Emoji mode	fallback mode that cycles an emoji list (default 🤿 🫧 🌊 🐙 🔍 🧠 💭) with a pop-in on every switch
Theme aware	follows prefers-color-scheme: light #5b7fe5/#fffdf7, dark #6689ea/#181a15 (matching the DSH theme)
Reduced motion	under prefers-reduced-motion: reduce, the bob and head-turn sway are disabled; expression changes and blinks remain
Self-cleaning	the animation stops as soon as the status pill leaves the DOM; inserted nodes survive React re-renders and are re-asserted on the next mutation if ever removed

Install

Copy the block below and paste it to your DSH agent (the assistant in this web GUI). The agent performs the install and verification for you — no manual npm or profile editing needed:

Install the @dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy plugin into the profile I specify (or ask me if I didn't name one). The npm package name is `@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy`; use the GitHub source `github:dsh-plugins/dsh-thought-buddy`, or `file:<path>` / `link:<path>` for local development.

Steps:
1. Add the plugin dependency: `dsh plugin --profile <PROFILE> add @dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy` (or the equivalent plugin-manager command for my profile).
2. Verify `node_modules/@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy` resolves and holds a built `lib/` directory (at least `lib/index.js` and `lib/client.js`). Install dsh-loader `^2.0.0-dev.42783642741` alongside this plugin; building the TypeScript sources needs the `typescript` devDependency (`npm ci`/`npm install` once). If the artifacts are missing, run `npm run build` in the plugin directory and re-add.
3. Make sure the profile manifest's `dsh.profile.bundles` includes `@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy` — the bundle patch (`cordis.patch.yml`) inserts the plugin row automatically at boot.
4. Do not start the profile — install and verify only, then report what you changed.

Then restart dsh web, refresh the page, and send the model a message — the buddy appears in front of Deep diving.... Runtime preferences use the loader-managed configuration form and apply immediately.

Install from a local checkout (link:)

For local development, wire the plugin into a web profile via a link: dependency (example: C:\Users\Administrator\.dsh\profiles\web):

// package.json (profile)
"dependencies": { "@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy": "link:C:/path/to/dsh-thought-buddy" },
"dsh": { "profile": { "bundles": [ /* ... */, "@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy" ] } }

1. Build the artifacts: npm run build → compiles TypeScript and produces lib/client.js + lib/index.js
2. In the profile, run pnpm install (works offline)
3. Restart dsh web — the client-module manifest is composed at boot, so a new bundle needs a restart
4. Refresh the page and send the model a message

2.0.0 configuration and migration

Requires Node.js 24.9+ and dsh-loader ^2.0.0-dev.42783642741. Supports the loader's explicit 0.1.5, 0.1.6, 0.1.7, 0.2.0, 0.2.1 and 0.2.2 release families, including prereleases.

Loader's config-api stores preferences at <profile>/config/dsh-thought-buddy/config.json. Before 0.1.6-alpha.2, open Settings → Plugin configuration; from that version, use the plugin detail page. The card starts collapsed. Saving immediately refreshes the animation. Reset changes the draft until saved.

Field	Default	Meaning
enabled	true	Show the buddy
mode	avatar	Animated avatar or cycling emoji
size	18	Size, 8–64 px
emojis	🤿 🫧 🌊 🐙 🔍 🧠 💭	Nonempty array of emoji strings

1.x localStorage keys are no longer read or imported automatically. Re-enter old preferences in the form. Each profile has its own configuration; uninstalling retains the file. Unload cancels the subscription and animation, including configuration reads that complete later.

Development and architecture

npm ci
npm run gen         # regenerate when upstream GrokBot data changes
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm run verify

The host entry registers a config-api template. The client reads and subscribes to preferences, mounts the SVG/typewriter with dshLoaderUi.mount, and cleans up on update or unload.

src/config.ts contains browser-safe defaults and types; src/config-template.ts is host-only. tsdown bundles client ESM into a __ModuleLoader__.load factory. The client declares the dshLoaderUi service dependency; package metadata declares the loader client module dependency.

test/verify.mjs checks the built bundle's SVG, animation cadence, typewriter, live configuration changes and unload during an asynchronous read. The original geometry and animation engine are retained.

Links

• Repository: https://github.com/dsh-plugins/dsh-thought-buddy
• npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@dsh-plugin/dsh-thought-buddy

License

BSD-3-Clause. The eye-ring geometry, body shapes, and state cadences derive from nasawz/GrokBot (BSD-3-Clause, Copyright (c) 2026 nasawz), credited in the LICENSE file.