tl;dr: Kimi has launched K3-256k, a 256K-context variant of its flagship K3 coding model (2.8T params, 1M context) that uses roughly half the quota of full K3 while delivering equivalent results within its context limit. The model supports image input only (no video), requires Thinking mode enabled (otherwise requests fall back to K2.6), and is available to Moderato-tier subscribers and above via the Kimi Code CLI, VS Code extension, or OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible APIs. Switching models invalidates context caches, so starting a fresh session is recommended to avoid re-prefill overhead.