# Get a Moonshot key from one of two consoles

> One field accepts two kinds of Moonshot key, detected from the string itself - and the kind you paste decides the endpoint, the models and the browser path.

- Canonical: https://big-agi.com/docs/connect-moonshot-ai
- Minimum tier: open  [Open ⊂ Free ⊂ Pro - a tier only ever ADDS to the Open baseline]
- Kind: provider · Last content update generation: 2026-07-27 · Review by: 2026-10-27
- Answers: Where do I create a Moonshot API key? · Which of the two consoles should I use? · Why has the Direct Connection row disappeared?

Two consoles issue two kinds of Moonshot key, and Big-AGI has one field for both. It works out which kind you pasted from the string itself. That detection decides the endpoint dialled, the models returned, and whether a browser path is offered. No setting overrides it.

## The two consoles

1. Platform keys: [platform.kimi.ai/console/api-keys](https://platform.kimi.ai/console/api-keys). The app's older `platform.moonshot.ai` link redirects there.
2. Subscription keys: [kimi.com/code/console](https://www.kimi.com/code/console), which issues strings prefixed `sk-kimi-`.
3. Copy whichever you created before closing the page.

## What each key costs

A **platform** account is balance-funded and billed per token, so top up the balance before the first answer. A **subscription** plan issues a key that exposes that plan's own models. Rates are published in [the platform documentation](https://platform.kimi.ai/docs/introduction). The enforceable limit is the balance and limits inside whichever console issued the key.

## Pasting it, and reading the label back

Open **Models** with `Ctrl + Shift + M`, press **More Services** if the **Setup AI Models** wizard opens, then **Add** -> **Moonshot AI**. There is a single key field; press **Models** afterwards to fetch the list ([add and manage your keys](/docs/connect-models)).

| key | field | hint |
|---|---|---|
| `sk-kimi-...` | `Kimi Code API Key` | Kimi Code subscription |
| anything else | `Moonshot API Key` | Kimi Platform |

The label tells you what landed. On a subscription key the panel states it outright: *"Using your Kimi Code subscription: listing your plan's models on the coding endpoint."*

## Direct Connection, and when the row vanishes

A platform key lets you turn Direct Connection on. A subscription key removes the row entirely: those keys route to a coding endpoint that permits no browser calls, so the request goes through the Big-AGI fast edge servers.

> **Direct Connection works only with your API key stored in the browser**, and with an AI service that permits direct browser calls (CORS). Where it cannot be used, requests route through the Big-AGI fast edge servers instead - everything still works, within the standard upload size and time limits.

## Related

- [Connect an AI service](/docs/connect-models)
- [Direct Connection](/docs/feature-direct-connection)
- [What your provider does with your text](/docs/privacy-data-flow)