kimi-lite

README

kimi-lite

Native AI coding CLI in Go. Single binary, zero runtime dependencies, <50 ms cold start. The fast alternative to 200 MB TypeScript bundles.

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Why kimi-lite?

	kimi-lite	Kimi Code	Claude Code	aider
Binary size	~15 MB	~200 MB	~200 MB	~50 MB
Cold start	<50 ms	~500 ms	~500 ms	~1 s
Runtime deps	None	Node/Bun	Node	Python + Git
Native TUI	✅ Bubble Tea	❌ Webview	❌ Webview	❌ Terminal
Scrollback	✅ Native terminal	❌	❌	✅
musl / Alpine	✅ Static binary	❌	❌	❌
Cancellation	✅ Instant (context.Context)	Hangs	Hangs	Slow
Memory	~20 MB	~300 MB	~300 MB	~100 MB

kimi-lite is built for engineers who want AI assistance without the bloat:

• Go + native terminal — no Electron, no Node, no 200 MB downloads. One static binary that runs on Alpine, WSL, macOS, and ARM64 out of the box.
• Reliable cancellation — every I/O path respects context.Context. Hit Esc and the operation stops immediately.
• Streaming SSE with per-chunk timeouts — hung LLM connections are detected and recovered automatically.
• Session persistence — SQLite with WAL mode. Resume any session with --continue or --session.
• Sandboxed tools — built-in read, write, grep, shell, fetch_url with configurable auto-approval and file-size guards.
• MCP via proxy — integrates with mcp-guard for stable, sandboxed Model Context Protocol tools.

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Installation

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew tap ekhodzitsky/tap
brew install kimi-lite

Go Install

go install github.com/ekhodzitsky/kimi-lite/cmd/kimi-lite@latest

Binary Download

Grab a pre-built release for your platform from the Releases page.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/ekhodzitsky/kimi-lite.git
cd kimi-lite
make build

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Quick Start

1. Configure your API key:

mkdir -p ~/.config/kimi-lite
cat > ~/.config/kimi-lite/config.toml << 'EOF'
[llm]
provider = "moonshot"
api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
model = "kimi-k2.5"
base_url = "https://api.moonshot.cn/v1"
timeout = "60s"
EOF

1. Start chatting:

kimi-lite

1. Resume a session:

kimi-lite --continue          # last session in this directory
kimi-lite --session <id>      # specific session

1. Health check:

kimi-lite doctor              # verify config, DB, LLM and MCP connectivity

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Commands

Command	Description
/compact	Summarize conversation history to free context
/clear	Clear current conversation (keeps session)
/sessions	List available sessions
/goal <objective>	Autonomous multi-turn execution
/btw <question>	Fork a side-channel subagent
/checkpoint	Git commit current changes

CLI Subcommands

kimi-lite export --session <id> --output session.json
kimi-lite import --input session.json
kimi-lite doctor

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Keybindings

Key	Action
Enter	Send message
Alt+Enter	New line in input
↑ / ↓	Navigate input history
Esc	Cancel current operation
Ctrl+C	Quit
Ctrl+B	Toggle sidebar
Ctrl+Y	Toggle yolo mode
Shift+Tab	Toggle plan mode

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Configuration

Full reference in ~/.config/kimi-lite/config.toml:

[llm]
provider = "moonshot"
api_key = "$MOONSHOT_API_KEY"
model = "kimi-k2.5"
base_url = "https://api.moonshot.cn/v1"
timeout = "60s"

[llm.fallback]
provider = "openai"
api_key = "$OPENAI_API_KEY"
model = "gpt-4o-mini"

[behavior]
auto_approve = ["read_file", "list_directory", "grep", "glob", "fetch_url"]
shell_timeout = "30s"
max_turns = 50

[session]
db_path = "~/.local/share/kimi-lite/sessions.db"
max_history = 100

[mcp]
guard_command = "mcp-guard"
guard_config = "~/.config/mcp-guard/mcp-guard.toml"

[ui]
theme = "dark"
show_token_count = true
editor = "vim"

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Architecture

cmd/kimi-lite/          # Cobra CLI entry point
internal/
  app/                  # DI container & lifecycle
  config/               # TOML configuration
  core/                 # Business logic
    session.go          # Session management
    turn.go             # Turn lifecycle (input → LLM → tools → output)
    tools.go            # Sandboxed built-in executor
    approval.go         # Approval gate
    compressor.go       # Context compression (/compact)
  llm/                  # OpenAI-compatible client
    client.go           # HTTP client with retries & fallback
    streaming.go        # SSE parser with per-chunk timeouts
    models.go           # Model registry
  mcp/                  # MCP client (mcp-guard proxy)
    client.go           # JSON-RPC client
    transport.go        # stdio transport
  store/                # SQLite persistence (WAL, migrations)
    sqlite.go           # Store implementation
  tui/                  # Bubble Tea terminal UI
    model.go            # Root model
    messages/           # Message components
    input/              # Textarea input
    viewport/           # Scrollable output
    sidebar/            # File browser
    styles/             # Lipgloss themes
  git/                  # Git integration
pkg/api/                # Public types & interfaces

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Development

make test          # Run all tests with race detection
make lint          # Run golangci-lint
make build         # Build binary
make cross-compile # Cross-compile for all platforms
make fmt           # Format code

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Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.

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License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.