Kilo Code

Overview

Type: IDE and CLI coding agentPrimary Path: OpenAI-compatible Chat CompletionsSupport Confidence: Official custom-provider path

Kilo Code supports custom OpenAI-compatible providers in its VS Code extension and Kilo CLI. Both clients share the same provider and model configuration.

Install

For VS Code, search for Kilo Code in Extensions and install the pre-release channel. Kilo documents that channel as the current stable, recommended extension. For the CLI, run:

npm install -g @kilocode/cli
kilo --version

Configure in the UI

Open Kilo Code Settings → Providers.
Scroll down and click Custom provider.
Use these values:

Field	Value
Provider ID	`aisonar`
Display name	`AI Sonar`
Provider API	OpenAI Compatible
Base URL	`https://api.aisonar.dev/v1`
API key	Your AI Sonar API key
Model	Select or add `kimi-k3`

Kilo automatically queries AI Sonar’s /v1/models endpoint after the Base URL and key are entered. Click Submit, then choose aisonar/kimi-k3 in the model picker.

Configure the CLI

Store secrets in an environment variable:

export API_KEY="sk-your-api-key"

Add this to the trusted global config at ~/.config/kilo/kilo.jsonc:

{
  "$schema": "https://app.kilo.ai/config.json",
  "model": "openai-compatible/kimi-k3",
  "provider": {
    "openai-compatible": {
      "options": {
        "apiKey": "{env:API_KEY}",
        "baseURL": "https://api.aisonar.dev/v1"
      },
      "models": {
        "kimi-k3": {
          "name": "Kimi K3",
          "tool_call": true,
          "reasoning": true,
          "modalities": {
            "input": ["text", "image"],
            "output": ["text"]
          },
          "limit": {
            "context": 1048576,
            "output": 131072
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Kilo resolves {env:...} only in trusted global or managed configuration. Do not put an API key directly in a project kilo.jsonc that may be committed to Git.

Verify

Restart Kilo after editing global configuration, then run:

kilo models
kilo --model openai-compatible/kimi-k3

Ask Kilo to inspect a file before approving write or shell actions.

Troubleshooting

Models do not appear

Confirm the Base URL ends in /v1, the key is active, and kilo models lists the configured provider. Add kimi-k3 manually if model discovery is unavailable.

Context compaction does not run

Custom models need explicit limit.context and limit.output values. Keep the limits aligned with AI Sonar’s current model metadata.

The model cannot edit or run tools

Confirm tool_call is true, then review Kilo’s permission settings for the current project.

Compatibility Matrix

Coding Tools

Native SDKs

Frameworks & Platforms

Chat Apps

Overview

Install

Configure in the UI

Configure the CLI

Verify

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Install

​Configure in the UI

​Configure the CLI

​Verify

​Troubleshooting

Overview

Install

Configure in the UI

Configure the CLI

Verify

Troubleshooting