Most AI coding tools assist developers in getting started but struggle with the final output, as they often encounter documentation delays, missing tests, and broken integrations.
AWS’s new IDE, Kiro, launched on July 14 in free preview, aims to address these issues with a spec-driven workflow that supports developers from prompt to production.
“It’s fun and feels like magic to prompt your way to a working application,” said Nikhil Swaminathan, product lead for agentic developer experience at AWS. “But getting it to production requires more.”
Kiro is positioned as an agentic IDE, an environment where AI agents collaborate throughout the software development lifecycle, not just at the prototyping stage.
In an exclusive interview with AIM, Srini Iragavarapu, director of generative AI applications and developer experiences at AWS, said Kiro was built by a lean internal team that had been observing how AI-assisted coding evolved over time.
The IDE supports Claude Sonnet 4 and 3.7 and includes agentic workflows, multimodal capabilities, and spec automation.
Iragavarapu further added that one of the features the team had planned ahead of Kiro’s launch was a notification system, something that would alert the user once an agent completed a task in the IDE, allowing them to focus on other work in the meantime.
“That kind of feature would typically take us a few weeks to build across Windows, Mac, and Linux,” Iragavarapu said. “But the team used Kiro itself to build it, within days.”
Spec-Driven Development at the Core
At the heart of Kiro is spec-driven development, where the IDE interprets the developer’s intent and builds structured specs before generating code.
Explaining how Kiro handles development tasks, Iragavarapu said the IDE first tries to understand the context of what the developer is trying to do. Instead of jumping straight into generating code, it starts by talking to the developer.
“It will provide specifications of sorts, like a step-by-step task list,” he said. Developers can then review and adjust these tasks before execution.
Kiro then sequences the tasks based on dependencies and adds metadata such as unit tests, accessibility requirements, and loading states. Progress can be tracked through manual triggers, inline diffs, and agent execution logs.
Developers can trigger tasks manually and monitor their progress, with inline code diffs and execution history available for review.
“Specs are artifacts that prove useful anytime you need to think through a feature in-depth, refactor work, or understand system behaviour,” said Swaminathan. These specs evolve with the codebase and stay in sync throughout development.
Kiro also analyses the existing codebase to generate technical designs, including TypeScript interfaces, database schemas, API endpoints, and data flow diagrams, reducing ambiguity between design and implementation.
Agent Hooks
Another unique feature in Kiro is agent hooks, which allow users to automate development workflows by monitoring source code for specific triggers, Iragavarapu explained.
“It is always listening to your code changes, and when your code changes…it will automatically update your documentation.” He explained that in a typical setup, developers often make frequent code changes, but the documentation doesn’t get updated in real time. This leads to mismatches that need to be manually fixed later.
Additionally, developers can define agent steering documents to set architectural or coding guidelines. For instance, Iragavarapu shared how he instructed Kiro to ‘use React,’ ‘write TypeScript,’ and follow a specific directory structure. The AI follows these rules throughout the development process.
Available Now in Preview
The tool is currently available in a free preview. Developers can sign in with GitHub, Google, or existing AWS IAM Identity Centre credentials. Pricing tiers will be announced when the product reaches general availability.
Kiro currently supports Claude Sonnet 4 and 3.7, with options for developers to switch between the two. “More models are coming soon,” confirmed Iragavarapu, who also noted the IDE’s multimodal capabilities. Developers can upload hand-drawn architecture diagrams and have them converted into AWS CDK code.
Kiro complements Amazon Q Developer. “If you already have a Q Developer subscription, you can also use Kiro,” said Iragavarapu.
Moreover, Kiro supports default MCP (Managed Context Provider) servers but also lets developers plug in custom ones, including internal or private sources. This means users can bring additional context into the IDE, whether from public or private MCP servers.
Built on Code OSS, Kiro remains compatible with existing VS Code settings and Open VSX plugins.
Inside Amazon, employees already use internal MCP servers to enhance development workflows.“If you have your own favourites or your own private MCP servers, you can use them,” Iragavarapu said.
Facing the Competition
AWS is stepping into a crowded, highly competitive space. Google recently hired the founders of Windsurf in a $2.4 billion licensing deal. Tools like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Replit, and Lovable have already built strong developer followings.
When asked how they plan to challenge these, Iragavarapu said the goal is not to replace but to offer an alternative option. “We are providing options to developers. The way Kiro differentiates itself is through spec-driven development, advanced agent hooks, and agent steering, all from ideation to deployment.”
He clarified that while Copilot might assist in code generation, Kiro focuses on delivering production-ready features by automating and enforcing the full development lifecycle.
AWS is treating the preview phase as a learning opportunity. “We’ll share examples of what Kiro has built internally soon,” Iragavarapu said, adding that the goal is to iterate quickly and evolve Kiro into a production-grade, AI-first development environment.
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