Kimi K2.6 API: the right Moonshot endpoint, model ID check, and quick examples

A safe workflow for Kimi K2.6

1. Create or prepare a Moonshot API key. Kimi’s API examples use Bearer-token authentication, and TypingMind’s integration guide describes the practical flow: create a Moonshot API account, add balance, and copy the API key.
2. Configure your client as OpenAI-compatible. If you are using the OpenAI SDK, the key change is setting base_url to https://api.moonshot.ai/v1.
3. Call /models before your real request. The List Models endpoint is designed to return available models and includes an id field; that is the value to pass into model.
4. Send chat requests with model and messages. Kimi’s Chat API follows the Chat Completions-style request structure, while the API overview documents /chat/completions as the direct HTTP path.
5. Check billing or use batch jobs when needed. Kimi documents a balance endpoint for account checks and a batch endpoint for batch processing.

Python example with the OpenAI SDK

This example uses the base_url Kimi publishes for OpenAI SDK usage. Set KIMI_MODEL_ID to the id returned by GET /models; do not guess it from the product name or copy it from another provider’s gateway.

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["MOONSHOT_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://api.moonshot.ai/v1",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model=os.environ["KIMI_MODEL_ID"],
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello, please introduce yourself briefly."}
    ],
)

print(response)

cURL example: get the model ID, then call chat

Start by listing the models available in your Moonshot/Kimi account, because this endpoint returns the model list with each model’s id.

curl -sS https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY"

After you choose the correct id from the response, send a Chat Completions request. Kimi documents the full /chat/completions path and the model + messages request structure.

curl -sS https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "PASTE_MODEL_ID_FROM_MODELS",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Write a short introduction to Kimi K2.6."}
    ]
  }'

Check your API balance

If a request fails for billing reasons, or you simply want to verify the account before integrating, Kimi provides a balance endpoint at /users/me/balance and shows Bearer-token authentication in its example.

curl -sS https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/users/me/balance \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY"

Do not mix Moonshot model IDs with gateway model IDs

Some third-party gateways use their own model IDs for Kimi K2.6. AIMLAPI’s documentation shows calls to https://api.aimlapi.com/v1/chat/completions with model moonshot/kimi-k2-6. OpenRouter lists the model as moonshotai/kimi-k2.6 on its API page.

Those IDs belong to those providers’ routing layers. Use them only when you are calling the matching gateway. When you call Moonshot’s official https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/chat/completions endpoint, the lower-risk path is to call GET https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/models and use the exact id Moonshot returns for your account.

Bottom line

The clean Moonshot flow is: get an API key, set the OpenAI SDK base_url to https://api.moonshot.ai/v1, call /models to confirm the Kimi K2.6 model ID, then send your request to /chat/completions with model and messages. That keeps your implementation aligned with Kimi’s OpenAI-compatible API and avoids a common integration bug: pasting an AIMLAPI or OpenRouter model ID into Moonshot’s official endpoint.