DeepSeek opens its App stack through the API: search, files, links, safety and voice become parameters
Synopsis
DeepSeek has exposed the search, file parsing, link reading, safety checking and voice capabilities behind the DeepSeek App through the DeepSeek API, so developers can switch on built-in features with a few parameters or call standalone APIs such as OCR, ASR and TTS. V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash) supports these capabilities across Messages, Responses and Chat Completions, with tool calls and context assembly handled server-side. Extended capabilities incur tool usage fees on top of standard token charges, and public-facing apps must enable safety checks.
Interpretation
The full set of capabilities behind the DeepSeek App can now be called through the DeepSeek API, so developers no longer have to rebuild search, file reading and safety screening from scratch. Previously these capabilities existed only inside the DeepSeek App as one way of interacting with AI, leaving developers without an interface entry point for richer conversations or for recreating the full App experience. DeepSeek also provides an open-source frontend demo with support for importing DeepSeek conversation history, indicating the interfaces can support a working chat application.
Built-in capabilities enter a conversation request as parameter switches, with tool calls and context assembly handled server-side. They are enabled by passing per-feature parameters, such as deepseek_web_search for search and deepseek_read_url for link reading, rather than by developers assembling retrieval and fetching on the client. V4.1-Flash (deepseek-flash) offers these capabilities across Messages, Responses and Chat Completions, covering web and image search, deep thinking search during multi-step reasoning, parsing of PDFs, Office files and images, automatic fetching of links in user messages, and input and output safety screening.
Search, fetch, OCR, ASR and TTS are also available as standalone APIs for custom workflows. The built-in switches target conversation scenarios, while the standalone interfaces expose the same capabilities separately, and the two coexist. Extended capabilities incur tool usage fees in addition to standard token charges, with a separate tool pricing breakdown; public-facing apps must enable safety checks, while content moderation, model registration and AI-generated content labeling remain the developer's responsibility.
Perspective
The capabilities target developers building chat applications on the DeepSeek API, covering V4.1-Flash built-in features across Messages, Responses and Chat Completions plus separately callable search, fetch, OCR, ASR and TTS interfaces; the public material gives no accuracy or latency figures for these capabilities.
Web search returns web or image results with citations in non-thinking mode, while deep thinking search searches and reads pages throughout multi-step reasoning; extended capabilities incur tool usage fees on top of standard token charges, with exact prices in the tool pricing breakdown.