DeepSeek Quick Start

If this is your first time using DeepSeek, do not start with release speculation or parameter debates.
Start by running one small, useful workflow end to end.

Step 1: choose the right entry

For general users

If you want fast Q&A, summaries, rewrites, or lightweight analysis, begin with the official website and chat entry.

Separate these clearly:

• Website: product entry and official navigation
• Chat entry: direct interactive usage
• API docs: parameters and code examples for developers

For developers

If you are integrating DeepSeek into a product, workflow, or agent system, start from the API docs immediately.

Step 2: test an easy-to-verify task

For the first run, choose a task where quality is easy to judge:

• Summarize a long document into five points
• Turn a PRD into an action list
• Convert an error log into a debugging plan
• Rewrite a long article into an FAQ or landing page explanation

Step 3: use a structured prompt

At minimum, define:

1. the goal
2. the background material
3. the limits
4. the output format
5. the review criteria

Example:

You are my AI assistant.

Goal:
Turn the following material into a summary for a product manager.

Background:
This is a project retrospective involving engineering, operations, and user feedback.

Requirements:
1. Keep only decision-relevant information
2. Return 5 key takeaways
3. Add 3 unresolved questions

Output format:
- Conclusion
- Key points
- Risks
- Open questions

Step 4: run a second-pass review

The first answer is a draft, not the finish line. Ask follow-up questions such as:

• Which conclusions are assumptions?
• What information is missing?
• What should be removed for an executive summary?
• What are the next concrete actions?

Step 5: keep human review for anything risky

Always review manually when the output affects:

• factual claims and citations
• production code changes
• legal or compliance interpretation
• external publishing
• business decisions

Continue here

• Improve quality with Prompt Patterns
• Build integrations with API Workflows