Kimi API Key Errors: Region, Model and Permissions

Check where you created the Kimi API key

The international API overview documents https://api.moonshot.ai/v1 for OpenAI-compatible requests. The official China-region introductory tutorial uses https://api.moonshot.cn/v1. Match the endpoint to the platform that issued the key. International API overview; China-region tutorial.

Kimi's error reference explicitly says keys from regional platforms are independent, and mixing them can return 401. Check the endpoint documented by the platform that created your key; do not infer the region from your physical location. Source: authentication errors.

Check which Kimi product the key comes from. Check the credential requirements for the product you use, whether that is Kimi web membership, Kimi Code or the API platform. The current OpenCode guide requires an API-platform key and explicitly warns against using keys from another Kimi service or region. Source: Kimi OpenCode guide.

Record the non-sensitive details before troubleshooting:

• The issuing platform's domain and product, never the key itself.
• The host and protocol the application actually calls.
• The exact model ID, HTTP status and error.type.
• The application version and the machine running the request.

This record helps distinguish account-resource problems from a client that has not picked up the intended configuration.

Kimi K3: model ID and reasoning effort

The official catalog currently lists kimi-k3, kimi-k2.7-code, kimi-k2.7-code-highspeed and kimi-k2.6. Use the exact API ID instead of adding a suffix based on a display label. Source: model catalog.

Kimi's tutorial for OpenCode 1.18.3 selects K3 first, then sets reasoning effort through /variants. Its max setting is not an instruction to enter kimi-k3-max. A label such as “Kimi K3 Max” may describe effort or a gateway alias; verify what it means before using it in an API request. Source: versioned OpenCode tutorial.

Check the date of older examples. A tutorial by Mofage (CSS Magic), published on May 30, 2024 and republished by the official platform, demonstrates Postman with moonshot-v1-8k. The current catalog marks the moonshot-v1 family as discontinued. The tutorial still illustrates the request structure, but its model name and historical trial-credit offer should not be copied as current advice. Historical tutorial; current model status.

Check the API before diagnosing DSH or OpenChamber

If the matching key is already stored in a local environment variable, start with the international model-list endpoint. This example does not validate keys from other regions or subscription products.

curl --silent --show-error --include \
  https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/models \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${MOONSHOT_API_KEY}"

The endpoint and authentication follow List Models. Do not enable debugging that prints credential-bearing request headers, and do not paste a real key into shared examples or logs.

Once the list request succeeds, use the same platform's Playground or official minimal example to send a short text request to the selected model. Use that call to check access, quota and basic parameters. Test tool calling separately. Source: Kimi quickstart.

Back in DSH, check the selected provider and model. For MISSING_CREDENTIAL, check whether DSH can find that provider's key locally. For UNKNOWN_MODEL, check whether the model has been configured. If a newer model is absent from the installed catalog, compare it with the provider's model list, then check the DSH configuration. Source: DSH pi-ai adapter at c291e79.

OpenChamber is built on OpenCode. Its README explains that Desktop bundles a matching OpenCode CLI, while the CLI/Web route uses an installed OpenCode instance. For Desktop troubleshooting, record the version and configuration of the instance it actually uses. For CLI/Web, check the installed instance it connects to. Source: OpenChamber README.

Read the error body before acting on the status

These categories follow Kimi's error reference. Topping up an account does not fix engine_overloaded_error; insufficient balance and a concurrency limit also need different responses.

If the minimal API call fails, investigate the platform, model and response body. If it works but the application fails, inspect the client configuration, running instance and parameters. Change one setting at a time and keep the result, so you can tell which change helped.

Why do OpenCode tutorials show different commands?

OpenCode's provider page uses /connect for Moonshot AI and still shows Kimi K2 examples. Kimi's tutorial explicitly targets OpenCode 1.18.3 and uses opencode auth login, /models and /variants for K3. OpenCode provider documentation; Kimi integration tutorial.

Do not combine those pages into an unversioned procedure or treat their commands as DSH commands. Check the installed version's help and interface. Diagnosing a particular OpenChamber failure still requires its version, backend and redacted logs; “I used a Kimi key” does not establish a specific cause.

For support, include the version, region, model ID, status, error.type, reproduction steps and minimal-request result. Remove Authorization values, keys, cookies and personal paths. The request example has not been tested with live API credentials, and we have not reproduced a specific OpenChamber failure.

FAQ

Why does the Kimi website work while the API fails?

Website access does not establish API credentials, model access or account permissions. Identify the credential's product and verify its API separately.

Does a 401 always mean I need a new key?

No. Check the region, credential product and authentication header first. Replace a key when it is confirmed incorrect, revoked or exposed, following the platform's procedure.

Why can listing models work while a model request fails?

Send a minimal text request with the selected model ID and inspect its error.type. Use the response to check model status, access, quota or parameters. Keep the result before returning to client troubleshooting.

Can I start editing a repository after chat works?

Verify a read-only tool task first, then review edits in a project copy. Chat connectivity, tool calling and code acceptance are separate checks.

Next step

For Kimi API key errors, verify one platform-matched request before returning to client troubleshooting. Use the Kimi provider guide for DSH setup, then the custom-provider guide when another route is needed.

Sources were checked on October 2, 2026. DSH field and local-error descriptions apply to the cited source snapshot.

Model and workflow guides