Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Kiro, an AI-powered Integrated Development Environment (IDE) designed to enhance the developer experience and accelerate code development. Kiro aims to bridge the gap between AI-powered prototyping and production-ready code, addressing enterprise concerns about the transition from quick application generation to structured, well-documented systems.

What is Kiro?

Kiro is an experimental, "agentic AI-powered IDE" introduced by AWS. The term "agentic" signifies that Kiro goes beyond simply responding to prompts; it can autonomously execute goal-driven actions. Instead of generating code snippets one at a time, developers can describe their desired outcome, and Kiro will actively analyze the codebase, open relevant files, and modify them accordingly to fulfill the request. Kiro is built upon advanced AI models grounded in context and capable of multi-step reasoning.

Key Features of Kiro

• Spec-Driven Development: Kiro introduces a "spec-driven development" approach, allowing developers to communicate their intentions through natural language and diagrams. Instead of endlessly tweaking prompts, users can clearly express their needs, and Kiro delivers better results with fewer iterations. Kiro specs are artifacts that prove useful when thinking through a feature in-depth, refactoring code, or understanding system behavior. When a developer inputs a prompt, Kiro generates detailed user stories with acceptance criteria, technical design documents, and sequenced implementation tasks with testing requirements.
• Agent Hooks: Kiro includes "agent hooks" that automate production-readiness tasks. These hooks handle documentation, testing, and performance optimization in the background, allowing developers to focus on core functionality. Kiro hooks act as an experienced developer, catching overlooked details and completing boilerplate tasks. Hooks are event-driven automations that trigger on events like file saves, creations, or deletions, performing tasks such as updating documentation, generating tests, running security scans, and enforcing coding standards.
• Model Context Protocol (MCP) Support: Kiro includes Model Context Protocol (MCP) support for connecting specialized tools, steering rules to guide AI behavior across projects, and agentic chat for coding tasks. MCP support allows integration with custom MCP servers and Amazon Q CLI for real-time code analysis and problem resolution.
• AI Model Integration: Kiro leverages AI models from Anthropic, but will soon be compatible with alternative AI models. It currently supports Claude Sonnet 4.0 and 3.7 models.
• Code OSS Foundation: Kiro is built on Code OSS, the open-source base of Visual Studio Code, ensuring compatibility with existing developer workflows and allowing users to keep their VS Code settings and Open VSX-compatible plugins.

Benefits of Using Kiro

• Accelerated Development: Kiro helps developers move from concept to prototype quickly through conversations about specifications and designs.
• Improved Code Quality: By generating structured specifications and automating quality assurance tasks, Kiro helps ensure the reliability and robustness of code.
• Reduced Context Switching: Kiro aims to reduce the friction of context switching, allowing developers to focus on their objectives rather than line-by-line implementation. It is especially useful in large projects, monorepos, or when onboarding into unfamiliar codebases.
• Enhanced Collaboration: The specification documents provide a reference point for both AI and human developers, guiding development and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
• Cloud-Agnostic Design: Kiro operates as a standalone platform that supports multiple environments, unlike other AWS developer tools tightly coupled with AWS cloud services. Kiro can be used without an AWS account, logging in with Google or GitHub.

How Kiro Works

Kiro's specification-driven development process operates in three phases: requirement unpacking, technical design generation, and task implementation. Each phase maintains traceability between high-level requirements and implementation details. When a developer inputs a prompt, Kiro generates detailed user stories with acceptance criteria, technical design documents, and sequenced implementation tasks with testing requirements.

Pricing and Availability

Kiro is currently available in preview, only in English. Free and premium tiers will become available after the preview ends later in 2025. The pricing model includes a free tier with 50 agentic interactions per month, a Pro tier at $19 per month with 1,000 interactions, and a Pro+ tier at $39 per month with 3,000 interactions. Additional interactions will cost $0.04 each.

AWS Developer Tools

AWS offers a range of developer tools to help developers host code and build, test, and deploy applications. These tools include SDKs, code editors, and CI/CD services for DevOps software development. Kiro is a new addition to this suite of tools, aiming to simplify the developer experience when working with AI agents. Other AWS developer tools include AWS Cloud9, AWS CodeStar, AWS CodeCommit, AWS CodePipeline, AWS CodeBuild, and AWS CodeDeploy.

The Rise of AI-Powered IDEs

Kiro's launch reflects the growing trend of AI-powered IDEs that assist developers with code completion, bug detection, and automated testing. These tools enhance productivity, automate routine tasks, and provide insightful recommendations, allowing developers to focus on more strategic aspects of their work. AI-powered IDEs can also lower the barrier to entry for junior developers, accelerating their learning curve and helping them become more proficient coders.