[FREE] How To Use Deep Seek in VS Code with Claude Code

Let me paint you a quick picture. I just built a fully functional, good-looking website with inner pages, smooth animations, and professionally written content without writing a single line of code myself. And here’s the kicker: it cost me absolutely nothing.

No ChatGPT Plus subscription. No Claude Pro. No hidden fees. Just pure, unlimited AI power.

I used DeepSeek R1 with VS Code, and honestly? I’m still blown away by what it accomplished from one simple prompt. Let me show you how you can do the same.

What I Built (And Why It Matters)

The website you saw in my video wasn’t some basic one-pager. We’re talking:

• A polished homepage with hero section
• “How It Works” with cool animations
• Featured portfolio section
• Complete inner pages (services, about, etc.)
• Content that pulled intelligently from my existing site

All from this single prompt:

“Build me a nice looking website, take content from this website, use same color scheme. It should be high end with all the inner pages.”

The AI handled the UI design, content restructuring, and even maintained brand consistency. No back-and-forth. No manual tweaking (unless you want to).

The Stack: DeepSeek + VS Code + Ollama + Claude Code

Here’s what makes this magic possible:

DeepSeek R1 – The brain. A powerful open-source model that’s completely free and competitive with paid options like Claude Sonnet.

Ollama – The bridge. Runs AI models locally on your machine.

VS Code – Your workspace. Where all the action happens.

Claude Code – The automation tool. This is the secret sauce that turns simple prompts into actual website files.

How You Can Do This in 5 Minutes

I won’t recreate the entire step-by-step here (watch the video for that), but here’s the high-level flow:

Step 1: Head to ollama.com and download Ollama

Step 2: Install DeepSeek R1 using the terminal command from their site

Step 3: Install Claude Code (also through Ollama)

Step 4: Launch Claude Code with DeepSeek R1

Step 5: Give it your prompt and watch it work

The beauty? Instead of copy-pasting code snippets like you would with ChatGPT, Claude Code actually creates your files and folder structure automatically. It’s like having a junior developer who never sleeps and works for free.

Why This Matters

Look, I’ve been around the block with AI tools. ChatGPT is great. Claude is fantastic. But they all eventually ask for money. DeepSeek R1? It’s genuinely free, genuinely capable, and when paired with the right tools, genuinely useful for real projects.

The benchmark comparisons don’t lie. DeepSeek R1 holds its own against models that cost hundreds per month. For solo creators, freelancers, and small business owners? This is a game-changer.

Your Turn

I’ve shared the exact prompt I used. I’ve laid out the tools. Now I want to hear from you.

Did you try building a site with DeepSeek? Hit a snag? Create something amazing? Drop a comment and let me know.

And if enough of you ask for it, I’ll create a follow-up video diving even deeper into advanced prompts and customization.

Until next time, happy building!