# DeepSeek via Locus x402

> DeepSeek via Locus x402 is a paid API for AI agents from deepseek.x402.paywithlocus.com, paid per call via x402, $0.001/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-11).

Calls DeepSeek frontier AI models (V3 for fast chat/code, R1 for deep reasoning) via an OpenAI-compatible, pay-per-call x402 API

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://deepseek.x402.paywithlocus.com/deepseek/chat?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.001/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-11
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/deepseek-via-locus-x402-1af7e227
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_LalgWOTF8gV2AsHqPhgmc

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability deepseek-via-locus-x402-1af7e227 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Use DeepSeek R1 with deep chain-of-thought reasoning to figure out the most efficient algorithm for finding all prime numbers up to 1 million — give me up to 2000 tokens in the response.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a capable, cost-efficient frontier LLM accessible via a simple pay-per-call micropayment (no subscription or API key management) — especially when you want DeepSeek's specific strengths: fast chat and code generation with V3, or deep multi-step chain-of-thought reasoning with R1. Prefer it over OpenAI or Anthropic endpoints when cost efficiency matters most or when DeepSeek's reasoning style is specifically desired. Ideal for agents that need to dynamically pay per inference using x402/USDC without pre-provisioning API credentials.

## Known failure modes

- Insufficient USDC balance or x402 payment authorization failure — payment rejected before inference runs
- max_tokens not provided — required to bound metered authorization, request will be rejected
- Streaming requested (stream:true) — not supported via public x402, will fail or be silently ignored
- Invalid model name specified — only deepseek-v4-flash and deepseek-v4-pro are valid metered options
- Messages array malformed or empty — model returns error without valid conversation input
- Rate limits or upstream DeepSeek API downtime causing 5xx errors

## How this service works

Frontier AI models — DeepSeek-V3 for fast chat and code, DeepSeek-R1 for deep chain-of-thought reasoning. OpenAI-compatible API format. Among the most capable and cost-efficient models available.

## Output

A JSON response containing a chat completion object nested under 'data', with the AI-generated text in the standard OpenAI-compatible format, plus a 'payment' object confirming 0.001 USDC was settled, a 'request' object with a UUID and status URL for tracking, and a 'success' boolean.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "stop": {
   "type": "string"
  },
  "model": {
   "type": "string"
  },
  "top_p": {
   "type": "number"
  },
  "stream": {
   "type": "boolean"
  },
  "messages": {
   "type": "array",
   "items": {
    "type": "object",
    "required": [
     "role"
    ],
    "properties": {
     "name": {
      "type": "string"
     },
     "role": {
      "type": "string"
     },
     "content": {
      "anyOf": [
       {
        "type": "string"
       },
       {
        "type": "array",
        "items": {
         "type": "object",
         "required": [
          "type"
         ],
         "properties": {
          "text": {
           "type": "string"
          },
          "type": {
           "type": "string"
          },
          "image_url": {
           "type": "object",
           "required": [
            "url"
           ],
           "properties": {
            "url": {
             "type": "string"
            }
           },
           "additionalProperties": true
          }
         },
         "additionalProperties": true
        }
       },
       {
        "type": "null"
       }
      ]
     },
     "tool_calls": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
       "type": "object",
       "additionalProperties": true
      }
     },
     "tool_call_id": {
      "type": "string"
     }
    },
    "additionalProperties": true
   }
  },
  "max_tokens": {
   "type": "number"
  },
  "temperature": {
   "type": "number"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "data": {},
  "payment": {
   "scheme": "exact",
   "settledUsdc": "0.001000",
   "authorizedMaxUsdc": "0.001000"
  },
  "request": {
   "id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
   "statusUrl": "/requests/00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000"
  },
  "success": true
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/deepseek-via-locus-x402-1af7e227/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from deepseek.x402.paywithlocus.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/deepseek.x402.paywithlocus.com/llms.txt)