Reference · Chapter 10 of 16
Cheat Sheet
Kiro on one page: concepts, files, commands, workflows, and the mistakes that bite, in scannable card form.
All levels last reviewed 2026-06-11
◎ Learning objective
Find any core Kiro fact (concept, file path, command, or workflow) in under ten seconds.
Bookmark this page. Everything links back to the full chapter when you need depth.
The mental model
| Specs | what gets built (plan first) |
| Steering | what the agent knows |
| Hooks | when it acts on its own |
| MCP / Powers | what it can reach |
| Agents / Skills | who it is / what it can do |
| IDE / CLI / Web | where it all happens |
Three surfaces
| IDE | desktop app, VS Code-style, from kiro.dev |
| CLI | kiro-cli in any terminal |
| Web | app.kiro.dev → agents make PRs (preview, paid) |
Spec files
requirements.md | what: user stories, EARS criteria |
design.md | how: architecture, sequences |
tasks.md | steps: runs in concurrent waves |
bugfix.md | bug analysis (bugfix specs) |
EARS patterns
WHEN <event> THE SYSTEM SHALL <behavior>for normal pathsIF <error> THEN THE SYSTEM SHALL <handling>for error pathsWHILE <state> THE SYSTEM SHALL <constraint>for ongoing states- No IF/THEN lines = requirements not finished
Files & folders
.kiro/steering/ | project rules (product/tech/structure.md) |
.kiro/settings/mcp.json | workspace MCP servers |
.kiro/agents/ | custom agent JSON |
.kiro/skills/ | team skills (SKILL.md) |
~/.kiro/… | same, but global; workspace wins |
CLI essentials
| install (macOS/Linux) | curl -fsSL https://cli.kiro.dev/install | bash |
| install (Windows 11) | irm 'https://cli.kiro.dev/install.ps1' | iex |
| start | kiro-cli |
| as persona | kiro-cli --agent reviewer |
| resume | kiro-cli chat --resume / --resume-picker |
| direct shell | !command (no AI involved) |
| headless (CI) | kiro-cli chat --no-interactive "…" + KIRO_API_KEY |
Slash commands
/context show | what’s loaded + token cost |
/context add "glob" | include files |
/chat save|load <path> | export / import session |
/chat new [prompt] | fresh session |
/agent create|swap | make / switch personas |
/editor /reply | compose in $EDITOR |
Core workflows
- Feature: spec → review requirements → review design → execute tasks → verify
- Bug: bugfix spec → regression test → fix → verify
- Refactor: steering current? → Supervised mode → small diffs → tests green
- Chore: make it a hook, scoped narrowly
Steering rules of thumb
- Three foundations:
product.md,tech.md,structure.md - One domain per file, with the why
- Modes: always · fileMatch · manual · auto
- Never paste secrets into steering
- Commit workspace steering: it’s team law
MCP config keys
- Local:
command,args,env(${VAR}expands) - Remote:
url,headers,oauth - Control:
disabled,disabledTools autoApprove: []default;"*"= sudo, beware- Debug via “Kiro - MCP Logs” channel
Modes & safety
- Supervised: approve every hunk (learning, risky work)
- Autopilot: end-to-end autonomy (trusted, bounded work)
- Checkpoints: roll the session back anytime
- Golden rule: nothing ships unreviewed
Top mistakes
- Vague prompts → confident wrong code
- Accepting diffs unread
autoApprove: "*"on untrusted servers- Hooks that trigger themselves
- Steering files full of secrets
- Trusting 2025 blog posts (check history)
Official links
☰ Chapter summary
- All Kiro state lives under .kiro/ (workspace) and ~/.kiro/ (global): steering, settings, agents, skills.
- Spec = requirements.md + design.md + tasks.md; bugfix specs use bugfix.md.
- EARS: WHEN for normal behavior, IF/THEN for errors, WHILE for ongoing states.
- CLI: kiro-cli to start; /context, /chat, /agent are the three command families that matter.
- Safety dial: Supervised for risky work, Autopilot for trusted work, checkpoints either way.
All chapter summaries are collected on the revision page.