Migration Guides

Migrate from DeepSeek Direct to Railwail

Switch from DeepSeek's direct API to Railwail. DeepSeek V4 models, OpenAI-compatible, 200+ models on one key.

Railwail1 min read

Created with AI assistance.

Migrate from DeepSeek Direct to Railwail
01 ยท Key takeaways

TL;DR โ€” Switch in Under 5 Minutes

  • DeepSeek's API is OpenAI-compatible
  • Plus access to Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini through the same key

Try it on Railwail

Run DeepSeek V4 Flash

DeepSeek$0.36/1M inBilled by actual usage

Efficiency-optimized variant of DeepSeek V4. 284B MoE / 13B active, 1M context, ultra-low pricing for high-throughput workloads.

02

Why Move Off DeepSeek Direct?

DeepSeek's frontier-quality models (V3, R1) at low prices are compelling. The trade-off many EU teams encounter: the deepseek.com direct API routes requests through China, which can be a regulatory or compliance blocker.

03

Step 1 โ€” Get a Railwail API Key

Sign up at railwail.com and generate a key.

04

Step 2 โ€” Change Base URL

Before (DeepSeek direct):

import OpenAI from "openai";

const ds = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.DEEPSEEK_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://api.deepseek.com/v1",
});

const res = await ds.chat.completions.create({
  model: "deepseek-chat",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }],
});

After (Railwail):

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.RAILWAIL_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://railwail.com/api/v1",
});

const res = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "deepseek-v4-flash",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }],
});
05

API Endpoint Mapping

DeepSeek endpoint โ†’ Railwail equivalent
DeepSeek directRailwailNotes
POST /v1/chat/completionsPOST /api/v1/chat/completionsIdentical
POST /beta/chat/completions (prefix)Use stop param + messagesPrefix continuation
GET /v1/modelsGET /api/v1/models?provider=deepseekList DeepSeek models
06

Model Mapping

DeepSeek model โ†’ Railwail
DeepSeek directLive on RailwailRailwailNotes
deepseek-chat$0.36/1M indeepseek-v4-flashdeepseek-v4-flashFrontier MoE
deepseek-reasoner$1.584/1M indeepseek-v4-prodeepseek-v4-proReasoning model
07

Why Railwail Over DeepSeek Direct

  • Same OpenAI-compatible API
  • Adds Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini for the rest of your stack
  • Per-key rate limits and spend caps
08

FAQ

Is my data really not sent to China?

No. Railwail sends DeepSeek requests to DeepSeek's own API; the models run at the provider.

Do I get the same model quality?

Yes. Output distribution is identical at matched sampling params.

Is reasoning_content returned?

Yes. The chain-of-thought reasoning is available in choices[0].message.reasoning_content. The final answer is in choices[0].message.content.

09

Next Steps

  • Sign up at railwail.com
  • Generate an API key
  • Update baseURL to https://railwail.com/api/v1
  • Switch model IDs (deepseek-chat โ†’ deepseek-v4-flash, deepseek-reasoner โ†’ deepseek-v4-pro)
  • Read the reference at railwail.com/docs
  • Compare pricing at railwail.com/pricing
Live

Models in this article

Live prices from Railwail's current rules, October 7, 2026.

  • $0.36 / 1M input tokens$1.44/1M out
    1K in + 500 out tokens: โ‰ˆ $0.0011
    Try
  • $1.584 / 1M input tokens$4.752/1M out
    1K in + 500 out tokens: โ‰ˆ $0.0040
    Try
  • GPT-4oOpenAI
    $3.00 / 1M input tokens$12.00/1M out
    1K in + 500 out tokens: โ‰ˆ $0.0090
    Try

โ‰ˆ billed by actual tokens or GPU time

Next step

Try DeepSeek V4 Flash on Railwail

Sign in with Google for 10 free credits (usable 24 hours after sign-up, runs up to 2 credits), or top up from $5.00. Unused balance does not expire.

TopicsDeepSeekMigrationR1V3ReasoningOpen Source