How to Download Kimi K3 for PC (Windows & Mac)

Searching for a Kimi K3 PC download? Here’s the important thing to know first: Kimi K3 is a cloud AI model, so there’s no “model file” to install — but there is an official desktop app called Kimi Work, plus a web version and a developer CLI. This guide covers all three, with steps for Windows and Mac.

Option 1: Kimi Work — the official desktop app

Kimi Work is Moonshot AI’s desktop application (v3.1.0+) with Kimi K3 built in. It’s designed for deep research, widgets, and dashboards — the full PC experience.

How to get it

1. Go to the official site: kimi.com (verify it’s the real one — fake Kimi sites are circulating).
2. Find the Kimi Work / Download section.
3. Choose your platform:
   • Windows — standard installer.
   • macOS — Apple silicon build (M1/M2/M3/M4).
4. Install, sign in with your Kimi account, and select Kimi K3 as your model.

⚠️ Safety note: only download Kimi Work from kimi.com. Since the July 16 launch, unofficial “Kimi K3 installer” sites have appeared — some bundle malware. The official app is free; you should never pay a third party for the download.

Option 2: Use K3 in your browser (no download)

If you just want Kimi K3 on your PC without installing anything:

1. Open kimi.com in any browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
2. Sign up (free, no credit card).
3. Start chatting — K3 is the default flagship model.

The web version has the same model and the full 1M-token context window. Heavy launch traffic means free tiers can queue at peak times; membership skips the line.

Tip: signing up through an invite link gets you bonus membership credits — up to a full year free under Moonshot’s referral program.

Option 3: Kimi Code — for developers

If by “download for PC” you mean coding with K3 in your terminal or IDE, you want Kimi Code:

1. Install Kimi Code following the official docs at kimi.com.
2. Run it in your terminal.
3. Type /model and switch to Kimi K3.

Kimi Code is an agentic coding tool — K3 currently holds the #1 spot on the Frontend Code Arena and wins SWE Marathon (42.0 vs Claude Opus 4.8’s 40.0), so it’s a strong daily driver for real dev work.

What about the API?

For apps and automation, skip downloads entirely and use the OpenAI-compatible API at platform.moonshot.ai:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_MOONSHOT_API_KEY",
    base_url="https://api.moonshot.ai/v1",
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="kimi-k3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello from my PC"}],
)

System requirements

	Kimi Work (desktop)	Web version
Windows	Windows 10/11, 64-bit	Any modern browser
macOS	Apple silicon (M1 or newer)	Any modern browser
Internet	Required (cloud model)	Required

Because K3 runs in the cloud, you don’t need a powerful PC — the 2.8-trillion-parameter model runs on Moonshot’s infrastructure, not yours.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kimi K3 free on PC? Yes — both Kimi Work and the web version are free to use, with optional membership for priority access.

Can I download the Kimi K3 model itself to run offline? Not practically. The open weights release July 27, 2026, but 2.8T parameters needs multi-GPU server hardware. For 99% of users, the app or web version is the right answer.

Is there a Linux version of Kimi Work? At launch, Kimi Work targets Windows and Apple silicon macOS. Linux users can use the full-featured web version at kimi.com.

Kimi Work vs the web version — which should I use? Kimi Work adds desktop-native deep research, widgets, and dashboards. If you just want to chat with K3, the web version is faster to start with. More details in our complete Kimi K3 guide.