How to Get a Free Kilo Code API Key (2026)
4 free models available — no credit card required. Get your Kilo Code API key →
Overview
Coding-optimized API gateway — routes to the best coding model.
Kilo Code is a coding-specific API gateway that routes requests to the best available coding model — ByteDance Seed, Grok Code Fast, NVIDIA Nemotron, and Arcee Trinity. Purpose-built for AI code editors. Free tier offers ~200 requests/hour. OpenAI-compatible.
- Coding-optimized model routing
- ByteDance Seed, Grok Code, Nemotron
- ~200 req/hr free
- Purpose-built for VS Code & AI editors
API Compatibility: OpenAI SDK-compatible (Chat Completions)
Quick Start Guide
- 1 Sign up at kilo.ai GitHub login. No credit card.
- 2 Go to API Keys
- 3 Generate an API key
- 4 Let the router pick Kilo Code auto-routes to the best coding model. No model selection needed.
- 5 Configure OpenAI client Base URL: https://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway
All Free Kilo Code Models — Context Windows & Rate Limits
| Model | Context | Max Output | Modality | Rate Limit | Released | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bytedance-seed/dola-seed-2.0-pro:free | 131K | 131K | ~200 req/hr | — | Online | Details | |
| x-ai/grok-code-fast-1:optimized:free | 131K | 131K | ~200 req/hr | — | Online | Details | |
| nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free | 262K | 32K | ~200 req/hr | — | Online | Details | |
| arcee-ai/trinity-large-thinking:free | 131K | 131K | ~200 req/hr | — | Online | Details |
Pricing & Limits
Credit Card Not required
Free Tier Permanently free
Context Range 131K – 262K
Total Models 4 free
Rate Limits ~200 req/hr
API Compatibility OpenAI SDK-compatible (Chat Completions)
Use Cases
What Kilo Code's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:
Limitations & Caveats
- Coding-optimized only — not suitable for general chat or reasoning
- Model routing is opaque — you don't control which model serves your request
- ~200 req/hr may be limiting for heavy CI/CD or batch use