DeepSeek Harness v0.1.2-alpha.5: Upgrade Startup and Session Title Fix
Source-backed notes on DSH v0.1.2-alpha.5: why some upgrades could fail to boot or lose session-list titles, and how the cache recovery fix works.
On this page
Released on September 2, 2026, v0.1.2-alpha.5 fixes upgrade startup failures and missing session-list titles.
What alpha.5 officially fixes
DeepSeek published v0.1.2-alpha.5 on September 2, 2026 at 10:02:56 UTC. The official release says that upgrading from 0.1.1-rc.2 or 0.1.2-alpha.3 could prevent the app from starting or make session titles disappear from the session list.
The two user-visible failure modes
App does not start after upgrade
An older on-disk projection cache could be rejected during boot instead of being treated as disposable derived data.
Session-list titles disappear
Older cached listing projections could be dropped or become unreadable even though the underlying sessions were still the authoritative source.
The official release specifically calls out upgrades from 0.1.1-rc.2 and 0.1.2-alpha.3. That is the highest-priority group to verify after moving to alpha.5.
The source fix is mainly a cache-compatibility change
Alpha.5 changes both the generic storage layer and the session projection cache. The important idea is that an old or invalid derived cache should not be allowed to block the whole application from opening.
The session projection cache contains derived data. Missing or invalid cache records can be rebuilt from the session log.
How alpha.5 treats older or bad cache records
Compatible old record
Read it when the current schema can still validate it, then rewrite it in the current format on a later live write.
Old record missing lineage fields
Treat absence as the unseeded lineage for an unseeded session; seeded sessions fail the identity match and rebuild cold instead of trusting the stale cache.
Record that still fails validation
Back it up and skip it. The session is served uncached and the derived projection can be rebuilt.
How to verify the upgrade
- 01
Record the version you are upgrading from
Pay special attention if the starting point is 0.1.1-rc.2 or 0.1.2-alpha.3, the two versions named in the official release note.
- 02
Confirm the installed version
For this upgrade check, record the installed build, previous build and launch method.
- 03
Restart DSH completely
Confirm the application reaches the normal UI instead of failing during storage/plugin initialization.
- 04
Inspect the session list
Confirm previously existing sessions still show their titles. Open several older sessions to force real reads rather than judging only the first rendered list.
- 05
Do not delete cache files as the first response
Alpha.5 is designed to salvage disposable cache records itself. If a problem remains, preserve the DSH home directory and exact version information before troubleshooting further.
Related releases
v0.2.1-alpha.5, released on October 16, 2026, fixes stale plugin skill menus and repeated retries from failed terminals.