Kiro

Kiro is Amazon’s agentic IDE focused on spec-driven development.

Overview


Type	IDE (VS Code compatible)
Open Source	No
Best For	Spec-first workflows, AWS integration

Key Features

Spec-Driven Development — Write specs, generate code
Automated Tests — Generated from specs
Automated Docs — Kept in sync with code
Q Developer CLI — AWS tooling integration
MCP Support — External tool connections

Access Model

Kiro is a preview product. The exact access model will evolve, but its real differentiator is the spec-first workflow, not the launch-stage commercial details.

Privacy

Setting	Value
Privacy Mode	Yes (AWS terms)
Training	AWS data policies
Jurisdiction	US

Models Available

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (default)
Claude Opus 4.5
AWS Titan (internal)

The Spec-Driven Workflow

Kiro’s key differentiator is spec-first development:

# Feature: User Authentication

## Requirements
- Email/password login
- JWT tokens with 24h expiry
- Rate limiting: 5 attempts per minute

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] User can register with email
- [ ] User can login and receive JWT
- [ ] Failed logins are rate limited

Then:

You: "Implement this spec"
Kiro:
1. Generates implementation plan
2. Writes code matching spec
3. Generates tests for acceptance criteria
4. Updates documentation

Getting Started

Download from kiro.dev
Sign in with AWS Builder ID
Create a spec file for your feature
Let Kiro generate implementation

AWS Integration

Kiro integrates with AWS services:

Q Developer CLI — AWS-specific assistance
CodeWhisperer — Inline completions
Bedrock — Model access
CloudWatch — Observability

Tips

Write detailed specs before asking Kiro to implement
Use acceptance criteria for automatic test generation
Leverage AWS integration if you’re in the AWS ecosystem
Specs become living documentation