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Open-Source Frontier AI — 1.6T Parameters

DeepSeek V4 Prompt Generator

20 free DeepSeek V4 prompts — advanced reasoning, complex coding, research synthesis, and long-form analysis. Copy directly into the DeepSeek API or chat. No signup.

1M Token Context 1.6T Parameters (MoE) MIT Open-Weight License $0.44/M Input Tokens

What Is the DeepSeek V4 Prompt Generator?

This free DeepSeek V4 prompt generator gives you 20 copy-paste prompts designed for the most powerful open-source AI model available in 2026. DeepSeek V4-Pro is a 1.6 trillion parameter mixture-of-experts model with 49 billion active parameters per token, a 1 million token context window, and up to 384K output tokens — all released under the MIT license. Each prompt is structured to leverage V4's strengths: XML-tagged instructions for precise parsing, explicit reasoning chains for complex problems, and structured output formats. Whether you're using the DeepSeek API, self-hosting the open weights, or accessing V4 through third-party platforms, these prompts are ready to paste and use immediately.

F
Coding

Full Codebase Security Audit

I'm sharing the complete source of a Python/FastAPI backend (approx. 25,000 lines across 8 modules). Perform a senior security engineer-level audit: 1. CRITICAL VULNERABILITIES — every instance of SQL injection, path traversal, SSRF, insecure deserialization, or auth bypass, with file paths and line references 2. AUTHENTICATION & AUTHORIZATION — audit every endpoint for missing or bypassable auth checks; map which roles can access what 3. SECRETS & CONFIGURATION — hardcoded credentials, weak defaults, missing rate limits, permissive CORS 4. DEPENDENCY RISK — flag every import with known CVEs or unmaintained status 5. REMEDIATION PLAN — prioritized fixes (P0/P1/P2) with specific code patches for each P0 item Use <reasoning> tags to show your analysis chain before each finding. Output format: structured security report. [Paste codebase]

M
Reasoning

Multi-Step Mathematical Proof

Prove the following theorem rigorously, showing every logical step: Theorem: For any continuous function f: [0,1] → ℝ satisfying ∫₀¹ f(x)xⁿ dx = 0 for all non-negative integers n, f must be identically zero on [0,1]. Requirements: - State all axioms and theorems you invoke (Stone-Weierstrass, Weierstrass approximation, etc.) - Show the proof in two different ways: (a) via polynomial density, (b) via the uniqueness theorem for moments - After each proof, explain where the argument would break if f were only in L² instead of continuous - Use <thinking> tags for your reasoning chain before presenting each formal step Audience: graduate-level mathematics student.

R
Research

Research Paper Meta-Analysis

I'm providing 10 peer-reviewed papers on the effects of large language models on student writing quality in higher education (published 2023–2026). Synthesize them as a systematic meta-analysis: 1. METHODOLOGY TABLE — for each paper: sample size, study design, LLM used, outcome measure, effect size, limitations 2. CONSENSUS FINDINGS — what do ≥7 of 10 papers agree on? 3. CONTRADICTIONS — where do papers directly disagree, and what methodological differences explain it? 4. EFFECT SIZE SYNTHESIS — weighted average effect across comparable studies with heterogeneity assessment 5. RESEARCH GAPS — the 3 most significant questions this body of work has not addressed 6. POLICY IMPLICATIONS — what a university provost should do based on this evidence Use XML tags to organize each section. [Paste paper texts]

S
Coding

System Design — Distributed Architecture

Design a complete system architecture for a real-time collaborative document editor (like Google Docs) that must support: - 50M monthly active users, up to 500 concurrent editors per document - Sub-100ms latency for character-level edits - Offline editing with automatic conflict resolution - Version history with instant rollback to any point - End-to-end encryption for enterprise tier Deliver: 1. HIGH-LEVEL ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAM (describe as structured text) 2. CRDT vs OT ANALYSIS — which approach and why, with tradeoff matrix 3. DATA MODEL — schema for documents, operations, version trees, user presence 4. CONSISTENCY MODEL — exactly how concurrent edits merge, with example conflict scenarios 5. SCALING STRATEGY — how the system handles going from 1K to 50M users 6. FAILURE MODES — what happens when each component fails, and the recovery path 7. COST ESTIMATE — approximate monthly infrastructure cost at 50M MAU scale Show your reasoning for each major decision.

A
Data Engineering

Advanced Data Pipeline Design

Design a production-grade data pipeline for a fintech company processing 2.3M transactions per day from 14 payment processors with different schemas, currencies, and settlement windows. Requirements: - Real-time fraud scoring (p99 < 200ms from ingestion to score) - Daily reconciliation against bank statements with automatic discrepancy detection - Regulatory reporting (SOX, PCI-DSS compliant audit trails) - Schema evolution handling without downtime Deliver: 1. PIPELINE ARCHITECTURE — ingestion → transformation → storage → serving, with technology choices justified 2. SCHEMA REGISTRY — how you handle 14 different input schemas converging to a canonical model 3. EXACTLY-ONCE SEMANTICS — how you guarantee no duplicate or lost transactions 4. MONITORING & ALERTING — what metrics you track, what thresholds trigger alerts, what the on-call runbook looks like 5. DISASTER RECOVERY — RPO/RTO targets and the specific mechanism for each 6. COST MODEL — estimated monthly spend broken down by component

C
Legal

Constitutional Law Analysis

Analyze the following proposed state legislation through a constitutional law lens. The bill would require all social media platforms with >1M users to verify user age via government-issued ID and prohibit accounts for users under 16. Deliver a complete legal analysis: 1. FIRST AMENDMENT ANALYSIS — does mandatory ID verification constitute a prior restraint on speech? Analyze under strict scrutiny, citing Reno v. ACLU, Packingham v. North Carolina, and NetChoice v. Paxton 2. FOURTH AMENDMENT IMPLICATIONS — does mandatory ID collection constitute an unreasonable search? Apply Carpenter v. United States framework 3. EQUAL PROTECTION — does the age threshold survive rational basis review? Are there disparate impact concerns for populations without government ID? 4. PREEMPTION — does Section 230 or COPPA preempt this state law? 5. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS — how similar laws have fared in EU (Digital Services Act), Australia (Online Safety Act), and other US states 6. RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS — 3 specific changes that would improve the bill's constitutional survivability Cite specific cases and statutory provisions throughout.

F
Coding

Full-Stack Feature Implementation

Implement a complete real-time notification system for a Next.js 15 + PostgreSQL + Redis application. The system must support: - Push notifications (web + mobile via FCM) - In-app notification center with read/unread state - Notification preferences per user per category - Batch digest emails (configurable: real-time, hourly, daily) - Rate limiting to prevent notification fatigue Deliver: 1. DATABASE SCHEMA — PostgreSQL tables with indexes, constraints, and migration SQL 2. BACKEND API — complete TypeScript code for the notification service (create, read, mark-read, preferences CRUD) 3. WEBSOCKET LAYER — Redis pub/sub integration for real-time delivery 4. FRONTEND COMPONENT — React notification bell + dropdown with optimistic updates 5. WORKER — background job for digest batching with idempotency guarantees 6. TESTS — unit tests for the service layer and integration tests for the API All code must be production-ready — proper error handling, types, and edge cases.

M
Finance

Macroeconomic Scenario Analysis

Build a comprehensive macroeconomic analysis for a sovereign wealth fund's Q3 2026 investment committee meeting. Focus on the intersection of three converging trends: AI-driven productivity gains, deglobalization of semiconductor supply chains, and central bank digital currency adoption. Deliver: 1. MACRO FRAMEWORK — causal chain from each trend to GDP growth, inflation, and employment across US, EU, China, and emerging markets 2. SCENARIO MATRIX — 4 scenarios based on the two highest-uncertainty drivers; 500-word narrative for each 3. ASSET CLASS IMPLICATIONS — for each scenario, expected returns for equities, fixed income, real assets, and alternatives 4. PORTFOLIO POSITIONING — recommended allocation shifts vs current benchmark (60/40), with sizing rationale 5. RISK REGISTER — tail risks not captured in the scenarios, with hedging strategies 6. LEADING INDICATORS — 5 measurable signals that would tell you which scenario is unfolding, checked monthly All analysis must be internally consistent. Show your reasoning chain for each causal link.

C
Reasoning

Complex Algorithm Design

Design an algorithm for the following problem and prove its correctness: Problem: Given a weighted directed graph G = (V, E) with potentially negative edge weights (but no negative cycles), and a set S ⊆ V of 'special' vertices, find for every vertex v the shortest path from v to its nearest special vertex. Deliver: 1. ALGORITHM DESIGN — complete pseudocode with time complexity analysis 2. CORRECTNESS PROOF — formal proof by induction or loop invariant that the algorithm produces correct shortest paths 3. COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS — tight bounds on time and space complexity; compare against naive approach 4. OPTIMIZATIONS — how to handle the case where |S| << |V| more efficiently; discuss Johnson's algorithm vs multi-source Bellman-Ford 5. IMPLEMENTATION — complete Python implementation with type hints 6. TEST CASES — 5 edge cases including: disconnected components, all vertices are special, single special vertex, graph with zero-weight cycles Use <thinking> tags for your reasoning before each major design decision.

I
Creative Writing

Investigative Journalism Piece

Write a 4,000-word investigative journalism piece in the style of ProPublica's long-form reporting. Subject: the hidden economics of AI training data — how a network of content farms in Southeast Asia produces synthetic 'human-written' text specifically to be scraped by AI training pipelines, creating a feedback loop where AI models train on AI-generated content disguised as human work. Requirements: - Open with a scene, not a thesis statement - At least 4 distinct sources: a content farm worker, a platform executive, an AI researcher studying data contamination, and a policy advocate - Each source speaks in a distinct register - Include specific (plausible) numbers: worker pay rates, volume of content, contamination percentages - A structural revelation at the 65% mark that reframes the story - No moralizing in the narrator's voice — let the facts and sources carry the weight - End with an image, not a conclusion Use [data] placeholders for any statistics you cannot verify.

M
Data Science

ML Pipeline — End to End

Build a complete machine learning pipeline for predicting customer churn in a B2B SaaS company. The dataset has 340,000 accounts, 127 features (usage metrics, support tickets, billing events, firmographics), 8.2% base churn rate, and a 90-day prediction window. Deliver: 1. EDA PLAN — the 10 most important exploratory analyses to run first, and what you'd be looking for in each 2. FEATURE ENGINEERING — 15 derived features with business rationale for each; handle the temporal leakage risk explicitly 3. MODEL SELECTION — train and compare XGBoost, LightGBM, and a neural network; explain hyperparameter search strategy 4. CALIBRATION — ensure predicted probabilities are well-calibrated (Brier score, reliability diagram); explain why calibration matters more than AUC for this use case 5. INTERPRETABILITY — SHAP analysis at global and local level; identify the 3 most actionable features for the customer success team 6. DEPLOYMENT — MLflow registry, A/B test design, monitoring for concept drift 7. BUSINESS IMPACT — translate model performance into expected revenue saved, with explicit assumptions All code in Python with scikit-learn, XGBoost, and SHAP. Show your reasoning for every modeling decision.

C
Coding

Comprehensive API Design Review

I'm sharing the OpenAPI 3.1 spec for our public REST API (148 endpoints across 12 resource types). Perform a thorough API design review as a principal engineer would: 1. CONSISTENCY AUDIT — naming conventions, HTTP method usage, response envelope patterns, pagination approaches; flag every inconsistency 2. BREAKING CHANGE RISK — endpoints where the current design will force a breaking change when we need to add features we've already planned 3. SECURITY REVIEW — auth model gaps, BOLA/IDOR risks, missing rate limits, overly permissive scopes 4. PERFORMANCE CONCERNS — N+1 query patterns exposed via the API, missing caching headers, endpoints that should support partial responses 5. DEVELOPER EXPERIENCE — unclear naming, missing examples, error responses that don't help developers debug 6. VERSIONING STRATEGY — evaluate the current approach and recommend a migration path 7. PRIORITY FIXES — top 10 changes ranked by impact-to-effort ratio For each finding, provide the specific endpoint, what's wrong, and the exact fix. [Paste OpenAPI spec]

G
Research

Geopolitical Risk Assessment

Produce a geopolitical risk assessment for a multinational corporation with manufacturing in Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico, R&D in the US and Germany, and primary markets in the US, EU, Japan, and India. Deliver: 1. RISK MATRIX — map all material geopolitical risks on a likelihood × impact grid (minimum 15 distinct risks) 2. SCENARIO DEEP-DIVES — for the 3 highest-severity risks, write a 500-word scenario narrative describing what unfolds over 18 months 3. SUPPLY CHAIN VULNERABILITY — for each manufacturing location, the specific disruption scenarios and estimated time-to-recovery 4. REGULATORY HORIZON — upcoming regulations in each market that could affect operations (trade, data, labor, ESG), with implementation timelines 5. COMPETITOR POSITIONING — how the top 3 competitors have structured their geographic exposure differently, and what advantages that gives them 6. MITIGATION PLAYBOOK — concrete actions for each of the top 5 risks, with cost estimates and decision triggers All analysis must be evidence-based. Cite specific events, policies, or trends that inform each risk assessment.

D
Coding

Database Performance Optimization

I'm sharing the PostgreSQL schema (42 tables), the 20 slowest queries from pg_stat_statements, and the current index configuration for a SaaS application serving 180K daily active users. The application is experiencing p99 query latency of 4.2 seconds (target: 500ms). Deliver: 1. QUERY ANALYSIS — for each of the 20 slow queries: what it does, why it's slow (EXPLAIN ANALYZE interpretation), and the specific fix 2. INDEX STRATEGY — missing indexes, redundant indexes, partial index opportunities, and covering indexes that would eliminate table lookups 3. SCHEMA IMPROVEMENTS — denormalization opportunities, materialized view candidates, and partition strategies for large tables 4. CONNECTION POOLING — current vs recommended pool configuration based on the workload pattern 5. CACHING LAYER — which queries should be cached, with TTL recommendations and invalidation strategy 6. MONITORING DASHBOARD — the 8 PostgreSQL metrics to track, with alert thresholds 7. MIGRATION PLAN — safe, zero-downtime steps to implement each change, ordered by expected impact [Paste schema, queries, and current indexes]

B
Policy

Bioethics Policy Framework

Draft a comprehensive bioethics policy framework for a national advisory committee on the use of AI-assisted genetic screening in prenatal care. The framework must balance: - Parental autonomy and reproductive rights - Disability rights and anti-discrimination protections - Clinical utility and evidence requirements - Equity of access across socioeconomic groups - Data privacy and genetic information protection Deliver: 1. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES — the 6 foundational principles this framework rests on, with philosophical grounding for each 2. REGULATORY RECOMMENDATIONS — 10 specific policy recommendations with enforcement mechanisms 3. CLINICAL GUIDELINES — decision tree for when AI-assisted screening is appropriate, with informed consent requirements at each node 4. EQUITY FRAMEWORK — how to ensure the technology doesn't widen existing health disparities 5. OVERSIGHT STRUCTURE — composition and mandate of the oversight body, including representation requirements 6. SUNSET AND REVIEW — how and when this framework should be reassessed as technology evolves Tone: authoritative, balanced, suitable for legislative review. 3,500–4,000 words.

C
Business

Competitive Reverse Engineering

Reverse-engineer the business model, growth strategy, and unit economics of Cursor (the AI code editor) based on publicly available information. I want the analysis a PE/VC associate would produce for an investment committee. Deliver: 1. BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS — all 9 blocks, with evidence for each assumption 2. UNIT ECONOMICS — estimated CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin per seat; show your math and state every assumption 3. GROWTH MODEL — organic vs paid vs product-led; estimate the contribution of each channel based on observable signals (GitHub stars growth, social mentions, job postings) 4. COMPETITIVE MOAT ANALYSIS — where is the moat? Is it model quality, UX, data flywheel, switching costs, or network effects? Rate each on 1–5 with evidence 5. RISK FACTORS — the 5 most likely ways this business fails or stalls, ranked by severity 6. COMPARABLE VALUATIONS — 5 public and private comps with multiples, adjusted for growth rate 7. INVESTMENT THESIS — would you invest at a $10B valuation? Make a clear recommendation with 3 supporting arguments Be specific and quantitative wherever possible. Flag estimates vs known facts.

L
Creative Writing

Long-Form Novel Chapter

Write chapter 4 of a literary science fiction novel set in 2089 Shanghai. The protagonist is Mei-Lin, 42, a memory archivist — her job is to curate and restore degraded digital memories for clients who want to relive specific moments of their lives. In this chapter, she discovers that a client's childhood memory of his mother contains a hidden data layer — a message encoded by someone else entirely. Requirements: - 4,000–5,000 words - Close third-person, present tense, deeply interior - The technology must be described through use, never exposition — the reader learns how memory archives work by watching Mei-Lin work - Dialogue in both Mandarin-inflected English and untranslated Shanghainese for emotional moments (with context clues, no footnotes) - The discovery happens gradually across the chapter — Mei-Lin notices anomalies that she initially dismisses before the pattern becomes undeniable - Sensory details must be specific to Shanghai: the light, the humidity, the sounds of the city in 2089 - No chapter summary or epigraph. Begin in the middle of action.

I
DevOps

Infrastructure-as-Code Migration

Migrate a manually provisioned AWS infrastructure to a fully automated Terraform + GitHub Actions setup. The current environment: - 3 ECS Fargate services behind an ALB - RDS PostgreSQL 16 (Multi-AZ, 2TB) - ElastiCache Redis cluster (3 nodes) - CloudFront + S3 for static assets - Route 53 for DNS - Secrets Manager for credentials - CloudWatch for monitoring - Monthly spend: ~$18K Deliver: 1. TERRAFORM MODULES — complete HCL code for each component, organized as reusable modules 2. STATE MANAGEMENT — S3 backend with DynamoDB locking, workspace strategy for staging vs production 3. CI/CD PIPELINE — GitHub Actions workflows for plan, apply, and drift detection 4. IMPORT PLAN — step-by-step procedure to import existing resources without downtime 5. SECURITY HARDENING — IAM roles, security groups, and network ACLs with least-privilege principle 6. COST OPTIMIZATION — 3 specific changes that would reduce the $18K monthly spend, with estimated savings All code must be production-ready with proper variable definitions, outputs, and documentation.

C
Research

Clinical Trial Protocol Design

Design a complete Phase III clinical trial protocol for a novel GLP-1/GIP dual agonist for Type 2 diabetes management. The molecule has completed Phase II with HbA1c reduction of 1.8% (vs 0.3% placebo) and 12% body weight loss over 24 weeks. Deliver: 1. STUDY DESIGN — randomized, double-blind, active-comparator (vs semaglutide 2.4mg) with full rationale 2. POPULATION — inclusion/exclusion criteria, sample size calculation (power analysis shown), stratification factors 3. ENDPOINTS — primary, secondary, and exploratory, with clinical justification for each 4. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PLAN — primary analysis method, multiplicity adjustment, interim analysis rules, missing data handling 5. SAFETY MONITORING — DSMB charter, stopping rules, AE grading and reporting 6. REGULATORY STRATEGY — how this protocol addresses FDA and EMA requirements differently 7. OPERATIONAL PLAN — site selection criteria, enrollment timeline, and projected budget range Format as a formal protocol synopsis suitable for regulatory submission. 4,000–5,000 words.

F
Business

Full Startup Due Diligence

Perform a comprehensive due diligence analysis on a Series B AI infrastructure startup. Here are the materials: pitch deck, last 24 months of financials, cap table, customer contracts (top 5), technical architecture document, and team bios. Deliver: 1. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS — revenue quality assessment (recurring vs one-time, concentration risk, cohort retention, net revenue retention by quarter) 2. MARKET SIZING — independent TAM/SAM/SOM calculation; compare to the company's own claims and flag discrepancies 3. TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT — architecture scalability, technical debt indicators, dependency risks, key-person risk in engineering 4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE — positioning vs 8 closest competitors on feature, pricing, go-to-market, and funding 5. CUSTOMER REFERENCE THEMES — synthesize signals from the 5 contracts (switching cost, expansion potential, satisfaction indicators) 6. LEGAL RISKS — IP assignment gaps, open-source license conflicts, regulatory exposure 7. DEAL TERMS ANALYSIS — proposed valuation vs comparable rounds; recommend counter-terms 8. INVESTMENT MEMO — 2-page recommendation (invest/pass) with 3 key reasons and 2 key risks [Paste all materials]

DeepSeek V4 vs Other Frontier AI Models (2026)

Model Parameters Context Window License API Cost (Input) Best For
DeepSeek V4-Pro 1.6T (49B active) 1M tokens MIT (open-weight) $0.44/M Reasoning, coding, self-hosting
DeepSeek V4-Flash 284B (13B active) 1M tokens MIT (open-weight) $0.07/M Fast responses, low-cost tasks
Claude Fable 5 Undisclosed 1M tokens Proprietary $10/M Long-form writing, adaptive thinking
GPT-5.5 Undisclosed 128K tokens Proprietary $5/M Broad capability, ChatGPT ecosystem
Gemini 3.5 Flash Undisclosed 1M tokens Proprietary $1.50/M Agentic workflows, Google ecosystem
MAI-Thinking-1 35B active 256K tokens Proprietary $2/M Microsoft ecosystem, reasoning

How to Write Effective DeepSeek V4 Prompts

1

Use XML tags for structure

DeepSeek V4 was trained extensively on XML-tagged instruction data. Wrap different parts of your prompt in tags like <task>, <context>, <constraints>, and <output_format>. This gives V4 precise parsing boundaries and dramatically improves output quality on complex prompts.

2

Request explicit reasoning chains

V4-Pro's architecture is optimized for chain-of-thought reasoning. Ask it to "show your reasoning step by step" or use <thinking> tags. This is architecturally grounded — the model performs measurably better when reasoning is externalized rather than compressed.

3

Choose Pro vs Flash deliberately

V4-Pro excels at hard multi-step reasoning, long documents, and complex code. V4-Flash is 6× cheaper and faster — use it for straightforward tasks, summarization, and simple Q&A. Using Flash for complex reasoning wastes quality; using Pro for simple tasks wastes money.

4

Anchor the output format early

End your prompt with the first characters of the expected output (e.g., "Begin your reply with: ## Executive Summary"). This eliminates preamble drift — especially on V4-Flash — and ensures the model starts generating useful content immediately.

DeepSeek V4 Prompting Tips

Do

  • + Use XML tags to separate instructions from content
  • + Provide few-shot examples for consistent formatting
  • + Specify audience, tone, and length explicitly
  • + Use the full context window — paste complete documents
  • + Ask for verification steps on quantitative outputs

Avoid

  • Conflicting constraints ("detailed 3,000-word report in under 300 words")
  • Suppressing chain-of-thought on hard reasoning tasks
  • Using V4-Pro for simple Q&A (use V4-Flash instead)
  • Vague instructions without output format specification
  • Asking for hidden reasoning — request concise rationale instead

DeepSeek V4 FAQ

What is DeepSeek V4?

DeepSeek V4 is a frontier AI model released on April 24, 2026 by DeepSeek (a Chinese AI research lab). It ships as two open-weight variants under the MIT license: V4-Pro (1.6 trillion parameters, 49B active per token) and V4-Flash (284B parameters, 13B active). Both support a 1 million token context window and up to 384K output tokens, with dual thinking/non-thinking modes for controlling reasoning depth.

What is DeepSeek V4 best at?

DeepSeek V4-Pro excels at heavyweight reasoning, complex coding tasks, mathematical proofs, multi-document analysis, and extended chain-of-thought problems. It is especially strong when you need explicit reasoning chains — the model was trained on large amounts of XML-tagged instruction data. V4-Flash is optimized for fast, cost-effective responses on simpler tasks while maintaining strong quality.

How does DeepSeek V4 compare to GPT-5.5 and Claude Fable 5?

DeepSeek V4-Pro competes directly with GPT-5.5 and Claude Fable 5 on reasoning and coding benchmarks. Its key advantages are: MIT open-weight license (you can self-host), 1M token context at significantly lower API cost ($0.44/M input, $0.87/M output), and strong performance on structured reasoning. GPT-5.5 has broader multimodal capabilities, and Claude Fable 5 has stronger long-form writing and adaptive thinking. The best choice depends on whether you need open weights, low cost, or specific model strengths.

How do I write effective prompts for DeepSeek V4?

DeepSeek V4 responds best to: (1) XML-tagged structure — use tags like <task>, <context>, <constraints> to organize complex prompts, (2) explicit reasoning requests — ask the model to 'show your reasoning step by step' or use <thinking> tags, (3) the CO-STAR framework (Context-Objective-Style-Tone-Audience-Response) for creative or business tasks, (4) clear output format specification — numbered sections, tables, or specific schemas. Avoid conflicting constraints and don't suppress chain-of-thought for complex tasks.

Can I use DeepSeek V4 for free?

DeepSeek V4 is accessible via the DeepSeek API at very competitive pricing: V4-Pro costs $0.44/M input tokens (cache miss) and $0.87/M output tokens — significantly cheaper than GPT-5.5 or Claude Fable 5. Cache hits drop to $0.004/M. Because DeepSeek V4 is open-weight (MIT license), you can also self-host it for free on your own infrastructure, though V4-Pro's 1.6T parameters require substantial GPU resources.

Is DeepSeek V4 open source?

Yes. DeepSeek V4-Pro and V4-Flash are released under the MIT license — one of the most permissive open-source licenses. You can download the full model weights from Hugging Face (deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Pro), fine-tune them, deploy commercially, and modify without restriction. This makes DeepSeek V4 the most capable open-weight model available as of mid-2026, and a strong option for organizations that need to run AI models on their own infrastructure.