Kimi K2.5 + OpenClaw: Step-by-Step Setup

Kimi K2.5 + OpenClaw: Step-by-Step Setup

Your OpenClaw keeps forgetting what you meant. You re-explain. You get shallow summaries. You babysit the AI instead of the other way around.

Sound familiar? That's not OpenClaw's fault. It's the model.

Kimi K2.5 changes the game. Better reasoning. Clearer plans. Fewer hallucinations. It holds context. It sticks to the task. OpenClaw's January 2026 update made it a first-class option—no plugins, no custom wiring.

Here's how to add it in under 10 minutes.

The Problem (Why You Need a Better Brain)

OpenClaw is the assistant. The model is the brain.

Wrong brain = wrong results. Generic answers. Lost context. You explaining the same thing three times. Summaries that miss the point. Plans that fall apart by step two.

You're not getting the assistant you paid for. You're getting a chat bot with extra steps.

The Solution: Kimi K2.5

Kimi K2.5 is built for doing, not just talking:

• Holds context — Remembers what you meant across turns
• Thinks before replying — Fewer hallucinations, better plans
• Multi-step tasks — Summaries, drafts, workflows that actually finish
• Less babysitting — You ask once. You get closer to what you wanted.

Same OpenClaw. Same workflows. Smarter results. No vendor lock-in.

How to Add It (6 Steps)

Prerequisites

OpenClaw installed (local or Clawctl). A Kimi API key from kimi.moonshot.cn or kimi.com. That's it.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

1. Go to kimi.moonshot.cn (or kimi.com)
2. Sign up. Log in.
3. Find API Keys or 开发者中心
4. Create a key. Copy it.

Step 2: Backup Your Config

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.backup

(Legacy: ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json or ~/.clawdbot/moltbot.json)

Step 3: Add Kimi as a Provider

Open the config. Add under models.providers:

{
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "kimi": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.moonshot.cn/v1",
        "apiKey": "YOUR_KIMI_API_KEY_HERE",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "moonshot-v1-128k",
            "name": "Kimi K2.5",
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text"],
            "contextWindow": 128000,
            "maxTokens": 128000
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Swap in your real API key. Don't commit it.

Step 4: Allowlist the Model

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "models": {
        "kimi/moonshot-v1-128k": {
          "alias": "kimi-k2.5"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Merge with existing models if you have other providers.

Step 5: Apply the Config

openclaw gateway config.apply --file ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Gateway restarts. Kimi loads. (Docker? Restart the stack.)

Step 6: Pick Kimi in the UI

Settings → LLM → Kimi K2.5. Save. Done.

Clawctl users: Check dashboard Settings → LLM. Kimi may already be there. If not, support can help.

Troubleshooting

Get Started

You came for a smarter assistant. You're getting one. Same workflows. Better brain.

Deploy OpenClaw with Clawctl | Docs