# Kimi K3

> Run Kimi K3 by melious online or via API. $3.1828/M input, $0.7957/M cached input, $15.9138/M output, no setup.

**URL:** https://inference.sh/apps/melious/kimi-k3
**Last updated:** 2026-10-20

---

Kimi K3 — Moonshot's 2.8T open-weight multimodal agentic model with native vision and 1M context for long-horizon coding and reasoning. Via the Melious API.

- app: `melious/kimi-k3`
- maker: [melious](https://inference.sh/apps/melious.md)
- category: [chat](https://inference.sh/apps/category/chat.md)
- tasks: [vision](https://inference.sh/apps/tag/vision.md), [reasoning](https://inference.sh/apps/tag/reasoning.md), [coding](https://inference.sh/apps/tag/coding.md), [open weights](https://inference.sh/apps/tag/open-weights.md)
- price: $3.1828/M input, $0.7957/M cached input, $15.9138/M output
- runs via: api, javascript and python sdk, belt cli, mcp

## kimi-k3 API Guide

### About
kimi k3 — moonshot's 2.8t open-weight multimodal agentic model with native vision and 1m context for long-horizon coding and reasoning. via the melious api.

### Get an API Key
Create one in [settings → api keys](https://app.inference.sh/settings/keys). The examples read it from `INFERENCE_API_KEY`.

```bash
export INFERENCE_API_KEY="inf_your_key"
```

### 1. Calling the API

#### Install the Client

```bash
pip install inferencesh
```

#### Run and Get Result
Submit a request and wait for the final result.

```python
import os
from inferencesh import inference

client = inference(api_key=os.environ["INFERENCE_API_KEY"])

## version @0dqdd5cn pinned
result = client.run({
        "app": "melious/kimi-k3@0dqdd5cn",
        "input": {}
    })

print(result["output"])
```

#### Stream Live Updates
Get real-time progress updates as the task runs.

```python
import os
from inferencesh import inference

client = inference(api_key=os.environ["INFERENCE_API_KEY"])

## version @0dqdd5cn pinned
## stream=True yields updates as they arrive
for update in client.run({
        "app": "melious/kimi-k3@0dqdd5cn",
        "input": {}
    }, stream=True):
    if update.get("progress"):
        print(f"progress: {update['progress']}%")
    if update.get("output"):
        print(f"output: {update['output']}")
```

#### Run in the Background
Start the task and get its id back right away, then check on it with `GET /tasks/{id}`. It is done when `status` is 10 (completed), 11 (failed) or 12 (cancelled).

```python
import os
from inferencesh import inference, TaskStatus

client = inference(api_key=os.environ["INFERENCE_API_KEY"])

## returns as soon as the task is created
task = client.run({
        "app": "melious/kimi-k3@0dqdd5cn",
        "input": {}
    }, wait=False)

## later: read its current state
state = client.tasks.get(task["id"]).data
if state["status"] == TaskStatus.COMPLETED:
    print(state["output"])
```

### 2. Files

#### Automatic Upload

```python
## local file paths are automatically uploaded
result = client.run({
    "app": "melious/kimi-k3@0dqdd5cn",
    "input": {
        "image": "/path/to/local/image.png",  # detected & uploaded
        "audio": "https://example.com/audio.mp3",  # url passed through
    }
})
```

#### Manual Upload

```python
## upload and get a hosted URL
file = client.files.upload("/path/to/file.png")
print(file.uri)  # https://cloud.inference.sh/...
```

### 3. Schema

#### Input
- **text** (string): Text
- **images** (array): Images
- **files** (array): Files
- **attachments** (array): Attachments
- **context** (array): Context
- **role** (string): ChatMessageRole
- **reasoning** (string): Reasoning
- **tool_call_id** (string): Tool Call Id
- **system_prompt** (string): System Prompt
- **context_size** (integer): The context size for the model.
- **temperature** (number): Temperature
- **top_p** (number): Top P
- **top_k** (integer): Top K
- **min_p** (number): Min P
- **frequency_penalty** (number): Frequency Penalty
- **presence_penalty** (number): Presence Penalty
- **repetition_penalty** (number): Repetition Penalty
- **seed** (integer): Seed
- **stop** (array): Stop
- **max_tokens** (integer): Max Tokens
- **reasoning_effort** (string): ReasoningEffortEnum
- **reasoning_max_tokens** (integer): Reasoning Max Tokens
- **tools** (array): Tools
- **tool_choice** (object): ToolChoice
- **response_format** (object): ResponseFormat

#### Output
- **reasoning** (string): Reasoning
- **reasoning_state** (object): Reasoning State
- **response** (string): Response
- **tool_calls** (array): Tool Calls
- **usage** (object): LLMUsage

## other chat apps

- [DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017](https://inference.sh/apps/melious/deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017.md): $0.341/M input, $0.0341/M cached input, $1.364/M output
- [Claude Fable 5.1 (Claude Code)](https://inference.sh/apps/anthropic/claude-code-fable-5-1.md): from $0.00000277/sec
- [Claude Haiku 5.5 (Claude Code)](https://inference.sh/apps/anthropic/claude-code-haiku-5-5.md): from $0.00000277/sec
- [Claude Opus 5.5 (Claude Code)](https://inference.sh/apps/anthropic/claude-code-opus-5-5.md): from $0.00000277/sec
- [Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Claude Code)](https://inference.sh/apps/anthropic/claude-code-sonnet-5-5.md): from $0.00000277/sec

## faq

### how much does Kimi K3 cost?

$3.1828/M input, $0.7957/M cached input, $15.9138/M output. you pay per run from your inference shell credits. no subscription is required.

### how do I run Kimi K3 via api?

call melious/kimi-k3 with the javascript or python sdk, the rest api, or `belt app run melious/kimi-k3` from a terminal. the api reference on this page lists every input.

### who makes Kimi K3?

Kimi K3 is made by melious and runs on inference shell. every melious app is listed at https://inference.sh/apps/melious.

### can my agent use Kimi K3?

yes. agents call it as a tool through the inference shell mcp server (https://api.inference.sh/mcp), the belt cli or the sdk, and pay per run like you do.

### what are the alternatives to Kimi K3?

other chat apps on inference shell include DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, Claude Fable 5.1 (Claude Code), Claude Haiku 5.5 (Claude Code), Claude Opus 5.5 (Claude Code). they run through the same api, so switching is a one-line change.