diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9720f3b..e543534 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,4 +12,6 @@ docs/
 *.pyw
 *.pyz
 *.pywz
-*.pyzz
\ No newline at end of file
+*.pyzz
+.venv/
+__pycache__/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 47f9315..923ab64 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -306,6 +306,7 @@ Config file: `~/.nanobot/config.json`
 | `openrouter` | LLM (recommended, access to all models) | [openrouter.ai](https://openrouter.ai) |
 | `anthropic` | LLM (Claude direct) | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com) |
 | `openai` | LLM (GPT direct) | [platform.openai.com](https://platform.openai.com) |
+| `deepseek` | LLM (DeepSeek direct) | [platform.deepseek.com](https://platform.deepseek.com) |
 | `groq` | LLM + **Voice transcription** (Whisper) | [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com) |
 | `gemini` | LLM (Gemini direct) | [aistudio.google.com](https://aistudio.google.com) |
 
diff --git a/nanobot/config/schema.py b/nanobot/config/schema.py
index 4492096..2af90db 100644
--- a/nanobot/config/schema.py
+++ b/nanobot/config/schema.py
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ class ProvidersConfig(BaseModel):
     anthropic: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
     openai: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
     openrouter: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
+    deepseek: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
     groq: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
     zhipu: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
     vllm: ProviderConfig = Field(default_factory=ProviderConfig)
@@ -111,9 +112,10 @@ class Config(BaseSettings):
         return Path(self.agents.defaults.workspace).expanduser()
     
     def get_api_key(self) -> str | None:
-        """Get API key in priority order: OpenRouter > Anthropic > OpenAI > Gemini > Zhipu > Groq > vLLM."""
+        """Get API key in priority order: OpenRouter > DeepSeek > Anthropic > OpenAI > Gemini > Zhipu > Groq > vLLM."""
         return (
             self.providers.openrouter.api_key or
+            self.providers.deepseek.api_key or
             self.providers.anthropic.api_key or
             self.providers.openai.api_key or
             self.providers.gemini.api_key or
diff --git a/nanobot/providers/litellm_provider.py b/nanobot/providers/litellm_provider.py
index 8945412..d010d81 100644
--- a/nanobot/providers/litellm_provider.py
+++ b/nanobot/providers/litellm_provider.py
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ class LiteLLMProvider(LLMProvider):
             elif self.is_vllm:
                 # vLLM/custom endpoint - uses OpenAI-compatible API
                 os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"] = api_key
+            elif "deepseek" in default_model:
+                os.environ.setdefault("DEEPSEEK_API_KEY", api_key)
             elif "anthropic" in default_model:
                 os.environ.setdefault("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", api_key)
             elif "openai" in default_model or "gpt" in default_model: