DeepSeek Free API Guide

Provider fit matrix

Production readiness checklist

Python setup snapshot

Start with the smallest possible chat completion, then move the key to your server-side secret manager before production.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="your-deepseek-key",
    base_url="https://api.deepseek.com"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-chat",  # DeepSeek-V3
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "你好"}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

cURL smoke test

Use this to verify endpoint, auth header, model name, response shape, and quota before adding SDK abstractions.

curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "DeepSeek-V4-Pro",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello from yangmao.ai"}]
  }'

Decision checklist

Related internal links

FAQ