A few more days to wait, the official version of DeepSeek V4 is about to enter internal testing: a brand new AI programming tool has been added.

at the end of June, DeepSeek sent an email stating that the official version of V4 would be released in mid-July, but it was delayed without an official explanation. The latest news shows that DeepSeek has started internal testing of its accompanying Harness product.

An important reason for the delay of the DeepSeek V4 official version is reportedly related to DeepSeek's simultaneous launch of its own Harness product. The latter is a companion programming tool for DeepSeek, similar to CC, Codex, Qoder, etc., but it does not yet have an official name.

According to a group notification leaked by netizens, the DeepSeek Harness is planned to begin internal testing later this week. The first batch of users will be selected from the group, and strict conditions are attached, including submitting personal information and signing a "Confidentiality Undertaking Letter." Once selected, users will be added to an internal testing group and granted product access.

Perhaps learning from the previous leak of Liang Wenfeng's investment meeting speech, the notification specifically emphasized the consequences of leaking information — once a leak occurs, not only will the qualification be revoked, but it will also affect future participation in DeepSeek's various models, product internal testing, and cooperation opportunities.

It is currently unconfirmed whether this notification is genuine, but DeepSeek's previous large models have typically been announced after release. However, now that they are testing a companion AI tool, such software does have an industry habit of early internal testing.

If the internal testing is genuine, the DeepSeek V4 official version is not far behind. With internal testing this week, a mid-August release is quite likely. Calculating the timeline, it has been delayed by about a month, but as long as the V4 official version delivers good enough results, it will all be worth it.