- #4013 929403b Thanks @7Sageer! - Roll back some of the overly defensive changes in 2.1.0
- #4015 c7dd841 Thanks @sailist! - Revert filesystem watchers for config and workspace files to on by default. Set [watch] enabled to false or KIMICODEWATCH=0 to keep them off.
Kimi Code by Moonshot AI
Pulse Score
34 / 100
Rank #86 of 157
Downloads, last 7 days
43.7K
up 21.9% vs previous week
Downloads, last 30 days
146K
down 8.3% vs previous 30 days
VS Code installs
598K
3.5 / 5 from 33 ratings
GitHub stars
7,775
about +8 a day
Latest release
2.1.1
12d ago · 8 in 30 days
Price
—
checked Oct 5, 2026
Overview
Moonshot AI's coding agent, offered as the Kimi Code CLI (`kimi`), a desktop app and a VS Code extension; it is included in Kimi memberships and can also use a Moonshot API key or other providers. The CLI was rebuilt in Node.js in 2026 and replaces the archived Python Kimi CLI.
Status: Python Kimi CLI was rebuilt in Node.js as Kimi Code CLI (first npm release 2026-05-21); the legacy MoonshotAI/kimi-cli repo is archived and Homebrew deprecated its kimi-cli formula on 2026-07-17.
Kimi Code was downloaded 43.7K times from npm in the week ending Oct 4, 2026, up 21.9% on the week before and down 8.3% over the last 30 days compared with the 30 before. Its VS Code extension has 598K installs and average 3.5 out of 5 across 33 marketplace ratings. The GitHub repository has 7,775 stars, 551 of them added in the last 30 days. The latest stable release is 2.1.1, published Sep 24, 2026; there were 8 stable releases in the past 30 days. It was mentioned in 4 Hacker News posts and comments over the last 30 days.
Recent developments
- 2026-05-21: Node.js rewrite first published as Kimi Code CLI (npm 0.1.0); 2026-07-17: Homebrew deprecated the legacy kimi-cli formula
Kimi Code usage and attention over time
Download the raw daily series: kimi-code.csv
Install Kimi Code
| npm | npm install -g @moonshot-ai/kimi-code |
|---|---|
| Homebrew | brew install kimi-code |
| VS Code | code --install-extension moonshot-ai.kimi-code |
These commands use the packages tracked on this page. The vendor may recommend a different installer; see the official documentation.
Key facts
| Maker | Moonshot AI |
|---|---|
| Type | Terminal agent + desktop app + VS Code extension |
| First released | October 2025 |
| License | MIT |
| Interfaces | CLI, Desktop, IDE extension, Web |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| Models | Kimi K3 / K2.x models via Kimi membership or a Moonshot API key; other providers configurable |
| Bring your own API key | Yes |
| Main language | TypeScript |
| Open issues and PRs | 1,538 |
| Open VSX downloads | 527,909 (includes updates) |
| Homebrew installs | 639 in 30 days · 6,990 in a year |
Pricing
Kimi Code is included with Kimi memberships: in the new plans Go has no coding quota and Plus and above include Kimi Code with a rolling 5-hour rate window (K3 1M context needs Pro and above). Exact prices are on kimi.com/membership/pricing and could not be verified.
Source: official pricing page, checked Oct 5, 2026. Prices change often; confirm before you buy.
Pulse Score breakdown
Adoption44
Community37
Attention0
Momentum42
Each component is scored 0 to 100 from public signals; a dash means no data for it. Methodology.
What changed: recent Kimi Code releases
42 stable releases in the last 90 days · Full changelog
- #3990 32000d0 Thanks @Grapedge! - In fullscreen, click a folded block to open or close it.
- #4004 e17ff67 Thanks @Grapedge! - Add a TUI mode setting to /settings with an experimental fullscreen layout; switching modes takes effect after restarting Kimi Code. You can also set tuimode in…
- #3964 6451f1e Thanks @7Sageer! - Block file tools from accessing files outside the working directory through symlinks.
- #3975 bb96d80 Thanks @RealKai42! - Reduce the CLI's startup time and memory usage.
- #3957 6a214b8 Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Fix a "Maximum call stack size exceeded" error when opening large sessions.
- #3974 994287a Thanks @liruifengv! - Fix forked sessions getting their titles overwritten by auto-generated titles.
- #3922 9df7a9c Thanks @sailist! - Fix new messages occasionally landing at an old position in the conversation after resuming a session.
- #3911 88a7d93 Thanks @Grapedge! - Fix compaction failing after switching to a model with a smaller context window.
- #3929 6ffdf0d Thanks @7Hanrui! - The agent no longer assumes the current working directory is the project root.
- #3933 9721259 Thanks @liruifengv! - Fix a message sent while the agent was running sometimes appearing twice in the chat.
- #3934 2e605b1 Thanks @liruifengv! - web: Improved interactions and fixed known bugs.
- #3878 f233f9d Thanks @7Sageer! - Stop listing unavailable media tools in subagent menus and clarify Read errors for images and videos.
- #3762 c5ad17f Thanks @7Sageer! - Providers can read their API key from a named environment variable (apikeyenv in config.toml or the provider API).
- #3896 73ebe9a Thanks @sailist! - Keep follow-up messages sent during a turn from appearing twice after a session reload.
- #3889 5108cad Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Compact the session index on startup when many entries point to deleted sessions.
- #3889 5108cad Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Start the CLI faster by removing a duplicate skills directory scan.
- #3889 5108cad Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Open the session list and resume sessions faster on workspaces with many sessions.
- #3849 34ec5d2 Thanks @wbxl2000! - Add the /desktop slash command (alias /install-desktop) and the kimi install-app subcommand to open the Kimi Code desktop app page in the browser.
- #3851 faec32c Thanks @Grapedge! - Render mermaid code blocks as diagrams in the terminal; turn it off under /settings → Mermaid diagrams, or set mermaid = "off" in the [markdown] section of tui.toml.
- #3838 f4e5822 Thanks @sailist! - Fix an occasional crash when a running turn is canceled.
- #3802 c72a202 Thanks @Grapedge! - Highlight diff code blocks.
- #3844 0cf413f Thanks @Grapedge! - Fix a steered message appearing twice after interrupting the turn.
- #3848 b4d0b8a Thanks @Grapedge! - Fix @ file mentions duplicating or dropping the path when accepting a suggestion while still typing.
- #3780 486dcd2 Thanks @Grapedge! - Update the terminal UI engine, fixing link colors in wrapped markdown tables and @ file-completion ordering, and adding native clipboard support on Linux X11.
- #3776 48fad6e Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Fix memory not being released when subagent scopes are disposed.
- #3777 dc76b0c Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Fix progressively slower rendering on each round of large agent swarm runs.
- #3631 1336be3 Thanks @wbxl2000! - Stop returning deleted sessions from global search before the search index catches up.
- #3775 f248624 Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Reduce event-loop stalls and GC churn in sessions with many concurrent subagents.
- #3779 82ec469 Thanks @huangzheng2016! - Fix pressing Ctrl+C while subagents are running exiting the whole CLI instead of just interrupting the subagents.
Kimi Code alternatives
| # | Agent | Pulse | Downloads 7d | 7d | 30d | VS Code installs | Stars | Latest release | Price | Last 90 days | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
OpenAI CodexOpenAI |
82 | 25.6M | up 5.7% | up 21.2% | 15.2M | 128K+153/day | 0.160.1yesterday | Free + $8/mo | ||
| 3 |
Claude CodeAnthropic |
80 | 14.8M | up 11.6% | down 36.4% | 27.1M | 150K+161/day | 2.1.290yesterday | $20/mo | ||
| 5 |
PiEarendil Inc. (created by Mario Zechner) |
75 | 5.2M | up 29.8% | up 52.1% | — | 113K+378/day | 1.0.4yesterday | Free (OSS) | ||
| 7 |
OpenCodeAnomaly (SST team) |
73 | 3.3M | up 22.0% | up 6.1% | 1.2M | 212K+200/day | 1.18.346d ago | Free + $10/mo | ||
| 24 |
Gemini CLIGoogle |
57 | 453K | up 4.7% | up 1.8% | 1.1M | 107K+24/day | 0.62.07d ago | Varies | ||
| 26 |
Oh My PiStencil Labs (Can Bölük) |
56 | 241K | up 11.4% | up 53.9% | — | 34.4K+111/day | 18.6.12d ago | Free (OSS) | ||
| No agents match that filter. | |||||||||||
Kimi Code FAQ
How much does Kimi Code cost?
Kimi Code is included with Kimi memberships: in the new plans Go has no coding quota and Plus and above include Kimi Code with a rolling 5-hour rate window (K3 1M context needs Pro and above). Exact prices are on kimi.com/membership/pricing and could not be verified.
Is Kimi Code open source?
Yes. Kimi Code is open source, released under the MIT license.
How popular is Kimi Code?
Kimi Code was downloaded 43.7K times from npm in the week ending Oct 4, 2026, up 21.9% on the week before and down 8.3% over the last 30 days compared with the 30 before. Its VS Code extension has 598K installs and average 3.5 out of 5 across 33 marketplace ratings. The GitHub repository has 7,775 stars, 551 of them added in the last 30 days.
What is the latest version of Kimi Code?
The latest stable release we track is 2.1.1, published on Sep 24, 2026.
What are the alternatives to Kimi Code?
The closest alternatives in the same category by Pulse Score are OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode.
Where these numbers come from
npm: @moonshot-ai/kimi-code. GitHub: MoonshotAI/kimi-code. VS Code Marketplace: moonshot-ai.kimi-code. Homebrew: kimi-code. See data sources for how each one is collected.
Product facts and pricing were checked against: kimi.com, moonshotai.github.io, github.com, registry.npmjs.org, pypi.org, formulae.brew.sh, marketplace.visualstudio.com, open-vsx.org.