How to Get Started with DeepSeek? Master Million-Context AI from Zero

DeepSeek is a high-performance large language model series from DeepSeek (深度求索), built on a Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture with a standard 1 million token ultra-long context across the entire lineup. Whether you are a developer, researcher, or knowledge worker, this guide will help you get started with DeepSeek quickly.

What Is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek’s standout trait is combining high performance with exceptional value—delivering open-source and domestic-leading results in Agent capabilities, world knowledge, and reasoning performance, while API pricing is only a tiny fraction of closed-source models.

DeepSeek offers two main versions:

DeepSeek-V4-Pro: 1.6T total parameters, 49B active parameters—performance on par with top closed-source models
DeepSeek-V4-Flash: 284B total parameters, 13B active parameters—designed for higher speed and efficiency workloads

Both models support free switching between Thinking / Non-Thinking dual modes.

How to Get Started

1. Create an Account

Visit the DeepSeek App to register a new account. New users receive 5 million free tokens with no credit card required.

2. Choose How to Use It

DeepSeek supports multiple ways to use it:

Web: Use directly in the browser with chat, file upload, image understanding, and more
Official App: Use DeepSeek on mobile anytime, anywhere
API Service: Integrate into your applications via RESTful API

3. Understand Core Features

Ultra-Long Context Processing

DeepSeek ships with a 1 million token context window across the lineup. This means you can:

Upload an entire book at once for analysis
Input large-scale codebases for code review
Maintain very long conversation history without losing context

Deep Thinking and Reasoning

DeepSeek supports three reasoning intensity levels:

Mode	Description	Best For
Non-think	Fast response, low latency	Daily chat, simple Q&A
Think High	Moderate reasoning depth	General programming, document analysis
Think Max	Maximum reasoning intensity	Mathematical proofs, competitive programming, complex reasoning

Agent Capabilities

DeepSeek’s Agentic Coding capabilities reach open-source SOTA levels and integrate seamlessly with:

Claude Code
OpenClaw
OpenCode

and other mainstream AI Agent tools, fully deployed across DeepSeek’s internal R&D workflows.

Multimodal Image Understanding

After enabling image understanding mode, you can upload images directly for in-depth analysis by DeepSeek. Its capabilities go far beyond simple text extraction, using the core framework of “Thinking with Visual Primitives.”

Web Search

With web search enabled, DeepSeek can fetch real-time information and answer questions involving current events and the latest data.

API Getting Started

If you are a developer, you can integrate DeepSeek into your applications via API.

Pricing Reference

Model	Input Price	Output Price
V4-Flash	$0.14/M tokens	$0.28/M tokens
V4-Pro	$1.74/M tokens	$3.48/M tokens

Prices are lower on cache hits. DeepSeek-V4 is open-sourced under the MIT license with zero barriers to commercial use.

Basic Call Flow

Obtain an API Key from the DeepSeek open platform
Choose a model version (Pro or Flash)
Select a reasoning mode based on your use case (Thinking / Non-Thinking)
Send requests and handle responses

Best Practice Recommendations

Long document analysis: Make full use of the 1 million token context—input complete documents at once rather than in segments
Programming tasks: Prefer Think High or Think Max modes for more accurate code generation
Cost optimization: Use the Flash version for daily tasks and the Pro version for complex reasoning
Agent integration: Connect DeepSeek to your development toolchain to boost programming efficiency

Next Steps

Read our AI Large Model Trends Analysis to understand DeepSeek’s position in the AI landscape
Browse Homepage Features for a full overview of DeepSeek’s core capabilities
Check FAQ for answers to common usage questions

Ready to begin? Head to the app now and experience DeepSeek’s powerful capabilities for free.