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# DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Proxy for Janitor AI with MegaNova: Setup Guide
- URL: https://blog.meganova.ai/deepseek-v4-1-flash-proxy-for-janitor-ai-with-meganova-setup-guide/
- Published: 2026-11-06T09:14:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T09:14:46.000Z
- Author: Tracy Giang
- Tags: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Proxy

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the newest model in DeepSeek's Flash line, released in September 2026, and it's a strong fit for long roleplay chats: it supports a very long context and is priced as the budget tier of the V4.1 family. This guide connects it to Janitor AI through MegaNova's OpenAI-compatible proxy, so your characters run on V4.1 Flash instead of Janitor's built-in model.

You'll need three things before you start:

- A free [MegaNova account](https://console.meganova.ai/home?ref=blog.meganova.ai) with an API key
- A [Janitor AI](https://janitorai.com/?ref=blog.meganova.ai) account and a character to chat with
- About five minutes

One thing to know up front: Janitor AI shows a notice that it isn't affiliated with proxy services, and that a proxy provider can see the requests that pass through it. That's true of every proxy, including MegaNova, so read [MegaNova's Privacy Policy](https://docs.meganova.ai/legal-docs/privacy-policy?ref=blog.meganova.ai) before you connect.

## **What DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is**

DeepSeek [released V4.1 Flash on September 10, 2026](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news260910/?ref=blog.meganova.ai) as the smallest model in its new architecture family. The facts that matter for chat, as of November 2026:

| Property       | Details                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Architecture   | Mixture-of-experts, 552B total parameters; only 8B are active when reading your prompt and 16B when writing a reply ([model card](https://build.nvidia.com/deepseek-ai/deepseek-v4.1-flash/modelcard?ref=blog.meganova.ai)) |
| Context window | Up to 1 million tokens ([technical report](https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19969?ref=blog.meganova.ai))                                                                                                                          |
| Input          | Text and images                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| Weights        | Open, MIT license, on [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash?ref=blog.meganova.ai)                                                                                                           |
| Versions       | The September 2026 launch release and an October 17 update (“1017”). Providers may serve either, so check which one your model list shows                                                                                   |
| Replaces       | V4 Flash and, until V4.1 Pro ships, V4 Pro: DeepSeek now routes requests for both older names to V4.1 Flash                                                                                                                 |

The headline improvement is memory efficiency. DeepSeek reports that V4.1 Flash stores context in about a quarter of the memory V4 Flash needed, which is what lets providers serve very long contexts cheaply.

### **Why it suits roleplay**

- **Long chats fit.** A large context window means your character card, persona, lorebook entries and a long chat history can all be sent with each message, so the bot forgets less. Our guide to context windows explains why that matters.
- **Low cost per message.** It's priced as DeepSeek's efficient tier, so long sessions stay affordable. Check the MegaNova dashboard for the current rate rather than relying on third-party price lists, which vary by provider.
- **A safe upgrade path.** If you were on V4 Flash or V4 Pro, V4.1 Flash is what DeepSeek now serves under those names anyway.

One honest caveat: DeepSeek's published benchmarks measure reasoning, coding and agent tasks, not creative writing. How well it plays your character is something to test with your own bots.

## **Step 1: Get your MegaNova API key and model ID**

1. Sign in to the [MegaNova console](https://console.meganova.ai/home?ref=blog.meganova.ai). New accounts are free.
2. Open the **API Keys** page and copy your default key. Treat it like a password: anyone with the key can spend your credits.
3. Open the model list and find [**DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017**](https://www.meganova.ai/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017?ref=blog.meganova.ai)**.** Note three things from its entry before you leave the page:
  - **The model ID.** Copy it exactly as shown. Janitor AI needs the exact ID, not the display name, and providers format DeepSeek IDs differently, so don't copy one from another site.
  - **The price and plan.** If the model is marked as requiring a paid tier, add credits before you test, or requests will fail.
  - **The context limit.** This is the most MegaNova will accept per request, which can be lower than the model's 1-million-token maximum. You'll use it in Step 3.

If you're comfortable with the command line, the same details are available from the API: `GET https://api.meganova.ai/v1/models` with your key as a bearer token lists every model with its ID and pricing.

Free-tier keys are limited to 10 requests per minute; paid tiers get higher limits ([tier overview](https://docs.meganova.ai/tiers?ref=blog.meganova.ai)).

## **Step 2: Add the proxy in Janitor AI**

1. Open [Janitor AI](https://janitorai.com/?ref=blog.meganova.ai) and start a chat with any character.
2. Click **using proxy** (or **using Janitor**) in the chat box, then choose **Proxy**.
3. Click **Add Configuration** and fill in the fields:

| Field              | What to enter                                                  |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Configuration Name | Anything you'll recognise, e.g. MegaNova – DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
| Model Name         | The model ID you copied in Step 1                              |
| Proxy URL          | https://api.meganova.ai/v1/chat/completions                    |
| API Key            | Your MegaNova API key                                          |

1. Click **Save**, then reload the Janitor AI page and reopen your chat.

Paste the full URL, including `/v1/chat/completions`. Janitor AI expects the complete endpoint path, unlike some other frontends that only want the base URL.

Some older guides show `inference.meganova.ai`. Use `api.meganova.ai`, the endpoint in MegaNova's current [docs](https://docs.meganova.ai/integration-guides/janitor-ai?ref=blog.meganova.ai) and official SDK.

Send a short test message such as “Say hello in character.” If a reply comes back, the connection works.

## **Step 3: Tune the generation settings**

These are starting points, not rules. Change one at a time and regenerate a few replies to see the effect.

| Setting        | Start here                                                                      | Why                                                                              |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Temperature    | 0.7–0.9                                                                         | Lower keeps the character steady; higher gives more varied prose but drifts more |
| Max new tokens | 800–1,500                                                                       | Caps reply length. Too low and replies stop mid-sentence                         |
| Context size   | Only as large as your chats need, and never above the limit you noted in Step 1 | See below                                                                        |

### **Don't max out the context just because you can**

V4.1 Flash can accept up to a million tokens, but Janitor AI sends the whole context with every message: card, persona, lorebook and history. You pay for those input tokens each time, so a huge context makes every reply cost more and take longer to start.

A practical approach is to set the context large enough to hold your card plus the recent scenes you care about, then raise it if the bot starts forgetting. For long campaigns, a chat-memory summary of earlier events is cheaper than sending every old message. Our context windows guide walks through the trade-off.

## **Troubleshooting**

| What you see                                            | Likely cause                                                      | Fix                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Network error, or the bot won't reply right after setup | Janitor AI hasn't picked up the new configuration                 | Save, reload the page, reopen the chat. MegaNova's docs note this is normal with proxy setups |
| 401 or “invalid API key”                                | Key pasted with a space, or the wrong key                         | Copy the key again from the API Keys page                                                     |
| “Model not found”                                       | Display name used instead of the model ID, or a typo              | Copy the exact ID from MegaNova's model list                                                  |
| Requests fail after working earlier                     | Out of credits, or the free tier's 10 requests per minute was hit | Check your balance and usage on the MegaNova dashboard, or wait a minute                      |
| Replies cut off mid-sentence                            | Max new tokens set too low                                        | Raise it and regenerate                                                                       |
| Slow first reply on long chats                          | Very large context being sent each turn                           | Lower the context size or summarise older scenes                                              |
| The bot forgets earlier events                          | The history no longer fits the context you set                    | Raise context size, or move key facts into the card or chat memory                            |

Still stuck? The [MegaNova Janitor AI integration docs](https://docs.meganova.ai/integration-guides/janitor-ai?ref=blog.meganova.ai) cover the same setup with screenshots.

### **Next steps**

Once V4.1 Flash is running, the biggest quality gains come from the character itself, not the model. Two guides to read next:

- [How to Write a Janitor AI Character Card That Stays in Character](https://blog.meganova.ai/how-to-write-a-janitor-ai-character-card-that-stays-in-character/): structure, examples and the token budget that keeps a bot consistent.
- [Why Your AI Roleplay Bot Forgets: Context Windows Explained](https://blog.meganova.ai/why-your-ai-roleplay-bot-forgets-context-windows-explained/): what the context window is and how to set it without overpaying.

Models change quickly. This guide reflects DeepSeek V4.1 Flash as of November 2026; if DeepSeek ships V4.1 Pro or a new snapshot, check MegaNova's model list for the current ID. 

### **What’s Next?**

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