China Just Dropped the Most Powerful Free AI Model in the World — Here's How to Actually Use It
Kimi K3 launched July 16, 2026. 2.8 trillion parameters. Largest open-source model ever built. Developers who benchmarked it ranked it above everything available right now — and it's free today.
Here's what you need: how to access K3 free, how to wire it into your tools, and how to run Kimi Work to deploy hundreds of agents at once.
🆓 Use Kimi K3 For Free
Option 1 — kimi.com (No Setup) Go to kimi.com, create a free account, start using K3 immediately. No credit card. No API key.
Option 2 — Mobile App Download the Kimi app on iOS or Android. Same model, same access, works instantly.
Option 3 — Moonshot API (For Integrations) Go to platform.kimi.ai, create an account, add a minimum $1 top-up to unlock API access.
Important — Free chat and API access are separate. The $1 top-up is required to get your API key.
Two endpoints available:
- OpenAI-compatible:
https://api.moonshot.ai/v1— works with any tool - Anthropic-compatible:
https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic— drops into Claude Code directly
Option 4 — Run Locally (July 27, 2026) Full weights drop on July 27. Run K3 entirely offline with no API costs. Watch Moonshot's GitHub and Hugging Face for the release.
🔌 Connect K3 to Your Dev Tools
One base URL swap. Works with everything you're already using.
Claude Code
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=your_moonshot_api_key
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=kimi-k3
Set these as environment variables before launching Claude Code.
Kimi Code plan users — Use https://api.kimi.com/coding/ as the base URL and authenticate with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY instead.
Cline / RooCode / Cursor
In each tool's model provider settings:
- Base URL:
https://api.moonshot.ai/v1 - API Key: your Moonshot API key
- Model:
kimi-k3
Validation — Send a test message after saving. Auth error means your $1 top-up on platform.kimi.ai hasn't processed yet.
Codex / OpenAI SDK
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
base_url="https://api.moonshot.ai/v1",
api_key="your_moonshot_api_key"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="kimi-k3",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your prompt here"}]
)
Aider
aider --openai-api-base https://api.moonshot.ai/v1 --openai-api-key your_key --model kimi-k3
Continue / OpenHands
- Base URL:
https://api.moonshot.ai/v1 - Model:
kimi-k3 - Auth: your Moonshot API key
OpenRouter (One Key, All Tools)
- Model slug:
moonshotai/kimi-k3 - Base URL:
https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 - Auth: your OpenRouter key
Best for — Teams running multiple tools who want one key to manage instead of per-tool Moonshot keys.
🖥️ Run Kimi Work
Up to 300 agents running in parallel on a single goal. Not sequentially — all at once.
Step 1 — Download
Go to kimiwork.com. Download for Mac or Windows. Sign in with your Kimi account.
Step 2 — Install Kimi WebBridge
After installing the app, you'll be prompted to install the Kimi WebBridge browser extension. Install it from inside the app — not the extension store.
This step is required — Without WebBridge, agents can't control your browser and most tasks won't run.
Step 3 — Set a Goal
Open Goal Mode. Use this prompt structure:
Find 30 local businesses in [CITY] that don't have a website. For each business, collect the business name, phone number, address, and owner name if available. Then build a simple one-page website for each business. Output everything as an Excel sheet with a link to each website attached.
Replace [CITY] and hit run.
Step 4 — Watch It Work
Kimi Work splits the goal into sub-tasks and launches agents in parallel immediately. The 30-business prompt above typically launches 150+ agents and returns a complete Excel sheet with contact info and built websites in under 30 minutes.
Validation — If agents run sequentially instead of in parallel, check that WebBridge is active in your browser.
What It Outputs
- 📊 Excel / CSV — structured data, contacts, URLs
- 🌐 Websites — custom one-page sites per business
- 📄 Word / PDF — research reports, competitor analysis
- 💻 Code — scripts, apps, full project folders
- 📅 Scheduled tasks — set it overnight, check results in the morning
Top Use Cases
🏢 Local Business Outreach Find businesses without websites, build a demo site for each one, compile contact info — all in one sheet. You show up to the sales call with their site already built.
Best for: Freelancers, web designers, local agency owners
🔍 Lead Research at Scale Find decision-makers at 50 companies, pull LinkedIn profiles, emails, and revenue data, output as a CRM-ready CSV.
Best for: Sales teams, recruiters, growth operators
📈 Competitor Analysis Analyze 20 competitors — pricing, features, review sentiment, positioning. Returns a structured report in under an hour.
Best for: Founders, product managers, marketing strategists
Get started at kimi.com, grab your API key at platform.kimi.ai, and download Kimi Work at kimiwork.com.