Revision · Learn Kiro

This page is generated from the same summary bullets that close each chapter, so it can’t drift out of sync with the content. Read it top to bottom (about ten minutes); any bullet that surprises you marks a chapter to revisit.

Best used: the day before an interview, right before the quizzes, or as re-entry after weeks away from Kiro.

Ch. 1

What is Kiro?

Start here

Kiro is Amazon's agentic AI development tool: it plans and performs multi-step coding work rather than offering single suggestions.
It lives in three places: a desktop IDE, a terminal CLI (kiro-cli), and a web app (app.kiro.dev).
Its signature idea is spec-driven development: requirements → design → tasks are written down before code is generated.
Steering files, hooks, MCP, skills, and powers let you shape, automate, and extend what the agent does.
Kiro differs from chatbots and autocomplete tools because it works inside your real project and takes reviewable actions.
It is powerful but not magic; you stay responsible for reviewing what it builds.

Ch. 2

History of Kiro

Start here

Kiro launched in public preview on July 14-15, 2025; demand was so high that AWS added a waitlist within weeks.
General availability came on November 17, 2025, adding Kiro CLI, property-based testing, checkpointing, and team plans.
December 2025 brought the autonomous agent and powers; 2026 brought IDE subagents, skills, and Kiro Web.
Kiro CLI is the evolution of Amazon Q Developer CLI: the q command still works and old configs migrate automatically.
Kiro changes monthly; the official changelog is the only reliable way to stay current.

Ch. 3

Core Concepts

Core knowledge

Agentic development means the AI plans and performs multi-step work; you direct and review it.
Specs turn an idea into three files before code is written: requirements.md (EARS notation), design.md, and tasks.md.
Steering files in .kiro/steering/ give the agent permanent project knowledge; hooks automate actions on events.
MCP connects external tools via .kiro/settings/mcp.json; powers bundle MCP + steering for one-click setup.
Custom agents are scoped assistants with restricted tools; skills are reusable SKILL.md instruction packs.
Kiro runs in three surfaces: the IDE (desktop), kiro-cli (terminal), and Kiro Web (app.kiro.dev).

Ch. 4

Beginner Tutorial

Hands-on

Install from kiro.dev (macOS, Windows 10/11 64-bit, modern Linux); sign in with Google, GitHub, AWS Builder ID, or SSO.
Start in Supervised mode so every change waits for your approval while you learn.
Use # context providers (#file, #codebase) instead of pasting code into chat.
Your first spec turns a one-line idea into requirements.md, design.md, and tasks.md that you approve before code.
A small steering file makes the agent remember your project's basics across sessions.
You can complete this entire tutorial on Kiro's free tier, no credit card needed.

Ch. 5

Advanced Tutorial

Hands-on

Lay foundations first: product.md, tech.md, structure.md in .kiro/steering/, then narrow fileMatch rules.
Run features as requirements-first specs; use requirements analysis to catch ambiguity before design.
Run regressions as bugfix specs: analysis in bugfix.md, regression test before the fix.
Hooks automate the boring loop (tests, doc sync); scope triggers narrowly to avoid noise and loops.
Configure MCP per workspace with empty autoApprove by default; approve tools deliberately.
Use restricted custom agents for roles (read-only reviewer); share team know-how as skills in .kiro/skills/.

Ch. 6

Kiro CLI Guide

Hands-on

Install: curl -fsSL https://cli.kiro.dev/install | bash on macOS/Linux; irm 'https://cli.kiro.dev/install.ps1' | iex in PowerShell on Windows 11.
kiro-cli starts a chat; kiro-cli --agent <name> starts as a specific persona.
/context add|show|remove|clear controls what the agent sees; ! prefixes direct shell commands.
/chat new|save|load and the --resume flags make sessions persistent and shareable.
Custom agents, steering, hooks, MCP, and skills all work in the CLI. It is not a lite version.
Headless mode with API keys enables CI/CD automation.

Ch. 7

Use Cases

Hands-on

New app or big feature: start a spec (requirements.md → design.md → tasks.md); keep vibe chat for throwaway exploration.
Risky refactors: steering pins your conventions, supervised mode reviews changes hunk by hunk, checkpoints give you a way back.
Docs and tests stay fresh with hooks that fire on file save; property-based testing checks the implementation against your spec.
Debugging: bugfix specs put the root-cause analysis in bugfix.md; #problems and #terminal feed real errors to the agent without copy-paste.
Code review: a read-only custom agent makes a strict reviewer; Kiro 0.9 added granular code review in the IDE.
Data work: steering encodes warehouse conventions and metric definitions, MCP connects your data tools, and the CLI runs on remote machines.
Advanced: the Kiro CLI runs headless in CI/CD with API-key auth. Restrict its tools and gate its output behind normal review.

Ch. 8

Practice Exercises

Practice

Nine exercises ladder from first conversation to a team-ready, automated data pipeline setup.
Beginner: chat + context, first spec, first steering file. Intermediate: hooks, MCP, CLI sessions. Advanced: restricted agents, bugfix specs, full pipelines.
Each exercise defines the objective, a realistic scenario, checkable tasks, an observable outcome, hints, and an optional challenge.
Do them in order; each level assumes the muscle memory of the previous one.

Ch. 9

Quizzes

Practice

The beginner quiz covers what Kiro is, the three surfaces, spec files, steering, hooks, MCP, and modes.
The advanced quiz covers EARS patterns, inclusion modes, MCP precedence, custom agents, skills vs powers, and CLI workflows.
Multiple-choice questions give instant feedback; short-answer and scenario questions have model answers to compare against.
Every quiz ends with a complete answer key with explanations.

Ch. 10

Cheat Sheet

Reference

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.

Ch. 11

Common Mistakes & Don'ts

Reference

Vague prompts produce confident, wrong output. Precision in, quality out.
Never accept diffs unread; in early days, stay in Supervised mode.
Trust generated code least exactly where bugs cost most: security, money, concurrency, data deletion.
Commit before agent sessions and keep agent work on branches. Git is your real undo button.
Keep secrets out of steering and chat; treat autoApprove and third-party powers like production access.
Automate gradually: a noisy hook or an unwatched headless job is worse than no automation.

Ch. 12

Interview Questions

Reference

Eight beginner questions cover definitions: what Kiro is, the three surfaces, spec files, steering, modes, MCP, and the .kiro folder.
Six workflow questions test daily judgment: spec vs vibe, team steering, hooks, reviewing output, checkpoints, and context providers.
Six advanced questions go deeper: EARS, custom agents, skills vs steering vs powers, MCP config precedence, task waves, and headless CI.
Five questions each target data engineering and software engineering scenarios, where Kiro features map to real job duties.
Prepare by answering each question aloud before reading the model answer: recall beats recognition.