Kimi Code CLI Setup

Setup guide for using context-mode with Kimi Code CLI.

Overview

Kimi Code CLI uses a JSON stdin/stdout hook paradigm similar to Claude Code and Codex CLI, with TOML-based configuration in ~/.kimi-code/config.toml.

Prerequisites

• Kimi Code CLI installed (kimi binary in PATH)
• context-mode installed globally:

  npm install -g context-mode
  

Capabilities

Feature	Status
PreToolUse	Deny only (exit code 2 or permissionDecision: "deny")
PostToolUse	Yes
SessionStart	Yes (session continuity DB only; see note)
SessionEnd	Yes (genuine session close, distinct from Stop)
PreCompact	Yes
UserPromptSubmit	Yes (handles ContentPart[] array format)
Stop	Yes (per-turn end)
Modify args	No (updatedInput silently dropped by host runner)
Modify output	Yes
Inject session context	No via additionalContext (host has no channel) — use UserPromptSubmit.message instead
Block tools	Yes (exit code 2 or permissionDecision: "deny")

Capability matrix verified against upstream sources: refs/platforms/kimi-code/packages/agent-core/src/session/hooks/runner.ts:36-39,162-178 and types.ts:28-37 show that HookSpecificOutputSchema only parses message, permissionDecision, and permissionDecisionReason, and that HookResult has no additionalContext field. The Python runtime at refs/platforms/kimi-cli/src/kimi_cli/hooks/runner.py:62-89 behaves identically. Only permissionDecision === "deny" triggers a block; every other field is silently discarded.

Differences from Codex CLI

Kimi Code uses the same JSON stdin/stdout wire protocol as Codex, with closely matching capabilities:

• Deny-only PreToolUse — ask / modify / additionalContext are silently dropped by Kimi's runner, same as Codex
• Exit code 2 blocks a tool call (same as Codex)
• SessionEnd is a distinct event from Stop — Stop fires at end of each assistant turn; SessionEnd fires once when the host's session closes (refs/platforms/kimi-code/.../session/index.ts:192,502, refs/platforms/kimi-cli/.../hooks/events.py:99-114)
• ContentPart[] prompts — Kimi sends user prompts as an array of { type: "text", text: "..." } objects instead of a plain string
• KIMI_CODE_HOME is honoured — relocating the Kimi data root also relocates context-mode's session DB (matches MoonshotAI's own first-party plugins; see refs/platforms/kimi-code/plugins/official/kimi-datasource/bin/kimi-datasource.mjs:207-210)

Configuration

Add to ~/.kimi-code/config.toml:

[[hooks]]
event = "PreToolUse"
matcher = "Bash|Shell|Read|Edit|Write|WebFetch|Agent|ctx_execute|ctx_execute_file|ctx_batch_execute|ctx_fetch_and_index|ctx_search|ctx_index|mcp__"
command = "context-mode hook kimi pretooluse"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "PostToolUse"
command = "context-mode hook kimi posttooluse"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "SessionStart"
command = "context-mode hook kimi sessionstart"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "PreCompact"
command = "context-mode hook kimi precompact"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "UserPromptSubmit"
command = "context-mode hook kimi userpromptsubmit"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "Stop"
command = "context-mode hook kimi stop"
timeout = 30

[[hooks]]
event = "SessionEnd"
command = "context-mode hook kimi sessionend"
timeout = 30

Hook Commands

Event	Command
PreToolUse	context-mode hook kimi pretooluse
PostToolUse	context-mode hook kimi posttooluse
SessionStart	context-mode hook kimi sessionstart
SessionEnd	context-mode hook kimi sessionend
PreCompact	context-mode hook kimi precompact
UserPromptSubmit	context-mode hook kimi userpromptsubmit
Stop	context-mode hook kimi stop

MCP Configuration

Add to ~/.kimi-code/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-mode": {
      "command": "context-mode",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Session Storage

Sessions are stored in $KIMI_CODE_HOME/context-mode/sessions/ when the env var is set, falling back to ~/.kimi-code/context-mode/sessions/ otherwise. This matches how Kimi Code resolves its own data root.

Verify Installation

Run the diagnostic:

kimi # start a new session
# Then type:
ctx doctor

Or test individual hooks manually:

echo '{"tool_name":"Bash","tool_input":{"command":"curl https://example.com"}}' \
  | context-mode hook kimi pretooluse

Expected output: a JSON response with routing guidance redirecting to ctx_execute / ctx_fetch_and_index.