Short answer: The documented Kimi K2 route covered here is Kimi K2.6 on the China Open Platform. As of November 12, 2026, Kimi’s model list says K2.6 is no longer offered to new registrants: accounts registered before November 1 may continue using it, with retirement planned for the end of December 2026. That is a specific account and platform condition—not confirmation that K2.6 is available to new accounts or through the international API route. Check the official model list before integrating.
Other K2 names are not interchangeable. The same list marks kimi-k2-thinking, kimi-k2-0905-preview, and other older K2 identifiers as discontinued. This guide’s request uses the exact model ID kimi-k2.6; it does not establish availability for those other versions.
First request: Kimi K2.6 on the China Open Platform
For an eligible account on the China Open Platform, Kimi’s documentation shows the K2.6 model ID and a Chat Completions request. The documented endpoint is https://api.moonshot.cn/v1/chat/completions; use an API key created for that platform and keep it in a server-side environment variable such as MOONSHOT_API_KEY.
curl --request POST \
--url https://api.moonshot.cn/v1/chat/completions \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"model": "kimi-k2.6",
"messages": [
{"role": "user", "content": "Reply with a short greeting."}
]
}'
A successful Chat Completions response contains the assistant’s output at choices[0].message.content. The request follows Kimi’s documented Chat Completions format, using the K2.6 model ID from its K2.6 guide and the endpoint and Bearer authentication shown in its API reference. Kimi’s quickstart also shows how to use the OpenAI SDK or cURL and set the API key as an environment variable.
What about the international Kimi API?
Kimi also publishes an international K2.6 guide and general API documentation on platform.kimi.ai. However, the available documentation excerpts do not establish that the China-platform registration cutoff applies to international accounts, or confirm the complete international endpoint and request details for K2.6. Do not use the api.moonshot.cn example with an international account unless that account’s documentation directs you to that route. Check the international K2.6 guide, international API quickstart, and the model list for the platform tied to your API key.
Production details to verify
- Access: The China Open Platform model list states the November 1, 2026 new-registration cutoff and planned end-of-December retirement for
kimi-k2.6. Confirm eligibility and current status before committing to it. - Model ID: Use
kimi-k2.6only for the K2.6 route described above. Do not substitute a discontinued K2 identifier or assume K2 Thinking, K2.5, and K2.6 have the same availability. - Context, pricing, and quotas: The K2.6 guide describes a 256K-token context window, but check the selected platform’s current model and pricing pages for applicable request limits and charges. Do not assume those details transfer between platforms.
Bottom line: An eligible, pre-November 1 account can follow the documented China Open Platform Chat Completions example for kimi-k2.6, subject to the stated planned retirement. International K2.6 access and its exact endpoint should be confirmed in the documentation for the international account; the China endpoint above is not evidence of that route.
Sources
Model List — Kimi API Open Platform
Kimi K2.6 — Kimi API Open Platform
Quickstart — Kimi API Open Platform