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How to Get a Kimi (Moonshot AI) API Key: Verification, Voucher, Top-Up and Base URL

By og.cc.cd · Published · Updated · 3 min read

TL;DR: Kimi (Moonshot) API keys are managed at platform.kimi.com; creating one is quick, but verification, voucher scope and rate limits that depend on total top-up are the usual pitfalls.

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Moonshot AI’s Kimi API is managed on platform.kimi.com (the platform.moonshot.cn docs now redirect there). The key itself is quick to create; what trips people up is verification, the voucher’s limits, and rate limits that depend on how much you have topped up.

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Account and verification

  • Sign in with mobile number + password or account name + password. A phone number you switch to must not already be registered. Accounts cannot be deleted.
  • Individuals must complete personal verification (个人认证) in the user centre (https://platform.kimi.com/console/auth) before topping up; companies need business verification (by corporate bank transfer) (账号与财务).
  • We only checked the China platform (platform.kimi.com); the international platform platform.moonshot.ai is not covered here.

Create the key

  1. Sign in at platform.kimi.com and open API Keys: https://platform.kimi.com/console/api-keys.
  2. Create and copy an API key.
  3. Save it as MOONSHOT_API_KEY — the docs say not to hard-code it (快速开始).

The key prefix and whether it is shown only once are not stated on the pages we checked.

Voucher, top-up and cost control

  • Successful verification earns a ¥15 voucher. It cannot be used for Kimi K3 — K3 requires a top-up.
  • Online top-up by WeChat or Alipay QR code; companies can also pay by bank transfer (1–5 working days). A minimum top-up is not stated on the pages we checked.
  • You can set a daily spending budget per project in project settings, and an SMS alert is sent when the balance drops below ¥20 (the default).

Before you top up, paste a typical prompt into the token counter and estimate a month of traffic with the LLM cost calculator.

Rate limits

Limits (concurrency, RPM, TPM, TPD) are tiered by your cumulative top-up amount; vouchers do not count toward it. They apply at the user level, not per key, and are shared by all models (充值与限速, 主要概念). The tier table did not render when we checked, so we do not quote the numbers.

Base URL and authentication

  • Base URL: https://api.moonshot.cn/v1 — OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses; there is also an Anthropic-compatible Messages API.
  • Header: Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY
  • Models in the quick start: kimi-k3, plus kimi-k2.6 and kimi-k2.7-code-highspeed.

Hello world

export MOONSHOT_API_KEY="paste-your-key-here"   # never hard-code it

curl https://api.moonshot.cn/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "kimi-k3",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}]
  }'
# Note: the verification voucher cannot be used for Kimi K3 - top up first.

Common gotchas

  • K3 calls fail on a fresh account — the ¥15 voucher does not cover Kimi K3; top up first.
  • Can’t top up — complete personal verification first.
  • More keys, same limits — limits are per user and shared by all models.
  • Safety. Put the key in an environment variable, keep it out of Git and out of any code that runs in a browser or mobile app, and replace it if it is ever exposed. The API keys overview has the full checklist.

FAQ

Is platform.moonshot.cn still used?

Its documentation links now redirect to platform.kimi.com, which is where the console and API keys are.

Does the voucher raise my rate limit?

No — vouchers are not counted in the cumulative top-up amount that decides your tier.

Can I delete my account later?

The account FAQ says account deletion is not supported.

Sources

Vendor features and prices were checked against these official pages on 2026-10-20. Products change; if something here no longer matches, the official page is right.

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