Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled the preview version of Kiro, an integrated development environment (IDE) leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) agents, on Thursday.
Kiro introduces a structural development methodology that utilizes clear specifications and Hooks to support the entire process, from prototype creation to production-level system implementation.
An AWS spokesperson emphasized that Kiro’s key feature is its ability to design and generate desired applications through natural language prompts alone, rapidly elevating them to production-ready status. They added that Kiro can precisely identify system architecture and performance impacts, facilitating the documentation of development specifications.
The spokesperson highlighted Kiro’s intuitive user experience as another strength. For instance, entering the prompt “Add a review system to the product” triggers Kiro to automatically generate relevant user stories and edge cases based on Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax (EARS). This process supports the entire development cycle, ensuring accuracy and completeness without errors or omissions.
During service implementation, Kiro automatically aligns generated tasks and subtasks with derived specifications. It executes detailed implementation elements, including unit testing, integration testing, and specific tasks for mobile, accessibility, and security features.
To keep developers informed, Kiro offers history tracking and real-time specification synchronization. Developers can minimize discrepancies between documentation and code by submitting specification update requests or making direct modifications to the code.
The AWS representative also noted that Kiro supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which enables project-specific AI behavior coordination through steering rules, as well as agent chatting capabilities. Built on Visual Studio Code and open-source foundations (Code OSS), Kiro is compatible with Visual Studio Code (VS Code) settings and open VSX plugins.
