Pre-install essential plugins for a better out-of-box experience (from a beginner user)

[whernandezpeli]

First of all, thanks for building DeepSeek Harness. I've been using it and I appreciate the flexibility of the plugin system. However, I'd like to suggest a change to improve the initial user experience, especially for those of us who are not programmers.
About me:
I want to be upfront: I'm a beginner user, not a programmer or anything close to one. I chose Harness because I find it useful, but the current setup process has been very difficult for someone with my technical level. I'm writing this because I genuinely want to keep using Harness, and I believe the suggestions below would make it accessible to many more users like me.
Problem:
Currently, many features that are functionally essential for a usable coding agent—such as:
• Editing and resending messages (to avoid token waste),
• Resuming interrupted sessions (e.g., after a stream error),
• Automatic fallback to alternate models,
• Basic session management (delete, fork, recycle bin),
• UI language options,
...are only available as community plugins that the user must manually install. This creates significant friction. New users have to discover, install, and often troubleshoot multiple plugins before they can work productively.
Additionally, the plugin installation process is fragile. For example, the dsh-file-upload plugin repeatedly gets added back to the bundles list in package.json after any dsh plugin add/remove operation, causing a fatal duplicate loader entry id: file-upload error that prevents Harness from starting. This bug alone has cost me hours of debugging.
Impact:
• High barrier to entry: Users comparing Harness with Cline, Continue, or Cursor may abandon it because it lacks an integrated, working baseline.
• Wasted time: Instead of coding, users spend time fixing plugin conflicts and editing config files.
• Negative perception: The "everything is a plugin" philosophy is powerful for advanced users, but without a sensible default set, it feels unfinished.
• Especially punishing for non-programmers: Users without a technical background (like myself) struggle with concepts like package.json, bundles, pnpm, and dependency conflicts, which are far beyond what a normal user should need to understand.
Proposed Solution:
I suggest one or more of the following:

1. Pre-installed "recommended" plugins: Ship Harness with a curated set of essential plugins already enabled by default. This could include:
   o Session resume / continue button
   o Message edit/rewrite (token-saving)
   o Model fallback chain
   o Basic session manager
   o UI localization
   Advanced or niche plugins (e.g., specific provider integrations) can remain optional.
2. Allow easy uninstallation of any pre-installed plugin: If a user doesn't want one of the pre-installed plugins, they should be able to uninstall it easily, without breaking the application. Uninstalling is generally much simpler and less error-prone than installing (no dependency resolution, no build approvals, no config file edits). Giving users the choice to remove what they don't need—while providing a working baseline out-of-the-box—is a better balance than requiring everyone to build their setup from scratch.
3. First-run setup wizard: When a new profile is created, ask the user if they want the "full experience" (install recommended plugins) or a "minimal base" (only core). This respects both novice and expert users.
4. Non-fatal plugin conflicts: The duplicate loader entry id error should be a warning that auto-resolves (e.g., by ignoring duplicates) instead of a hard crash. The dsh-file-upload re-appearing in bundles is a clear example where a minor config glitch breaks the entire application.
   Additional Context:
   I understand the architectural benefits of a minimal core with plugins. However, the current implementation puts too much burden on the user. A middle ground—where the most common needs are met out-of-the-box, and unwanted extras can be easily removed—would greatly improve adoption and satisfaction, especially for non-technical users who want to use Harness but currently can't get past the setup stage.
   Thank you for considering this request.

[luoyukun3-oss]

I'd push back gently on the "pre-install plugins" part of this, because it trades one beginner problem for another.

The items you list — edit & resend, resuming interrupted sessions, automatic model fallback — are runtime/UX behaviours, not capabilities. Shipping them as pre-installed third-party plugins means:

• They break on upgrade. In practice plugin packages are linked by version+hash (.generations/live/<pkg>+<version>+<hash>), so an update silently points at a new directory and any local fix or config is gone. I lost a patch this way within a single day.
• They collide. Several plugins touching the same seam (sidebar slots, hooks, pre-step listeners) is a common failure mode, and pre-installing N of them multiplies it.
• The user still doesn't know what's running. See 使用DSH一小时糟糕的体验 #8634 in this repo: "I installed 11 plugins and I can't tell which are alive." Pre-installing more makes that worse, not better.

What actually helps beginners: make those behaviours kernel defaults, and add a first-run check that reports what is loaded and what is missing (the dsh doctor idea in #649 is the right shape). Plugins are for the long tail, not for the baseline.