cookbook/90_models/moonshot/README.md
Cookbook examples for cookbook/90_models/moonshot.
Run examples with:
.venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/90_models/moonshot/<example>.py
Kimi models reason before answering and return their thinking as reasoning_content,
which Agno parses automatically and feeds back into the conversation on later turns.
Two parameters control that reasoning. Which one applies depends on the model generation, and parameters that do not apply are ignored by the API:
| Parameter | Sent as | Used by |
|---|---|---|
reasoning_effort | top-level request field | Kimi K3 |
use_thinking | nested thinking object | Kimi K2.x |
reasoning_effortControls how much the model thinks before answering. See Use thinking effort.
MoonShot(id="kimi-k3", reasoning_effort="low")
Kimi K3 accepts "low", "high" and "max".
It defaults to "max" when the parameter is omitted. That is a strong default:
K3 will happily spend a minute or more reasoning before answering a prompt that does not
need it. Lowering it to "low" cuts that dramatically — several times faster on simple
prompts, with correspondingly shallower thinking.
So pick deliberately rather than leaving it unset:
"max") for genuinely hard reasoning — proofs, planning, multi-step
analysis."low" for chat, summarization, formatting, tool-calling loops, and anything else
where the answer is not the bottleneck.use_thinkingToggles thinking on the Kimi K2.x line, which reasons by default. See Use the Kimi K2 thinking model.
MoonShot(id="kimi-k2.6", use_thinking=False) # faster, no reasoning_content
Leave it as None (the default) to use whatever the model does on its own. Note that
thinking cannot be turned off on every model — Kimi K3 always reasons.
Kimi returns structured data two ways, both driven by output_schema:
| Mode | Sent as | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Structured output | response_format={"type": "json_schema"} | Default — just set output_schema |
| JSON mode | response_format={"type": "json_object"} | Add use_json_mode=True |
Native structured output constrains the response to your schema, so prefer it:
agent = Agent(model=MoonShot(id="kimi-k3"), output_schema=MovieScript)
JSON mode only guarantees the output is valid JSON, not that it matches the schema — it
infers the shape from your field descriptions. Use it as a fallback where the
json_schema path is not accepted:
agent = Agent(model=MoonShot(id="kimi-k3"), output_schema=MovieScript, use_json_mode=True)
Either way, Kimi only emits JSON objects — never a top-level JSON array. Wrap lists in a field on your model rather than asking for an array at the root. See Use JSON mode.
Kimi accepts each media type differently, and Agno adapts automatically — you just attach
images, files, or videos to the run:
| Media | How Kimi receives it | Upload needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Image | Inline base64 in the message content | No |
| File (PDF, docx, code, ...) | Uploaded with purpose="file-extract", text extracted and injected | Yes |
| Video | Uploaded with purpose="video", referenced as ms://<file-id> | Yes |
Images are sent inline, so there is no upload step. Files cannot be attached inline (Kimi
rejects the file content part), so each is uploaded, its text is extracted, and that text
is injected into the message. Videos are uploaded and referenced by a Moonshot storage
URL. After an upload the Moonshot file id is stored on the media object itself, so
add_history_to_context does not re-upload the same media on later turns. See
Use the Kimi vision model.
| Example | What it shows |
|---|---|
basic.py | Sync and streaming responses |
tool_use.py | Calling tools with web search |
reasoning_effort.py | Setting reasoning_effort on Kimi K3 |
thinking_mode.py | Toggling thinking with use_thinking |
structured_output.py | Structured output and JSON mode |
file_input.py | Attaching a file (upload + extract) |