Which API should you use with Kimi Code CLI?

For Kimi Code CLI on one monthly price with more than Kimi models, the best API is a flat-rate OpenAI-compatible provider: add Standard Compute to ~/.kimi-code/config.toml as an openai provider at https://api.stdcmpt.com/v1 and pin moonshotai/kimi-k3 or let routing pick, from $19 a month with a $20 compute budget. A Kimi membership is the native route: Plus at $19 a month and up include Kimi Code, with a rolling 5-hour window and a monthly total. The old Python Kimi CLI is archived; Kimi Code CLI (the kimi command) replaced it.

Light or occasional use

If you only use Kimi models and stay inside the 5-hour windows, Kimi Plus at $19 is hard to beat. For a few sessions a month, a pay-as-you-go Moonshot API key will likely cost less.

One fixed monthly bill

Standard Compute fits when you want Kimi K3 next to Claude, GPT or GLM on one key, without 5-hour windows. Standard Compute draws Kimi K3 from the budget at $3 / $15 per million tokens; requests stop at the monthly budget instead of billing overage.

API and subscription options for Kimi Code

Prices and allowances can change. Kimi Code's provider format and membership terms come from Kimi Code's docs, read on October 14, 2026; membership prices are the international USD prices shown on kimi.com that day. Kimi Code: providers and models · Kimi Code membership · Kimi CLI (archived). Spot an error? Tell us.

Add Standard Compute to Kimi Code CLI

default_model = "standardcompute"

[providers.standardcompute]
type = "openai"
base_url = "https://api.stdcmpt.com/v1"
api_key_env = "STANDARDCOMPUTE_API_KEY"

[models.standardcompute]
provider = "standardcompute"
model = "standardcompute"
max_context_size = 200000
capabilities = ["tool_use"]

[models.kimi-k3]
provider = "standardcompute"
model = "moonshotai/kimi-k3"
max_context_size = 1048576
capabilities = ["tool_use", "thinking", "image_in"]

Export STANDARDCOMPUTE_API_KEY and run kimi; switch models with -m kimi-k3. Kimi Code only reads the key from the variable named in api_key_env, never from other shell variables.

Kimi Code questions

Does Kimi CLI still work, or do I need Kimi Code?

Move to Kimi Code CLI. Moonshot archived the Python Kimi CLI (MoonshotAI/kimi-cli); its README says it has been replaced by Kimi Code CLI and that existing installations will stop working. Kimi Code installs with npm i -g @moonshot-ai/kimi-code or Homebrew, keeps the kimi command, and reads ~/.kimi-code/config.toml.

Can I use Kimi K3 in Kimi Code without a Kimi membership?

Yes. Kimi Code CLI connects to any OpenAI Chat Completions provider through a type = "openai" entry, so a Standard Compute key serves moonshotai/kimi-k3, plus Claude, GPT and GLM, from $19 a month with a $20 compute budget. Declare capabilities such as tool_use on the model, since Kimi Code matches capabilities by model name and may not recognise a gateway's IDs. Kimi's SearchWeb tool works only on Kimi's own platform.