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Codemetry

DeepSeek

DeepSeek offers highly cost-effective AI models with strong reasoning capabilities, making it an excellent choice for budget-conscious usage.

Setup

  1. Get an API Key

    Visit platform.deepseek.com to create an account and generate an API key.

  2. Set Environment Variable

    Terminal window
    export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...

    Or add to your .env file:

    DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...

  3. Configure Codemetry

    config/codemetry.php
    'ai' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'engine' => 'deepseek',
        'model' => null,  // Uses deepseek-chat by default
    ],

  4. Run Analysis

    Terminal window
    php artisan codemetry:analyze --days=7 --ai=1 --ai-engine=deepseek

Available Models

ModelDefaultCostQualitySpeed
deepseek-chat✓Very LowGoodFast
deepseek-reasonerLowBetterMedium

Choosing a Model

For routine analysis: Use deepseek-chat (default)

  • Extremely cost-effective
  • Good quality for metric explanations
  • Fast response times

For deeper analysis: Use deepseek-reasoner

  • Enhanced reasoning capabilities
  • Better at complex pattern analysis
  • Still very affordable
Terminal window
# Override model for single run
php artisan codemetry:analyze --days=7 --ai=1 --ai-engine=deepseek --ai-model=deepseek-reasoner

Or in configuration:

'ai' => [
    'engine' => 'deepseek',
    'model' => 'deepseek-reasoner',
],

API Key Options

Codemetry checks for API keys in this order:

  1. CODEMETRY_AI_API_KEY — Unified key for any engine
  2. DEEPSEEK_API_KEY — DeepSeek-specific key
Terminal window
# Option 1: Unified
export CODEMETRY_AI_API_KEY=sk-...


# Option 2: Engine-specific
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...

Cost Management

DeepSeek offers some of the lowest API pricing available:

Estimated costs per 30-day analysis:

ModelInputOutputTotal
deepseek-chat~$0.001~$0.002~$0.003
deepseek-reasoner~$0.002~$0.004~$0.006

This makes DeepSeek approximately 5-10x cheaper than comparable models from other providers.

Why Choose DeepSeek?

Advantages:

  • Extremely low cost
  • Good quality for structured tasks
  • Fast response times
  • OpenAI-compatible API format

Considerations:

  • Newer provider, less established
  • May have occasional availability issues
  • Quality can vary compared to premium models

For Codemetry’s use case (explaining structured metrics), DeepSeek performs very well at a fraction of the cost.

Troubleshooting

”Invalid API key”

Cause: API key is incorrect or expired.

Solution:

”Connection timeout”

Cause: Network issues or API availability.

Solution:

  • Check your network connectivity
  • Retry after a few seconds
  • Check DeepSeek status page

”Insufficient balance”

Cause: API credit balance exhausted.

Solution:

  • Add credits to your DeepSeek account
  • Check usage in dashboard

Lower Quality Responses

Symptom: AI summaries seem less detailed or insightful.

Solution:

  • Try deepseek-reasoner for better quality
  • Consider using a different engine for critical analyses
  • DeepSeek works well for routine use; use premium models for investigations