Amazon Kiro
IDECLIkiro.dev
Amazon Kiro is strongest on workspace-centric IDE automation, bundled powers, and enterprise governance. Steering supports four inclusion modes with AGENTS.md compatibility; powers bundle MCP servers, steering, and hooks into a single installable unit with dynamic activation. CLI 2.5 adds subagent review loops for self-correcting pipelines, and ACP enables Kiro as an agent in third-party editors.
Steering
InstructionsVendor Terms steering, steering files, AGENTS.md, team steering
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
User / HomeProject / Repo RootSubdirectory / FolderOrganization / Enterprise
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Contextual guidance with inclusion modes controlling when steering loads; not enforced policy
Notes Four inclusion modes (always, fileMatch, manual, auto); AGENTS.md also supported; foundational steering files auto-generated via IDE; team steering distributed via MDM/Group Policy
Prompts
PromptsVendor Terms prompts, reusable prompts, MCP prompts
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Reusable prompt templates invoked manually; content previewed before sending to model
Notes File-based prompts are CLI only; MCP prompts accessible in both CLI and IDE via mention syntax; local > global > MCP priority; invoked with @name
Skills
SkillsVendor Terms agent skills, SKILL.md, slash commands
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Reusable instruction packages loaded on demand; can include scripts for deterministic tasks but activation is controlled by the agent
Notes Progressive disclosure (name+description at startup, full content on demand); invokable as slash commands with $ARGUMENTS placeholders; IDE supports importing from GitHub repos; workspace takes priority over global
MCP Servers
MCP & ToolsVendor Terms MCP servers, mcp.json, MCP registry, Add to Kiro badge, Tool Search
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
User / HomeProject / Repo RootOrganization / Enterprise
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Tool calls require per-use approval unless auto-approved; enterprise registry allow-list with client-side enforcement
Notes Workspace and user configs merge with workspace precedence; CLI adds agent config as a third tier; Tool Search loads tools on demand via BM25 keyword search; OAuth clientId for services without DCR; enterprise MCP registry allow-list with fail-closed enforcement
Custom Agents and Subagents
AgentsVendor Terms custom agents, subagents, plan agent, headless mode, review loops, ACP
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Isolated workers that default to read-only; write tools require explicit opt-in via allowedTools globs
Notes CLI agents are JSON configs with tools, resources, hooks, and knowledge bases; review loops (new) enable self-correcting pipelines with max 10 iterations; ACP protocol enables Kiro as agent in JetBrains/Zed; headless mode for CI/CD; autonomous agent (preview) runs asynchronously in sandboxed environments
Hooks
HooksVendor Terms hooks, agent hooks
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Deterministic scripts that run on lifecycle events; exit code semantics differ between IDE and CLI
Notes IDE: 10 trigger types with Ask Kiro and Run Command actions; CLI: 5 types (agentSpawn, userPromptSubmit, preToolUse, postToolUse, stop) with JSON stdin, tool matching aliases/wildcards, and caching; natural language hook creation in IDE
Powers
Plugins & DistributionVendor Terms powers, POWER.md
Interfaces IDE, kiro.dev
Scopes
User / HomeProject / Repo Root
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Packaging layer for IDE distribution; third-party powers explicitly disclaimed; no sandboxing mentioned
Notes IDE only; bundles POWER.md, MCP server config, and optional steering/hooks; 60+ partner and community powers via kiro.dev marketplace; dynamic activation based on conversation keywords reduces context overhead
Enterprise Governance and Settings
Settings & PolicyVendor Terms Kiro Profile, admin settings, .kiroignore, content exclusion, MCP governance, model governance, web tools governance
Interfaces IDE, CLI
Scopes
Organization / EnterpriseUser / HomeProject / Repo RootMachine / Admin
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Admin-controlled via AWS console with client-side enforcement; .kiroignore blocks files from agent context; fail-closed if governance API unreachable
Notes Kiro Profile controls encryption, prompt logging, MCP, web tools, model allow-lists, and API key generation; web tools governance can disable web_search/web_fetch; HIPAA eligible (May 2026); content exclusion via .kiroignore; SSO with Okta and Microsoft Entra ID