Kiro: Agentic IDE by AWS - Beyond Vibe Coding Blind Box

(Caption: Installing Kiro. Image source: Ernest’s MBP.)

✳️ TL;DR

Feel like AI | Vibe coding is like opening a blind box?
Kiro ¹ uses Specs to help you read the manual before unboxing
One prompt → automatically expands into user stories, complete with EARS requirement standards

Ernest attempts to deconstruct Kiro’s four-layer architecture (Intent Layer, Knowledge Layer, Execution Layer, Oversight Layer) ²
Kiro AI = Kiro Agentic IDE

Tasks list directly connects to unit/integration tests, reducing the awkwardness of forgetting to write tests
Hooks let everyone unleash their imagination with event-driven automation - build your own automation
Steering project guidance principles ensure consistency, making Kiro follow organizational culture and connect knowledge management
Supports RWD and A11y - frontend is well taken care of too

Free during preview period, supports Mac/Win/Linux (grab it while you can!)
Kiro is based on Code OSS, compatible with VS Code
VS Code users should be able to migrate seamlessly, though some extensions aren’t available in Kiro yet
Kiro + WSL2 solution ²

Extended use cases: Kiro + dev container for isolation
Extended use cases: Kiro + Remote SSH + EC2 (CloudShell?) within VPC

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✳️ Knowledge Graph

(More about Knowledge Graph…)

graph LR
    A["Agentic IDE"] --> |"integrates"| B["AI Agent"]
    A --> |"provides"| C["Development Environment"]
    
    B --> |"executes"| D["Specs"]
    B --> |"uses"| E["Steering Files"]
    B --> |"triggers"| F["Agent Hooks"]
    B --> |"operates in"| G["Autopilot Mode"]
    B --> |"operates in"| H["Supervised Mode"]
    
    D --> |"contains"| I["Requirements Phase"]
    D --> |"contains"| J["Design Phase"]
    D --> |"contains"| K["Implementation Phase"]
    
    I --> |"uses"| L["EARS Notation"]
    I --> |"generates"| M["User Stories"]
    
    J --> |"produces"| N["Technical Architecture"]
    J --> |"creates"| O["Sequence Diagrams"]
    
    K --> |"breaks down into"| P["Discrete Tasks"]
    P --> |"tracked by"| Q["Task Execution Interface"]
    
    E --> |"stored in"| R[".kiro/steering/"]
    E --> |"includes"| S["Product Overview"]
    E --> |"includes"| T["Technology Stack"]
    E --> |"includes"| U["Project Structure"]
    
    F --> |"responds to"| V["File Events"]
    F --> |"automates"| W["Development Workflows"]
    V --> |"triggers"| X["File Created"]
    V --> |"triggers"| Y["File Saved"]
    V --> |"triggers"| Z["File Deleted"]
    
    AA["MCP Protocol"] --> |"connects"| B
    AA --> |"enables"| BB["External Tool Integration"]
    AA --> |"provides"| CC["API Access"]
    
    DD["Chat Interface"] --> |"facilitates"| B
    DD --> |"supports"| EE["Natural Language Interaction"]
    
    %% Styling for concept classes (orange)
    classDef conceptClass fill:#FF8000,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    class A,B,D,E,F,AA,DD conceptClass
    
    %% Styling for instances (blue)
    classDef instanceClass fill:#0080FF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    class I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z,BB,CC,EE,G,H instanceClass

Kiro: Agentic IDE by AWS - Beyond Vibe Coding Blind Box

✳️ TL;DR

✳️ Knowledge Graph

✳️ Further Reading

Contents