Kiro is AWS's agentic development environment built around spec-driven development, and it is now the named destination for Amazon Q Developer IDE users before Q Developer's IDE plugins reach end of support on 30 April 2027. One agent harness runs across the Kiro IDE, Kiro CLI, Kiro Web and Kiro Mobile, so specs, steering and configuration carry between them. This page sets out what Kiro is, its plans and credit pricing, the models it offers, its features, the identity and admin controls for organisations, how it handles data, its release history and the Q Developer migration timeline. It is written for developers, engineering managers and platform teams evaluating Kiro or moving from Q Developer. Last checked: 2026-11-15.
This is an independent guide from NHI Mgmt Group, based on Kiro's public documentation as of November 2026. It is not sponsored or reviewed by AWS. Product features change, so confirm settings against Kiro's current documentation.
Key takeaways
- Spec-driven by design. Kiro plans work as specs with requirements, design and tasks, and adds steering files, hooks, custom agents, skills and powers on top of chat and code generation.
- Credit-based plans. Individual plans run from Free (50 credits a month) to Power (10,000 credits at USD 200 a month), with add-on credits at USD 0.04 each.
- Many model families. The models page lists 24 models from several providers plus Auto routing, each with a credit multiplier relative to Auto.
- Enterprise content is excluded from service improvement. Free and individual paid users are opted in unless they opt out; Kiro enterprise users are excluded and can use customer managed KMS keys.
- Q Developer timeline is fixed. New Q Developer sign-ups stopped on 15 May 2026, and IDE plugins and paid subscriptions reach end of support on 30 April 2027.
What is Kiro?
Kiro is an AI-powered development environment from AWS for building software "from prototype to production", in the words of its documentation. A single agent harness powers four surfaces: the Kiro IDE (built on the VS Code foundation, so VS Code extensions, themes, keybindings and settings carry over), the terminal-native Kiro CLI, Kiro Web for cloud sessions and Kiro Mobile. Kiro Crew, introduced on 4 August 2026, adds team-oriented agent workflows, with bots added on 5 November 2026.
The defining idea is spec-driven development. Instead of going straight from prompt to code, Kiro produces a spec with requirements, a design and a task list, which the developer reviews before the agent executes the tasks. Bugfix specs apply the same structure to root cause analysis. Spec-driven development is in the Kiro IDE; the CLI covers chat, agents, headless runs and CI use.
AWS's Q Developer end-of-support announcement describes Kiro as including Q Developer's agentic coding, inline chat, terminal integration and MCP support, alongside specs, hooks, steering files, custom subagents and powers.
Key facts at a glance
As of 15 November 2026.
| Field | Kiro |
|---|---|
| Owner | Amazon Web Services |
| Type | Agentic IDE, CLI, web and mobile coding environment |
| Preview launch | 14 July 2025 (Kiro's "One year of Kiro" post of 14 July 2026 marks "a year ago today") |
| General availability | November 2025, with the Kiro CLI (day not stated in the post) |
| Latest releases reviewed | IDE 1.4.178 and CLI 3.3.0, both 12 November 2026 |
| Status | Active; named successor to Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins |
| Sign-in | GitHub, Google, AWS Builder ID or IAM Identity Center; Okta and Microsoft Entra ID profiles for credit pooling |
| Models | 24 models plus Auto (see Models available) |
| Free tier | Yes, 50 credits a month (not available for Enterprise or GovCloud) |
| Enterprise | Billed through AWS; credit pooling from 2 seats |
| Training on content | Enterprise users excluded; Free and individual paid opted in unless they opt out |
Plans and pricing
Prices in US dollars per user per month, from kiro.dev/pricing as of 15 November 2026. Prices exclude taxes.
| Plan | Price | Credits per month | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | USD 0 | 50 | Open-weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5, with limits |
| Pro | USD 20 | 1,000 | Premium models |
| Pro+ | USD 40 | 2,000 | Premium models |
| Pro Max | USD 100 | 5,000 | Premium models |
| Power | USD 200 | 10,000 | Premium models |
| Teams and enterprise (credit pooling) | USD 20 per seat, 2 seats minimum | 500 per seat into a shared pool | Premium models, subject to admin model governance |
How credits work
- What consumes credits: prompts in vibe or spec mode, spec refinement, task execution and agent hook execution. Simple prompts can cost less than one credit; credits are metered to 0.01.
- Model rates: each model has a multiplier relative to Auto (1.0x). Kiro's example: a task costing X credits on Auto costs about 1.3X on Sonnet 4.6.
- Add-on credits: USD 0.04 each, in packs from USD 5 (125 credits) to USD 100, billed immediately and valid for 12 months. Pooled teams buy additional credits through admins rather than overages.
- Expiry: monthly included credits do not roll over; add-on and trial credits expire 12 months after purchase.
- First upgrade trial: moving from Free to Pro for the first time gives the rest of that month free plus 500 trial credits; a credit card is required.
- Kiro Web and Powers: Kiro Web uses the same credit model with no separate cloud compute charge; Powers carry no extra charge.
Availability: paid subscriptions are processed on the first of each month. Enterprise plans are billed through AWS, so supported locations follow AWS Regions, and model availability varies by location. AWS GovCloud (US) pricing is about 20% higher than commercial pricing and has no Free tier. Existing Enterprise customers on Pro-tier plans can keep them or opt into pooling.
Models available
From kiro.dev/docs/models, page updated 12 November 2026. Multipliers are relative to Auto. Providers grouped alphabetically by model family.
| Model family | Models listed | Context | Credit multiplier | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | Routes each task to a model automatically | Not stated | 1.0x | Yes |
| Claude | Opus 5.5; Opus 5, 4.8, 4.7, 4.6 | 1M | 2.0x (Opus 5.5); 2.2x (others) | No |
| Claude | Opus 4.5 | 200K | 2.2x | No |
| Claude | Sonnet 5.5, Sonnet 5, Sonnet 4.6 | 1M | 1.3x | No |
| Claude | Sonnet 4.5, Sonnet 4.0 | 200K | 1.3x | Yes |
| Claude | Haiku 5.5 (1M); Haiku 4.5 (200K) | 1M / 200K | 0.06x / 0.4x | No |
| Claude | Fable 5.1 | 1M | 6x | No (Enterprise only, through model governance; US East only) |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek 3.2 | 128K | 0.25x | Yes |
| GLM | GLM-5 | 200K | 0.5x | Yes |
| GPT | GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, Luna | 1M | 4.4x, 2.2x, 0.6x | No |
| Grok | Grok 4.7 (experimental support) | 500K | 2.7x | No |
| Kimi | Kimi K3 | 1M | 2.4x | No |
| MiniMax | M2.5, M2.1 | 200K | 0.25x, 0.15x | Yes |
| Qwen | Qwen3 Coder Next | 256K | 0.05x | Yes |
Two-tier context pricing applies to some models: GPT-5.6 requests over 272K tokens bill at double the listed rate, and Haiku 5.5 requests over 100K tokens bill at 0.3x. Regions vary by model (US and EU for most; US only for DeepSeek 3.2, GLM-5, Grok 4.7 and Kimi K3). Enterprise admins can restrict the list through model governance.
Features and modes
| Feature | What it does | Surfaces |
|---|---|---|
| Specs | Requirements, design and tasks reviewed before execution; bugfix specs for root cause analysis | IDE |
| Steering | Project and global standards files the agent follows | IDE, CLI |
| Hooks | Automated actions on agent file changes, tool use or task completion | IDE, CLI |
| Custom agents, sub-agents and skills | Reusable agent configurations and parallel delegated work | IDE, CLI |
| Powers | Packaged tools with built-in knowledge that activate on demand; 100+ curated powers per Kiro's July 2026 post | IDE, CLI |
| MCP | Connects external tools and APIs, including remote MCP servers | IDE, CLI |
| Permissions | Autopilot and Supervised modes, trusted commands (approval required by default), protected paths; "Approve for me" mode added in IDE 1.4.154 | IDE, CLI |
| Checkpoints, rewind and compaction | Roll back agent changes and manage long contexts | Listed in Kiro feature docs |
| Kiroignore | Excludes files from agent access | Listed in Kiro feature docs |
| Headless and CI | Session management and non-interactive runs in pipelines | CLI |
| Cloud sessions and automations | Autonomous mode and automations in the browser | Web |
| Agent Client Protocol (ACP) | Runs Kiro as a custom agent inside JetBrains AI Assistant | CLI |
Supported IDEs and platforms
- Kiro IDE: a standalone editor on the VS Code foundation; on first start it offers to import an existing VS Code profile.
- JetBrains IDEs: IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and others, by installing Kiro CLI and adding Kiro as a custom agent in JetBrains AI Assistant through ACP.
- Visual Studio and Eclipse: Kiro's migration guide recommends using the Kiro IDE, or the Kiro CLI alongside the existing editor.
- Kiro CLI: terminal agent; CLI V3 became the default experience from 9 October 2026.
- Kiro Web and Mobile: cloud sessions in the browser; Kiro Mobile for Android was released on Google Play on 12 November 2026.
Enterprise and admin controls
Governance is configured in the Kiro console under Settings, Shared settings, and an Enterprise Management preview announced on 10 November 2026 applies one policy in the AWS console across the IDE, CLI, Kiro Web and Kiro Crew LTS.
| Control | Default | Admin option |
|---|---|---|
| Model governance | Off | Approve a model list and set a default model; new models stay unavailable until added |
| MCP governance | Any MCP server allowed | Disable MCP or allow-list vetted servers through an MCP registry, per organisation or account |
| API keys for Kiro CLI | Users cannot generate them | Enable API key generation |
Web tools (web_search, web_fetch) | Available | Disable for all users |
| Sign-in controls | All methods | Limit methods and prefill the IAM Identity Center start URL and Region through managed-settings.json (IDE 1.2+, CLI 2.25.0+) |
| Cloud sessions | Off for IAM Identity Center organisations | Enable in the AWS account holding the Kiro profile |
| Encryption keys | AWS owned keys | Customer managed symmetric AWS KMS keys |
| Audit | Not stated | Kiro service MCP tool calls logged in AWS CloudTrail in two regions (12 November 2026) |
Identity and logging hardening for Kiro and Q Developer is covered in the Amazon Q Developer and Kiro Security Guide.
Data handling and privacy
| User type | Content used for service improvement | Content storage |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Yes, unless the user opts out | US East (N. Virginia) |
| Individual paid (social login or AWS Builder ID) | Yes, unless the user opts out | US East (N. Virginia) |
| Kiro enterprise user | No | AWS Region where the profile is configured |
| Amazon Q Developer Pro through an AWS account | No | Not stated on the page |
- Opt-out: in the IDE, Settings, User, Application, Telemetry and Content: clear "Content Collection for Service Improvement" for content and "Usage Analytics And Performance Metrics" for telemetry. Enterprise users are opted out automatically.
- Telemetry: collected by default for Free and individual users (version, OS, anonymous machine ID, errors and metrics) and sent to an endpoint in the profile's AWS Region.
- Inference routing: model inference can run cross-region (US, Europe, GovCloud or global routing) without changing where content is stored.
- Encryption: AWS KMS at rest with AWS owned keys by default; TLS 1.2 or higher in transit.
- Retention: Free Tier inputs may be kept up to 60 days for abuse detection; some models through Amazon Bedrock have up to 30 days of abuse-detection retention.
- Local access: the agent runs locally and may read files, repositories, environment variables and AWS credentials stored in the environment, which makes scoped credentials and workspace isolation customer responsibilities under the AWS shared responsibility model.
Release history
Dated entries from Kiro's blog and changelog and the AWS Q Developer announcement, as of 15 November 2026.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 Jul 2025 | Kiro IDE preview launch |
| Nov 2025 | General availability, with Kiro CLI |
| 30 Apr 2026 | AWS announces Amazon Q Developer end of support and Kiro as the migration path |
| 15 May 2026 | New Q Developer Free Tier accounts and subscriptions blocked |
| 18 Jun 2026 | Automations in Kiro on the web |
| 4 Aug 2026 | Kiro Crew introduced |
| 9 Oct 2026 | Kiro CLI V3 rolling out as the default |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Bots in Kiro Crew |
| 10 Nov 2026 | Enterprise Management preview; credit pooling with Okta and Microsoft Entra ID; Grok 4.7; IDE 1.4.154 "Approve for me" mode |
| 12 Nov 2026 | IDE 1.4.178; CLI 3.3.0; Kiro Mobile for Android; CloudTrail logging of Kiro service MCP tool calls |
Q Developer migration
AWS published the Amazon Q Developer end-of-support announcement on 30 April 2026 (last modified 10 June 2026). The dates and scope below are as stated there.
| Item | What happens |
|---|---|
| New Q Developer accounts and subscriptions | Blocked from 15 May 2026; existing Pro subscriptions can still add users |
| IDE plugins (VS Code, JetBrains, Eclipse, Visual Studio) | End of support 30 April 2027; listed with a deprecation notice; critical bug fixes continue meanwhile |
| Paid subscriptions | End of support 30 April 2027 |
| Java and .NET transformations in IDE plugins | Stop after 30 April 2027; AWS points to AWS Transform |
| Q Developer in the AWS console, docs site, mobile app and chat apps | Unaffected |
| Newest coding models | Available only in Kiro, per AWS |
- Inventory: list Q Developer users by IDE, since Visual Studio and Eclipse users need the Kiro IDE or the Kiro CLI instead of a plugin.
- Identity: decide the sign-in route (IAM Identity Center for enterprise, or Okta and Entra ID profiles for credit pooling) and deploy
managed-settings.jsonto limit sign-in methods. - Governance first: set model governance, MCP allow-lists and web tool settings before inviting users.
- Pilot: move a small group, import VS Code profiles and convert existing rules into steering files.
- Finish transformations: complete in-progress Java and .NET upgrades in Q Developer before 30 April 2027.
- Roll back path: Q Developer plugins remain usable for existing subscribers until 30 April 2027, so keep them available during the pilot.
Limits and known constraints
- Specs are IDE-only: spec-driven development is in the Kiro IDE, not the Kiro CLI.
- Credit variability: cost per task depends on model multiplier, context length tiers and task complexity, so monthly use is hard to predict without monitoring.
- Free tier scope: 50 credits a month and a restricted model list; not available for Enterprise or GovCloud.
- Region-bound models: some models are US only, and Claude Fable 5.1 is US East only and Enterprise only.
- Preview features: Enterprise Management was a preview on 10 November 2026; some settings, such as MCP configuration and customer managed keys, do not apply to Kiro Web sessions.
- Editor coverage: Visual Studio and Eclipse are served through the Kiro IDE or CLI rather than plugins.
Security guidance
Kiro's agent acts with the developer's local access, including any AWS credentials in the environment, so the key controls sit with the customer: Supervised mode and trusted commands, protected paths, MCP allow-lists, scoped short-lived credentials and enterprise sign-in. The Amazon Q Developer and Kiro Security Guide covers these in detail. For credentials that coding agents can read, see AI Coding Tools and Secrets Sprawl, and for agent configuration files see Coding Agent Configuration File Attacks. Apply Kiro updates promptly and follow the AWS security bulletins.
Practitioner checklist
- Map every Q Developer user and IDE to a Kiro surface well before 30 April 2027.
- Use enterprise sign-in (IAM Identity Center, Okta or Entra ID) so content is excluded from service improvement and stored in your chosen Region.
- Turn on model governance (off by default) and approve a model list with a default model.
- Allow-list MCP servers through the registry and decide whether web tools and CLI API keys are needed.
- Configure customer managed KMS keys where policy requires them.
- Keep Supervised mode and trusted command approval for repositories with production credentials.
- Track credit use per team against plan allowances and model multipliers.
- Send CloudTrail events for Kiro to your SIEM and review MCP tool call activity.
Standards and references
- Kiro: Documentation
- Kiro: Pricing
- Kiro: Models
- Kiro: Data Protection
- Kiro: Enterprise Governance
- Kiro: Migrating from Amazon Q Developer
- AWS: Amazon Q Developer End of Support Announcement
- Kiro: Changelog
Related NHI Mgmt Group resources: Amazon Q Developer and Kiro Security Guide · AI IDE and Coding Agent Security Guide · AI Coding Tools and Secrets Sprawl · Coding Agent Configuration File Attacks