🚀 𝗔𝗪𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴—𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Srinivasa Namburu

Most AI tools help you write code faster.
𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗼.𝗱𝗲𝘃, 𝗔𝗪𝗦’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝗗𝗘, 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿—from idea to production.

After using Kiro hands-on, I’m genuinely impressed.
This isn’t just another Copilot—it’s a 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺, helping you move from 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 → 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰 → 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 → 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮 → 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀, all within a structured workflow.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁:
1⃣ 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
Kiro doesn’t jump straight into code. It starts by generating:

-requirements.md (in EARS syntax)

-design.md (architecture & API outlines)

-tasks.md (detailed task lists with acceptance criteria)

This ensures your AI coding flow 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, not just vibe coding.

2⃣ 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
Kiro’s agents run background tasks automatically:

𝗢𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁, it generates unit tests, updates documentation, runs lint/security checks, and reviews diffs.

Routine dev tasks become 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀, keeping quality checks baked into the process.

𝟯⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮-𝗮𝘀-𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Most AI IDEs stop at application logic.
Kiro goes further by scaffolding AWS CDK, SAM, or Terraform directly from your specs—bridging dev and ops.

Now, infrastructure evolves alongside your code, without context switching.

4⃣ 𝗠𝗖𝗣 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Kiro integrates with Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing agents to:

Pull AWS service docs (Lambda, Step Functions, etc.)

Query APIs, databases, and architecture diagrams

Manage tickets or tasks via Asana, Jira, etc.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳or your project’s ecosystem—not just code.

5⃣ 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴
With .kiro/steering.md, you define:

-Coding conventions & file structures

-Architecture rules & patterns

=Trusted CLI actions (like cdk deploy, npm install)

This makes Kiro team-aligned, not just AI-aligned—tailoring outputs to your standards.

6⃣ 𝗔𝗪𝗦-𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱-𝗡𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹
Kiro is AWS-built but runs at kiro.dev, independent of the AWS console.
You can log in via GitHub, Google, or Builder ID—no vendor lock-in, but full AWS integration when needed.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲?
I’ve put together a feature comparison infographic highlighting how Kiro stacks up against Copilot Agent, Gemini Code Assist, and Cursor.

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Srinivasa Namburu