# DeepSeek Chat — deprecation status

> Yes — DeepSeek Chat is retired. DeepSeek deprecated it on April 24, 2026 and shut it down on July 24, 2026; API requests to it now fail. The recommended replacement is DeepSeek V4 Flash.

For two years this was the DeepSeek API: a single moving id that always pointed at whatever the current chat model happened to be. It carried V2 in May 2024, then V2.5, V3, V3.1 and V3.2, so code written in 2024 kept working through five model generations without an edit. V4 ended that. DeepSeek shipped explicit ids, gave the alias three months, and switched it off on 24 July 2026.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | DeepSeek |
| Model id | `deepseek-chat` |
| Status | Retired |
| Deprecated | April 24, 2026 |
| Shutdown | July 24, 2026 (10 days ago) |
| Last verified | August 3, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **DeepSeek V4 Flash** (`deepseek-v4-flash`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash
  - Through the transition deepseek-chat routed to V4-Flash with thinking off. Swapping the id alone is not equivalent: on deepseek-v4-flash the `thinking.type` parameter defaults to `enabled`, so you get reasoning tokens, slower responses and a larger bill unless you send `"thinking": {"type": "disabled"}`.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash

```diff
- "model": "deepseek-chat"
+ "model": "deepseek-v4-flash"
```

## FAQ

### When did DeepSeek Chat shut down?

DeepSeek Chat shut down on July 24, 2026. API requests to it fail from that date onward.

### What replaces DeepSeek Chat?

DeepSeek recommends DeepSeek V4 Flash (`deepseek-v4-flash`) as the replacement for DeepSeek Chat. Through the transition deepseek-chat routed to V4-Flash with thinking off. Swapping the id alone is not equivalent: on deepseek-v4-flash the `thinking.type` parameter defaults to `enabled`, so you get reasoning tokens, slower responses and a larger bill unless you send `"thinking": {"type": "disabled"}`.

### Is DeepSeek Chat still available?

No. DeepSeek Chat is retired and no longer served — it was shut down on July 24, 2026. Calls to it return an error.

### How do I migrate from DeepSeek Chat to deepseek-v4-flash?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "deepseek-chat" with "deepseek-v4-flash". Through the transition deepseek-chat routed to V4-Flash with thinking off. Swapping the id alone is not equivalent: on deepseek-v4-flash the `thinking.type` parameter defaults to `enabled`, so you get reasoning tokens, slower responses and a larger bill unless you send `"thinking": {"type": "disabled"}`.

## Sources

- [DeepSeek V4 Preview Release](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news260424/) — accessed 2026-08-03
- [DeepSeek API change log](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates/) — accessed 2026-08-03
- [DeepSeek Create Chat Completion](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/api/create-chat-completion) — accessed 2026-08-03

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Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/deepseek/deepseek-chat
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/deepseek/deepseek-chat.json