Free DeepSeek Proxy for Janitor AI: Setup and Fixing 429 Errors

A DeepSeek proxy for Janitor AI is not a network proxy, and getting that straight up front saves you hours of confusion. It is an LLM backend: you point Janitor AI at DeepSeek's API, either directly or through OpenRouter, using three pieces of information (a proxy URL, an API key, and the exact model name) so DeepSeek writes the character replies instead of Janitor's built-in model.

The rest of this guide is the setup, the exact values to paste, and the fix for the 429 quota errors that send most people looking for help. We run HProxy, an actual network proxy service, so we will also spell out where our kind of proxy does and does not fit here.

Two different things share the name "proxy"

On Janitor AI, "proxy" means a reverse proxy: a relay that forwards your chat messages to an external LLM API and sends the model's reply back. It changes which brain answers you. It does not change your IP address or your location.

A network proxy (a residential or datacenter IP that routes your traffic) is a completely different tool. It will not make Janitor talk to DeepSeek, and swapping your IP will not fix a quota error. Keep the two ideas separate and the whole process gets easier. If you want a wider look at the backends people wire into Janitor, see our roundup of the best free Janitor AI proxy setups.

The three fields you actually fill in

Janitor AI moves its settings around between updates, so the labels shift. Underneath, you are always filling in three things:

• Proxy URL: the API endpoint, a full URL that ends in /chat/completions.
• API Key: the secret key from whichever provider you signed up with.
• Model Name: the exact model string. It is case sensitive and must match the provider's spelling precisely.

Get any one of these wrong and you get an error instead of a reply. Most "it won't work" reports come down to a typo in the model name or a URL missing the /chat/completions path.

The two ways to run DeepSeek in Janitor AI

Both routes end with the same model answering your chats. They differ in price, stability, and how much setup stands between you and the first message.

Option A: DeepSeek through OpenRouter (used to be free, now paid)

OpenRouter is an API aggregator. One key gives you dozens of models behind a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint. For a long stretch it also carried a free DeepSeek variant, and that free slug was the classic no-cost Janitor AI plus DeepSeek setup you will still see quoted in older guides.

That free DeepSeek route is gone. On 28 September 2026 none of the 16 DeepSeek ids on OpenRouter ended in :free, so DeepSeek through OpenRouter is paid. The current Flash model there, deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash, was listed that day at $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens. If you specifically want a free model and do not care that it is DeepSeek, OpenRouter still lists :free models from other providers, so filter its models page for the free tag and pick one, just know it will not be DeepSeek.

Steps for the DeepSeek-on-OpenRouter route:

1. Go to openrouter.ai and sign up (Google or GitHub login works).
2. Open the Keys page and create a new key. It starts with sk-or-v1-.
3. Add a little credit, since DeepSeek is no longer free here. A couple of dollars lasts a very long time at these rates.
4. In a Janitor AI character chat, open the API settings and choose the proxy / custom option.
5. Paste the three values below into the matching fields.
6. Save and send a test message.

Proxy URL:   https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions
API Key:     your key, starting sk-or-v1-
Model Name:  deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash

One catch: DeepSeek's model ids rotate as it ships new versions, and OpenRouter tracks them (deepseek/deepseek-v3.2 and other variants come and go). If a model name stops resolving, open OpenRouter's models page, filter for DeepSeek, and copy the current id. The deepseek/ provider prefix stays; the version after it moves.

Option B: DeepSeek's own API (cheapest and most stable)

For the cheapest, steadiest route, go straight to the source. The DeepSeek API costs least off-peak, never more than the OpenRouter price for the same model, and has no free-tier daily cap to slam into.

Steps:

1. Go to platform.deepseek.com and create an account.
2. Add a small balance (a few dollars lasts a long time at DeepSeek's rates).
3. Create an API key. It starts with sk-.
4. Paste the three values below into Janitor AI.
5. Save and test.

Proxy URL:   https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions
API Key:     your key, starting sk-
Model Name:  deepseek-flash

Use deepseek-flash, the name DeepSeek gives its fast model, V4.1 Flash since 10 September 2026. Two older names still circulate in guides. The DeepSeek docs say deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner were discontinued on 2026-07-24, and that deepseek-v4-flash is still accepted but now served by V4.1 Flash. DeepSeek runs the model in thinking mode by default. The switch is a request setting, not a model name, and none of the fields of a Janitor configuration takes it, so the model thinks before each reply.

If the address above returns an error in your setup, try the form with /v1 before /chat/completions, which the Janitor guide used. Both are served: on 28 September 2026 each answered our keyless test with the DeepSeek key error (401).

OpenRouter vs DeepSeek direct, side by side

Both routes cost money now that DeepSeek's free OpenRouter slug is gone. The trade is the aggregator convenience of OpenRouter against the lower price and steadier limits of going direct.

Fixing the 429 errors

A 429 is the HTTP status for "Too Many Requests." Your request was valid, but you tripped a rate limit and the server refused to answer. Now that DeepSeek itself has left OpenRouter's free tier, a 429 usually means one of two things: you are running one of OpenRouter's remaining free (:free) models and hit its cap, or you are on a shared key where everyone is filling the same bucket.

OpenRouter's published free-tier limits still shape those caps in two layers. OpenRouter adjusts the exact numbers over time, so treat these as the shape of the rule rather than gospel:

• A per-minute cap of 20 requests per minute on free (:free) models. Spam the regenerate button and you hit this in seconds.
• A per-day cap that depends on your lifetime credit: under 10 credits ever purchased gives 50 free requests per day, and once you have bought at least 10 credits (about $10) the daily allowance jumps to 1000.

There is a third cause too: at peak hours the shared capacity for a popular free model gets congested, and OpenRouter throttles it even when you personally are under your own cap.

Five ways to clear a 429, roughly in order of effort:

1. Wait sixty seconds. The per-minute limit resets fast. If you were rapid-firing regenerates, just slow down.
2. Stop hammering regenerate. Every regenerate is a fresh request against your quota. Read the reply, then decide.
3. Add $10 of credit to OpenRouter. This is the single biggest fix. It moves you into the higher daily tier and, in practice, ends most free-tier 429 complaints. The credit is still yours to spend; you are not forced to burn it.
4. Switch to a less congested free model. If your current :free model is throttled at peak, another provider's :free model on OpenRouter may answer. This is a temporary patch, not a cure, and it will not be DeepSeek.
5. Move to DeepSeek's own API (Option B). There is no free-tier daily cap there. You pay cents and the quota 429s simply stop.

Notice that none of these fixes involve changing your IP. That is the whole point: a 429 is tied to your API account, not your network location, so a network proxy cannot fix it.

The other errors you will hit

429 gets the attention, but a few others show up constantly:

• Network error / failed to fetch: usually a malformed Proxy URL (missing the /chat/completions path), a provider outage, or a browser hiccup. Recheck the URL character by character, then retry.
• 401 Unauthorized: a bad, revoked, or mistyped API key. Regenerate the key and paste it fresh, with no leading or trailing spaces.
• Empty or blank reply: an over-long context, a content filter, or a retired model name. Check the model name against the DeepSeek docs and trim the chat history.
• Insufficient balance: DeepSeek direct with a zero balance, or OpenRouter asking you to add credit. Top up.
• Region errors: the provider does not serve your location, or your network blocks the endpoint. We give no steps around either; the next section says where a network proxy does fit.

Where a network proxy fits

A network proxy will not fix quota errors, and it will not connect DeepSeek to Janitor for you. Nothing on this page needs one: the limits, the balance and the model name all live in your accounts. Janitor AI has one rule that follows the address. Users connecting from IP addresses in Australia, Brazil or the UK must pass a one-time age check, and Janitor says "Detection is IP-based only." If DeepSeek, OpenRouter or Janitor AI is not offered in your country, or your school, office or ISP network filters it, we give no steps around that.

Where our lines do fit is a network that needs a known exit, such as a company network, with an address in the country where you are. Never send an API key you care about through a free proxy of unknown origin; are free proxies safe explains why. Our proxies for DeepSeek page covers the DeepSeek API behind a company proxy. If a 429 is what sent you here, Janitor AI error 429 sorts the fix by backend.

Sources

• OpenRouter: API rate limits: the free-tier caps (20/min, 50/day under 10 credits, 1000/day at 10+) behind almost every 429.
• DeepSeek API docs: the OpenAI-compatible base URL, the model name deepseek-flash and the legacy names; Models & Pricing: the prices per million tokens and thinking mode by default; Updates: V4.1 Flash on 2026-09-10 and the end of deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner on 2026-07-24.
• OpenRouter models API: the 16 DeepSeek ids, none of them free, and the price of deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash, read 28 September 2026.
• Janitor AI Help Center, Age Verification for Australia, Brazil, and the UK: the age check by IP address.

Getting started

If your only problem is the DeepSeek backend, the OpenRouter route above gets you chatting in about five minutes, and going direct to DeepSeek is the cheapest, steadiest option once you are past testing.

If your network needs a known exit, such as a company proxy, our residential proxies are pay-as-you-go at $0.44/GB, and our free proxy checker confirms that a line answers. Match the tool to the actual failure and Janitor AI stays out of your way.