Kiro
AWS's agentic IDE that refuses to write code until it's written a plan first — and Amazon Q Developer's official replacement.
What is Kiro?
Kiro was announced by AWS on July 14, 2025, spent time in public preview, and reached general availability in early 2026 before an international rollout that May. It isn't a feature update to Amazon Q Developer — it's a ground-up replacement, and AWS has made that transition official: new Q Developer signups closed May 15, 2026, and support for existing Q subscriptions ends April 30, 2027. Built on Code OSS, the same open-source base as VS Code, Kiro inherits familiar themes, shortcuts, and Open VSX extension compatibility, so switching over doesn't mean relearning an entire editor.
What makes Kiro genuinely different from Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or Claude Code is spec-driven development. Instead of jumping straight from a prompt to generated code, Kiro first produces structured requirements, design, and task documents — using a formal notation called EARS — that you review and can push back on before any code gets written. Reasoning runs on Claude models via Amazon Bedrock (part of Amazon's roughly $25 billion investment in Anthropic for dedicated compute capacity), with Amazon Nova handling high-throughput code generation, and Kiro automatically routes between them depending on the task. In February 2026, Kiro briefly went viral for the wrong reason, when a rumor spread that Kiro-generated code had triggered an AWS service disruption; AWS officially denied Kiro was responsible, but the episode pushed the team to add stronger safety guardrails around production-facing AI-generated code regardless.
Launch and sunset dates reflect AWS's own announcements as reported through mid-2026. The February 2026 outage rumor was officially denied by AWS — reported here as a notable episode in Kiro's public reception, not as confirmed cause and effect.
Key features
Spec-driven development
Generates requirements.md, design.md and tasks.md before writing code, so you review the plan first.
Autonomous multi-file execution
Once a spec is approved, Kiro can implement it across multiple files without step-by-step approval.
Native AWS awareness
Understands your IAM roles, S3 buckets, Lambda functions and Bedrock models directly, no manual ARN copy-pasting.
Agent hooks
Event-driven automation that triggers agent actions on specific events in your workflow.
Steering files
Persistent project-level guidance that shapes how Kiro approaches every task in a given codebase.
MCP support
Connects to external tools and data sources through the Model Context Protocol.
Pricing
Free
- Enough for 2-3 full spec-driven feature builds
- Sign up with an AWS Builder ID or social account
- No AWS account strictly required to start
Pro
- Per-prompt credit visibility as you work
- Higher usage ceiling for daily development
- Access to the latest Claude models, including Opus 4.6+
GovCloud
- For US public-sector and regulated deployments
- No free tier available in this region
- Same core spec-driven workflow
Credits are consumed by agent operations, not by simple chat — a quick question costs little, while spec generation and long autonomous runs cost more. Opus 4.6 and later Claude models are exclusive to Kiro as of May 29, 2026 and not available on the legacy Amazon Q Developer. Prices reflect Kiro's official pricing as of July 2026 and may change.
Available models
Kiro automatically routes between models depending on the task rather than requiring you to pick one manually.
Integrations & platforms
Pros, cons & best for
Pros
- Spec-driven workflow brings real traceability to agentic coding
- Native AWS environment awareness saves real setup time
- Generous free tier to evaluate the workflow before paying
Cons
- The planning-first approach can feel heavy for quick prototypes
- February 2026's outage rumor, even denied, still shadows its reputation somewhat
- Existing Amazon Q Developer users must migrate on AWS's timeline
Best for
- Teams building production features that need requirement traceability
- Regulated or enterprise environments where audit trails matter
- Organizations already invested in AWS and Bedrock-managed models
Take a look inside
Alternatives
If you want faster iteration over an enforced planning phase:
Our verdict
Kiro's core bet — that agentic coding needs a real planning phase, not just faster autocomplete — is a genuinely useful corrective in a category that's mostly optimized for speed over structure. For production work in regulated or high-stakes environments, the spec-first workflow and native AWS awareness are real, practical advantages, and the free tier makes it easy to see whether that trade-off suits how you work before paying anything. It's not the right tool for quick prototyping or throwaway scripts, where the upfront planning can feel like overhead rather than help. As the official successor to Amazon Q Developer, existing AWS-native teams have a clear, well-supported migration path — and for teams not previously on Q, Kiro is worth evaluating on its own merits as one of the more thoughtfully engineered agentic IDEs available.
FAQ
Is Kiro the same as Amazon Q Developer?
No, Kiro is a ground-up replacement, not an update. Amazon Q Developer closed new signups on May 15, 2026, and support for existing subscriptions ends April 30, 2027 — AWS is directing developers to Kiro going forward.
What is spec-driven development?
Kiro's approach of generating structured requirements, design, and task documents — using a formal notation called EARS — before writing any code, so you can review and adjust the plan first.
Did Kiro really cause an AWS outage?
No. A rumor to that effect went viral in February 2026, but AWS officially denied that Kiro-generated code was responsible for the disruption. The episode did lead Kiro's team to add further safety guardrails.
What models does Kiro use?
Claude models via Amazon Bedrock handle reasoning-heavy spec generation, including Opus 4.6 and later, which are exclusive to Kiro. Amazon Nova handles high-throughput code generation, with automatic routing between them.
Is Kiro free to use?
Yes, a free tier includes 50 credits a month, enough for a couple of full spec-driven feature builds. The Pro plan starts at $20/month for 1,000 credits.
Do I need an AWS account to use Kiro?
Not to get started — you can sign up with an AWS Builder ID or a social account. Deeper AWS resource awareness benefits from having an AWS account connected.