Moonshot v1
Moonshot v1 was the original model family in the public Kimi API. It supported long-text applications and later gained vision-preview endpoints. The current catalog lists these APIs as deprecated.
Deprecated API; check access details
A stable API and a changing assistant had different needs
Moonshot's retrospective explains that application developers needed stable prompts and structured outputs, while its consumer assistant changed more quickly. It kept v1 as the steadier service and introduced kimi-latest to follow the model then used in the Kimi product.Why Moonshot introduced Kimi Latest
Later endpoint additions stay with the family
The official history records the auto endpoint in August 2024 and the vision-preview family in January 2025. These service names are grouped here; their names alone do not establish separate model sizes, parameter counts or downloadable checkpoints.Kimi Chinese API release history, 2024 and 2025
Latest was a changing model reference
The kimi-latest announcement says the endpoint name would stay fixed as the product model changed. It supported image understanding and selected an 8k, 32k or 128k billing tier from the context size. It is not an immutable checkpoint name.Why Moonshot introduced Kimi Latest
Do not treat an old example as current access
Practical guidance. When updating an application built on v1, check the current model list and account access. Review prompt behavior and structured outputs again. Replacing the model identifier alone does not establish equivalent behavior.
Specifications & access
| Detail | Value and conditions |
|---|---|
| Status | Deprecated API; check access details |
| Launch date | |
| Access | API |
| Model identifiers | moonshot-v1-8kmoonshot-v1-32kmoonshot-v1-128kmoonshot-v1-automoonshot-v1-8k-vision-previewmoonshot-v1-32k-vision-previewmoonshot-v1-128k-vision-preview |
| Text endpoint tiers | moonshot-v1-8k, moonshot-v1-32k and moonshot-v1-128k.Kimi model catalog |
| Vision endpoint tiers | The 8k, 32k and 128k names also had vision-preview variants.Kimi model catalog |
Related models
- Kimi K3
Moonshot AI · Kimi K3
A long-context Kimi model with always-on reasoning and a million-token API context.
Launch date not confirmedAPI · Downloadable - Kimi k1.5
Moonshot AI · Kimi k1
Multimodal reasoning research model used to study reinforcement learning and long-to-short reasoning transfer.
Launch date January 2025Access not confirmed