Does DeepSeek Harness without DeepSeek Platform balance = no web search, even if you pay for another provider?

Hey everyone, I've been using DeepSeek Harness (DSH) for a while and ran into a doubt that, after digging around, has left me pretty concerned. I wanted to share it with the community to see if I'm right or if I'm missing something. The issue: If you use DSH with a model from a paid provider (e.g., OpenCode Go) but don't have any balance on DeepSeek Platform , it seems that the web search ( web_search ) and page fetch ( web_fetch ) tools stop working . In other words, the model you're paying for can "think," but it can't "look at the internet" or "read a URL" you give it, because those tools built into DSH depend on DeepSeek's official backend (they require a DEEPSEEK_API_KEY and balance on that platform). On top of that, starting November 2026, those calls will be billed per request. Why this bothers me: Because, if this is true, the problem isn't the model you use — it's the DSH tool itself . The OpenCode Go model (or any other) isn't to blame; the harness is the one that can't run the search because it's missing the "glue" that connects it to DeepSeek's service. So even if you pay for an external provider, DSH doesn't give you a complete internet-access experience unless you also keep a balance on DeepSeek Platform. To me, that's a significant downside of the harness itself. My questions for the community: Can you confirm that without DeepSeek Platform balance, web_search and web_fetch simply fail, even if the model is from another provider? Is there any native way (without plugins) to configure an alternative search provider in DSH? For those using plugins like dsh-web-search-free or similar, do search and fetch work fine without depending on DeepSeek? Do you think this is a design flaw in the harness that should be fixed, or is it just "how it works" and we have to accept it? My personal (provisional) conclusion: If this is how it works, I'm considering going back to tools like OpenCode Desktop or similar that don't tie me to a specific search provider. At the end of the day, if I'm paying for a provider, I expect my "client" (the harness) not to force me to also pay the provider of the internet tools. It feels like a harness problem, not a model problem. What do you all think? Has anyone been through this and found a solution that doesn't involve installing third-party plugins? Thanks in advance!