MoonshotAI / MoonshotAI/kimi-cli

[Docs] README "Development" section is missing a prerequisite list

Open Beginner friendly
#2,274 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Dominant language
Python
Stars
11.4k
Forks
1.3k
Avg merge
9h 47m
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

Summary

The README's ## Development section opens with make prepare, but neither the README nor CONTRIBUTING.md lists the prerequisites a contributor needs to have installed first. New contributors hit one of:

  • make: command not found (Windows users without WSL or a build-tools install)
  • uv: command not found (no link in the dev section to the install instructions used in the user-install section)
  • make build-web failing because Node.js / npm aren't installed (mentioned only inline in the build-web bullet)
  • on Windows, the agent's Shell tool refuses to start because Git Bash isn't installed (src/kimi_cli/utils/environment.py's GitBashNotFoundError — easy to hit while testing your changes)
  • general confusion about whether you pip install something or rely on uv to manage the venv

Proposed fix

Add a "Prerequisites" subsection at the top of ## Development (and ideally mirror it in CONTRIBUTING.md):

### Prerequisites

- **uv** ≥ 0.8 — package + venv manager. Install: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/
- **Python 3.14** — pinned by `.python-version`; uv will install it for you on first `uv sync` if missing. (`pyproject.toml` accepts `>=3.12`, but 3.14 matches the lockfile / CI environment.)
- **make** — runs the build/test targets in `Makefile`. Most Linux/macOS already have it; Windows users need WSL or a `make` from MSYS2 / chocolatey.
- **Node.js ≥ 20 + npm** — only required if you'll run `make build-web` or `make build` (the latter embeds the web UI).
- **Git Bash (Windows only)** — kimi-cli's agent requires `bash.exe` from Git for Windows; without it, the Shell tool will not start. Install via https://git-scm.com/download/win.
- **Nix (optional)** — a `flake.nix` is provided. `nix develop` drops you into a shell with all of the above.

Then make the existing make prepare line the second step.

Why

Lowers contributor friction. Today, new contributors have to read the Makefile, pyproject.toml, .python-version, and src/kimi_cli/utils/environment.py to figure out what they need — and the Windows + Git Bash requirement is genuinely surprising the first time you hit it.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the README's ## Development section and compare its setup steps with CONTRIBUTING.md. Check the Makefile, pyproject.toml, .python-version, and src/kimi_cli/utils/environment.py references named in the issue. Done means both contributor guides clearly list the prerequisites, platform-specific Git Bash note, and the existing make prepare step in the right order.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
git, nodejs, python
Domain
cli, documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
84/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.