kimi-code/docs/en/customization/plugins.md

Plugins

Plugins package reusable Kimi Code CLI capabilities into installable units — they can add Agent Skills, automatically load a specified Skill at session start, and declare MCP servers to provide real tool capabilities. They are ideal for sharing workflows with a team, connecting to external services, or installing extensions from the official marketplace.

Kimi Code CLI applies a conservative loading strategy for plugins: installing a plugin does not execute any Python, Node.js, shell, hook, or command scripts it contains.

Installation and Management

Run /plugins in the TUI to open the plugin manager, where you can perform all routine operations. Common keys:

Key	Action
Enter or →	Open the selected item, or install a marketplace plugin
Space	Enable or disable an installed plugin; install or update a marketplace plugin
M	Manage MCP servers for the selected plugin
← or Esc	Go back to the previous level

You can also use slash commands directly:

Command	Description
/plugins	Open the interactive plugin manager
/plugins list	List installed plugins
/plugins install <path-or-url>	Install from a local directory, zip URL, or GitHub repository URL
/plugins marketplace [source]	Browse the official marketplace; optionally pass a path or URL to a marketplace JSON
/plugins info <id>	View plugin details and diagnostics
/plugins enable <id>	Enable a plugin
/plugins disable <id>	Disable a plugin
/plugins remove <id>	Remove a plugin (requires confirmation)
/plugins reload	Reload installed.json and all plugin manifests
/plugins mcp enable <id> <server>	Enable an MCP server declared by a plugin
/plugins mcp disable <id> <server>	Disable an MCP server declared by a plugin

GitHub URL supports four forms:

• https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>: Install the latest release; falls back to the default branch if no release exists
• https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/tree/<ref>: Install a specific branch, tag, or short commit SHA
• https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/releases/tag/<tag>: Pin to a specific tag
• https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/commit/<sha>: Pin to a specific commit

Network requests only go through github.com redirects and codeload.github.com downloads; api.github.com is not called.

A few notes:

• Plugin changes only take effect for new sessions. After installing, enabling/disabling, removing, or reloading a plugin, start a new session with /new; the current session will not update.
• Local installations are copied to $KIMI_CODE_HOME/plugins/managed/<id>/, and the CLI always runs from this managed copy. Editing the original source directory after installation has no effect; you must reinstall.
• Removing a plugin only deletes the installation record; the managed copy and original source files remain on disk.
• Plugins are currently installed per-user and apply to all projects; project-level installation scope is not yet supported.

The plugin manager shows the installation source and a trust badge for each install: kimi-official (from an official address), curated (from a curated address), or third-party (everything else).

Plugin Manifest

A plugin is a directory or zip file containing a manifest. The manifest can be placed at either of the following locations:

<plugin_root>/kimi.plugin.json
<plugin_root>/.kimi-plugin/plugin.json

When both files exist, kimi.plugin.json takes precedence.

Example:

{
  "name": "kimi-finance",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Finance data and analysis workflows for Kimi Code CLI",
  "skills": "./skills/",
  "sessionStart": {
    "skill": "using-finance"
  },
  "interface": {
    "displayName": "Kimi Finance",
    "shortDescription": "Market data and financial analysis workflows"
  }
}

Supported fields:

Field	Description
name	Required; serves as the plugin id. Must match [a-z0-9][a-z0-9_-]{0,63}
version, description, keywords, author, homepage, license	Display metadata
interface	Fields shown in /plugins: displayName, shortDescription, longDescription, developerName, websiteURL
skills	One or more ./ paths; must be within the plugin root directory. When omitted, the SKILL.md in the root directory is treated as a single Skill root
sessionStart.skill	Loads the specified plugin Skill into the main Agent when a new or resumed session starts
skillInstructions	Additional instructions appended whenever a Skill from this plugin is loaded
mcpServers	MCP server declarations; enabled by default, can be disabled from /plugins

Unsupported runtime fields such as tools, commands, hooks, apps, inject, and configFile appear as diagnostics and are ignored.

Skills and Session Start

Plugin Skills use the same SKILL.md format as ordinary Agent Skills. A typical directory structure:

my-plugin/
  kimi.plugin.json
  skills/
    using-my-plugin/
      SKILL.md
    another-workflow/
      SKILL.md

sessionStart.skill loads a plugin Skill into the main Agent at session start, making it suitable for initialization instructions, workflow rules, or mapping terminology from other tools to Kimi Code CLI. It only injects text; it does not execute code.

Regardless of how a Skill is loaded (sessionStart.skill, /skill:<name>, or automatic model invocation), skillInstructions appears alongside that plugin's Skill.

MCP Servers in Plugins

When a plugin needs real tool capabilities, it can declare mcpServers in its manifest, reusing the MCP schema.

Stdio server (local command):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "finance": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["kimi-finance-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

HTTP server (remote service):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docs": {
      "url": "https://example.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For stdio servers, command can be a command on PATH or a path starting with ./ within the plugin root directory. cwd likewise must start with ./ and be within the plugin root directory; otherwise the server is ignored.

Plugin MCP servers only start in new sessions. To enable or disable a server:

/plugins mcp disable kimi-finance finance
/new

/plugins mcp enable kimi-finance finance
/new

Official Plugins

The Kimi Code CLI official marketplace hosts reviewed official plugins. Currently available:

Kimi Datasource — Query financial market data, macroeconomic indicators, corporate registration records, and academic literature in natural language.

Installation:

1. Run /plugins and select Marketplace
2. Find Kimi Datasource and press Space to install
3. Run /new to start a new session after installation

For data capabilities and usage examples, see the Official Plugins documentation.

Security Model

Plugins have a limited loading scope. The following operations do not occur during installation or session startup:

• Command-type plugin tools, hooks, and legacy tool runtimes are not executed
• All paths must remain within the plugin root directory after symbolic link resolution
• MCP servers of enabled plugins only start in new sessions and can be disabled at any time from /plugins
• Broken manifests or unsafe paths appear in /plugins info <id> diagnostics and do not affect other sessions

Next steps

• Kimi Datasource — Official data plugin: installation and usage for financial market data, corporate records, and academic literature
• Agent Skills — File format and frontmatter field reference for Skills
• MCP — Full schema and permission configuration for plugin MCP servers