Kimi Work
Kimi Work is a desktop AI agent developed by Moonshot AI for working with local files, web pages, and longer-running tasks. It is available through the Work mode of the Kimi desktop client rather than as a separate mobile or web application. Moonshot launched Kimi Work on June 3, 2026 and continues to describe it as a beta product.[1][5]
The desktop client can connect a local folder as a workspace, read and create files there, operate browser sessions, run tools, and produce documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files.[1][4] Moonshot says Kimi Code supplies the agent kernel and that Kimi Work has used the Kimi K3 model since client version 3.1.0.[1] The company also advertises an Agent Swarm mode with as many as 300 subagents and tasks lasting tens of hours. Those figures are vendor product specifications, not independently reproduced measurements of reliability or output quality.[1]
Product scope
Kimi Work is one part of the broader Kimi product line. The desktop client contains both Work and Chat modes, but they serve different purposes. Chat is the conventional conversation interface, while Work is the agent interface for tasks that use local folders, tools, and longer execution.[1][5]
Moonshot's product documentation separates four related services:[5]
| Product | Primary interface | Documented role |
|---|---|---|
| Kimi | Web and mobile app | Online chat, search, research, and content creation |
| Kimi Work | Mac and Windows desktop client | Local-file workflows, desktop automation, and long-running tasks |
| Kimi Code | Command line and supported IDEs | Coding and codebase maintenance |
| Kimi Claw | Cloud service | Continuously available cloud automation and messaging bots |
This distinction matters because similar features can have different implementations and requirements. In particular, Kimi Work Remote Control and Kimi Code CLI Remote Control are separately documented features.[2][12][13]
Desktop operation and workspaces
Users can connect a local folder to a Kimi Work task. The agent can then read files and create new files within that selected workspace.[4] The Work sidebar provides entry points for new tasks, projects, plugins, skills, scheduled tasks, dashboards, WebBridge, and Chat. A slash opens skills in the prompt box, while an at sign adds context.[1]
Work-mode conversations stay on the desktop where they were created. By contrast, Chat-mode conversations synchronize across the web, desktop client, and mobile app. Tasks that depend on local files therefore need to continue on the computer where those files are stored.[4]
Kimi Work supports two execution choices: Agent and Agent Swarm.[1] Agent runs a task in the ordinary agent workflow. Agent Swarm can divide work among multiple subagents, with Moonshot documenting a maximum of 300. The published help pages do not provide an independent success-rate study for the swarm or a guarantee that every task will use the maximum number of subagents.[1]
Main capabilities
| Area | How Kimi Work handles it | Documented boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Local files | Reads from and writes to a connected folder; can create documents, spreadsheets, slides, and other deliverables.[1][4] | Access depends on the selected workspace and permission mode. |
| Goal Mode | Repeats work toward a defined endpoint for up to 24 hours and allows the user to interrupt or redirect the task.[7] | It is time-bounded and remains an agent workflow, not a guarantee that the stated goal will be reached. |
| Scheduled tasks | Supports one-time and recurring schedules for agent or local processing tasks.[6] | The app must be open and the computer available. Missed triggers are not replayed later.[6] |
| Skills and plugins | Supports Kimi skills, curated app and data plugins, and personal plugins. Some connections use service authorization such as OAuth.[8] | Installing a plugin makes it available; it does not make the plugin run on every turn.[8] |
| Browser operation | Uses a built-in agent browser and an optional WebBridge plugin for a separate real-browser session.[2][6] | Browser access can expose signed-in services to agent actions and remains subject to the selected permission mode. |
| Widgets and dashboards | Generates interactive widgets, can connect them to data or plugins, and can keep them in dashboards across conversations.[9][10] | The documented limit is two dashboards per user and 20 widgets per dashboard. Concurrent widget-task limits vary by plan.[9][10] |
Browser automation
Kimi Work has two documented browser paths. Version 3.2.0, released on August 19, 2026, added a built-in agent browser. Its tabs are tied to individual conversations and appear in the client's preview pane. On macOS, users can optionally import cookies from a local Chrome installation to reuse existing sign-ins; that option is off by default.[2]
The same release changed Kimi WebBridge into a plugin and made it off by default. WebBridge operates a real browser session by clicking, scrolling, and extracting information from pages. Version 3.2.2, released on August 26, turned agent control of the built-in browser on by default, which is separate from whether the WebBridge plugin is enabled.[2][6]
Plugins can connect Kimi Work to external applications and specialized databases. The official Plugin Center lists office, design, notes, developer, financial, legal, and academic integrations, along with personal custom plugins.[8] These integrations expand the data and actions available to a task. They also introduce the permissions and terms of the connected service, so plugin installation and account authorization are separate from Kimi Work's access to a local folder.
Permissions and data handling
Kimi Work documents three global permission levels:[1][6]
| Permission level | Documented behavior |
|---|---|
| Default | Routine operations run automatically. The client requests authorization before sensitive actions such as modifying or overwriting local files or running code. |
| Manual approval | The client asks for authorization before acting. |
| Fully automatic | The agent proceeds without requesting authorization for each action. |
Moonshot warns that Fully automatic mode can overwrite, delete, or corrupt files and can change system configuration. Its FAQ also lists more severe outcomes involving disk encryption, partitions, or firmware, and advises users to back up data before using this mode.[6] A permission prompt reduces accidental authority only when the selected mode requires one and the user reviews it carefully.
Moonshot uses the term "local Agent" for a product that acts on local files and runs desktop tasks.[1] Its general Kimi data-use notice separately says that, for personal accounts, user input, instructions, and generated responses may be used for model training after encryption and de-identification. The notice describes an account-wide training opt-out through customer support, normally processed in 5-7 working days, and says service data is stored in a server environment in mainland China. It states that Kimi Business enterprise data does not enter the training pipeline.[11] Taken together, the official documents do not support treating "local Agent" as a promise that the entire service is offline or that all service data remains only on the device.
Remote Control
Kimi Work version 3.2.5, dated September 4, 2026, added Remote Control so a phone could control Kimi Work on a desktop computer.[2] On September 9, the official Kimi account announced that the feature was live and instructed users to leave Kimi Work running on the computer while continuing from a phone.[3]
The public Kimi Work release note and announcement provide only that high-level description. They do not document terminal commands, an experimental environment flag, a device limit, or the relay and authentication details published for Kimi Code CLI. Those details should not be assumed to apply to Kimi Work.[2][3]
Kimi Code CLI's Remote Control is a separate feature. It was introduced as experimental in Kimi Code version 0.39.0 on August 27, 2026. It requires an experimental flag and starts with kimi rc, kimi web --remote-control, or /remote-control. The CLI guide says the user must have a paid Kimi membership, sign in with the same Kimi account on the remote device, and keep the local computer awake, online, and running the Remote Control process. It routes the remote interface through a Kimi relay while file access and command execution remain on the local computer.[12][13] These are Kimi Code requirements, not documented requirements for the Kimi Work feature.
Release history
The release history shows how quickly the beta client changed after launch. The table selects functional changes rather than listing every bug fix.[1][2]
| Date | Version or event | Main documented changes |
|---|---|---|
| June 3, 2026 | Beta launch | Kimi Work launched as the Work mode of the Kimi desktop client. |
| Version 3.1.0 | Model change | Kimi Work began using Kimi K3. The overview does not date this version. |
| July 29, 2026 | 3.1.6 | Added slide editing, screenshot annotation, Windows storage-drive migration, and a custom Windows install location. |
| August 19, 2026 | 3.2.0 | Added the built-in agent browser and 16 interface languages; moved WebBridge to an off-by-default plugin. |
| August 21, 2026 | 3.2.1 | Added the global Launcher, message queueing, and voice dictation. |
| August 26, 2026 | 3.2.2 | Added the Default permission option, enabled built-in browser control by default, and gave each Chat conversation its own working directory. |
| August 28, 2026 | 3.2.3 | Added an entry for creating personal plugins. |
| August 31, 2026 | 3.2.4 | Changed citation presentation for web and local-file sources and adjusted message typography. |
| September 4, 2026 | 3.2.5 | Added Remote Control, Apps, conversation search, and marketplace search changes. |
| September 7, 2026 | 3.2.6 | Added in-conversation plugin recommendations, installation from GitHub links, MCP connection status, and a quit warning for running scheduled tasks. |
| September 9, 2026 | Remote Control announcement | Kimi said the Kimi Work phone-control feature was live. |
Availability and limits
Kimi Work supports Apple-silicon Macs running macOS 12 or later and Windows systems running Windows 10 or later.[1] Kimi also distributes an Intel Mac desktop client, but the download FAQ states that the Intel build supports Chat only, not Kimi Work.[4] The phone interface announced in September is a controller for the desktop product, not a mobile version of Work.[2][3]
Scheduled tasks execute only while the desktop application is open and the computer is awake. A trigger missed while the machine is asleep, shut down, or the app is closed does not run retroactively.[6] Work conversations remain on the originating desktop, which also limits moving a local-file task between machines.[4]
Goal Mode has a documented maximum of 24 hours, and users can interrupt it.[7] Dashboards and live widgets have separate capacity limits, including two dashboards per user, 20 widgets per dashboard, and a plan-dependent limit on concurrent widget tasks.[9][10]
Moonshot's overview continues to label Kimi Work as beta software and says execution stability, deliverable quality, and user experience remain areas of active testing.[1] Frequent releases can change behavior quickly, so a version-specific release note is more reliable than assuming that an older description still applies.
See also
References
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Kimi Work Overview," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...overview
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Kimi Work Release Notes," updated September 7, 2026, accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...release-notes
- ^Kimi.ai (@Kimi_Moonshot), "Remote Control is now live in Kimi Work," X, September 9, 2026. x.com/...2097636366544937067
- ^Kimi, "Download Kimi for Desktop, Mobile & Code," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...download
- ^Kimi Help Center, "What are the differences between Kimi, Kimi Work, Kimi Code, and Kimi Claw? Which one should I use?" accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...product-comparison
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Kimi Work FAQ," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...kimi-work-faq
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Goal Mode," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...goal-mode
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Plugin Center," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...plugin-center
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Widgets," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...widgets
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Dashboard," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...dashboard
- ^Kimi Help Center, "Data Usage and Sharing," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...data-usage
- ^Kimi Code Docs, "Remote Control," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...remote-control
- ^Kimi Code Docs, "What's New," accessed September 9, 2026. kimi.com/...whats-new
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Cite this page: AI Wiki. "Kimi Work." aiwiki.ai, updated 9 Sept 2026, fact-checked 9 Sept 2026. CC BY 4.0. https://aiwiki.ai/wiki/kimi_work