Amazon’s new tool could challenge Windsurf and Codex.
Amazon has recently introduced a new agent-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) called Kiro. This new tool is designed to assist developers in turning ideas from the prototype stage to full-scale production.
According to VentureBeat, Amazon’s Kiro uses Claude Sonnet 3.7 and 4.0 as its default AI models for processing, and users can switch between the two. Support for additional models may be added to Kiro in the future.
Get to Know Amazon Kiro’s Capabilities
Kiro is aimed at bridging the gap in vibe coding, a process where AI generates complete code blocks or entire software workflows from simple text prompts, typically used for rapid prototyping.
By combining AI agents with project specifications, technical architecture, and automatic task management, Kiro covers the entire software development lifecycle within a unified interface.
Kiro’s key differentiator is its spec-driven development model, which guides the entire process from ideation to implementation. For instance, a simple prompt like “Add a review system” triggers a chain of AI-generated outputs, including:
- User stories with acceptance criteria in EARS format
- Design documentation with data flow diagrams, TypeScript interfaces, and API schemas
- A list of tasks and subtasks automatically ordered based on dependencies, along with tests, data-loading states, and accessibility features
Amazon’s new tool is now available in public preview. It is free to download for Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, the free version is limited to 50 interactions per month, and users must pay a $19 subscription to remove this limitation and access additional features.
