Common questions

Kiro is an agentic AI with an [IDE](/docs/), [CLI](/docs/cli/), and [web interface](/docs/web/) that helps you go from prototype to production. From simple to complex tasks, Kiro works alongside you to turn prompts into detailed specs, then into working code, docs, and tests—so what you build is exactly what you want and ready to share with your team. Kiro’s agents help you solve challenging problems and automate tasks like generating documentation and unit tests.

Developing with specs keeps the fun of vibe coding, but fixes some of its limitations: vibe coding can require too much guidance on complex tasks or when building on top of large codebases, and it can misinterpret context. When implementing a task with vibe coding, it’s difficult to keep track of all the decisions that were made along the way, and document them for your team. By using specs, Kiro works alongside you to define requirements, system design, and tasks to be implemented before writing any code. This approach explicitly documents the reasoning and implementation decisions, so Kiro can implement more complex tasks in fewer shots.

Kiro works as an agent in the [IDE](/docs/), with a [CLI](/docs/cli/), or in a [web browser](/docs/web/). [Download](/downloads/) the installer for your operating system, or [sign in](https://app.kiro.dev/agent) to use it with a paid account on the web, and log in with GitHub, Google, AWS Builder ID, or AWS IAM Identity Center. You do not need an AWS account to use Kiro. For more, see [documentation](/docs).

Kiro supports a variety of programming languages that developers use in their day to day work. This list includes, but is not limited to Python, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, C, C++, shell scripting, SQL, Scala, JSON, YAML, and HCL.

Kiro is based on Code OSS, so you can [import your VS Code settings, themes, and Open VSX compatible plugins](/docs/guides/migrating-from-vscode/) in the Kiro onboarding flow.

Kiro IDE is for active, local development with real-time agent collaboration. Kiro CLI is for terminal-based workflows, custom agents, and deployment pipelines. [Kiro on the web](/docs/web/) is for delegating and steering from the browser, with sessions that run in isolated cloud [sandboxes](/docs/web/sandbox/), keep going when you close your laptop, and coordinate changes across [GitHub](/docs/web/github/) and [GitLab](/docs/web/gitlab/) repos in a single session. All three modes ([autonomous](/docs/web/autonomous-mode/), [spec](/docs/specs/), and default) are available together in Kiro on the web. Autonomous mode and [cloud automations](/docs/web/automations/) are only available in Kiro on the web today. Use whichever Kiro interface fits the work; they work best together. [Steering files](/docs/web/steering/) and learnings carry across all three so context builds no matter where you work.

Yes, Kiro pricing in AWS GovCloud (US) regions is approximately 20% higher than standard commercial region pricing. All Kiro subscription tiers (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power) are subject to this regional pricing adjustment when accessed through AWS GovCloud (US) regions.

No, the free tier is not available in Kiro Enterprise and AWS GovCloud (US) regions. All Kiro subscription tiers (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power) are subject to this regional pricing adjustment when accessed through AWS GovCloud (US) regions.

Kiro is an agentic AI with an [IDE](/docs/), [CLI](/docs/cli/), and [web interface](/docs/web/) that helps you go from prototype to production. From simple to complex tasks, Kiro works alongside you to turn prompts into detailed specs, then into working code, docs, and tests—so what you build is exactly what you want and ready to share with your team. Kiro’s agents help you solve challenging problems and automate tasks like generating documentation and unit tests.

Developing with specs keeps the fun of vibe coding, but fixes some of its limitations: vibe coding can require too much guidance on complex tasks or when building on top of large codebases, and it can misinterpret context. When implementing a task with vibe coding, it’s difficult to keep track of all the decisions that were made along the way, and document them for your team. By using specs, Kiro works alongside you to define requirements, system design, and tasks to be implemented before writing any code. This approach explicitly documents the reasoning and implementation decisions, so Kiro can implement more complex tasks in fewer shots.

Kiro works as an agent in the [IDE](/docs/), with a [CLI](/docs/cli/), or in a [web browser](/docs/web/). [Download](/downloads/) the installer for your operating system, or [sign in](https://app.kiro.dev/agent) to use it with a paid account on the web, and log in with GitHub, Google, AWS Builder ID, or AWS IAM Identity Center. You do not need an AWS account to use Kiro. For more, see [documentation](/docs).

Kiro supports a variety of programming languages that developers use in their day to day work. This list includes, but is not limited to Python, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, C, C++, shell scripting, SQL, Scala, JSON, YAML, and HCL.

Kiro is based on Code OSS, so you can [import your VS Code settings, themes, and Open VSX compatible plugins](/docs/guides/migrating-from-vscode/) in the Kiro onboarding flow.

Kiro offers flexible pricing tiers designed around how developers use Kiro. New users can start with the perpetual Kiro Free tier, which includes 50 credits. The Free Tier includes access to open weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.6, with limits. You can upgrade to paid tiers ranging from Pro ($20/month), Pro+ ($40/month), Pro Max ($100/month), to Power ($200/month) for increased capacity. Paid tiers for individuals allow purchasing add-on credits to continue using Kiro beyond plan limits. Plans for teams include flexible overages available at $0.04 per additional credit. Kiro prices shown do not include applicable taxes or duties (such as VAT or sales tax) unless explicitly noted. Note that if you have a Japanese billing address, Japanese Consumption Tax will apply to your Kiro usage. The amount of tax collected depends on many factors, including, but not limited to, your Tax Registration Number ("TRN" or Tax ID), and billing address. Kiro in GovCloud pricing is approximately 20% higher than commercial pricing and does not include the Free tier. Kiro processes paid subscriptions on the 1st day of each calendar month.

By default, your prompts are processed by Auto, an agent that uses a mix of different frontier models such as Sonnet 4.5, combined with specialized models that are experts in specific tasks, intent detection, caching, and other techniques to give you a better balance of quality, latency, and costs. You can also choose to have your prompts processed exclusively by Sonnet 4.5, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5, Opus 4.5, Opus 4.6, or Opus 4.7.

The first time you upgrade to any Kiro paid plan, you get $20 credited towards your subscription when using Kiro as an individual via social login or Builder ID (not AWS Identity Center). Upgrading to a paid subscription requires a valid credit card. Kiro processes paid subscriptions on the 1st day of each calendar month. Let’s assume you first upgrade to a Kiro Pro plan ($20/month) on the 15th of June, for example, here’s how the sign-up bonus would work for you: you’d get credited $20 * 15/30 days left in June, which is $10. on July 1st, your card would get charged for (July subscription price) - (remaining free trial credit), which is $20 - ($20 * 15/30) = $10.

A credit is a unit of work in response to user prompts. Simple prompts can consume less than 1 credit. More complex prompts, such as executing a spec task, typically cost more than 1 credit. Additionally, different models consume credits at different rates, with a prompt executed via Sonnet 4.6 costing more credits than executing it with Auto. For example, a given task that consumes X credits to execute in Auto, will cost you 1.3X credits to execute via Sonnet 4.6. Credits are metered to the second decimal point, so the least number of credits a task can consume is 0.01 credits.

Any prompt you ask Kiro to execute, whether in vibe mode or spec mode, as well as spec refinement, task execution, and agent hook execution, will consume credits.

You can see the monthly credit limits for your plan, the number of credits used, and credits remaining in your subscription dashboard accessible in the Kiro IDE. Credit usage is updated at least every 5 minutes.

Yes — how it works depends on whether you're on an individual or team plan: **Individual plans (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, Power):** Purchase add-on credits to continue working. Credits cost $0.04 each, are billed immediately when you buy a pack, and you control exactly how much extra capacity to add. Packs range from $5 (125 credits) to $100. Unused add-on credits roll over and expire 12 months from the date of purchase. See [Add-on credits](/docs/billing/add-on-credits/) for details. **Team plans (Enterprise):** Admins can enable overages so users keep working past their limits automatically. Additional usage is billed at $0.04 per credit at month-end based on usage beyond the plan allocation. Overages are disabled by default and must be enabled in the Kiro console settings.

No, subscriptions and usage limits are calculated per individual user. For team usage, each developer needs their own subscription. Team billing and management features are coming soon.

Kiro subscriptions can be used with Kiro IDE, Kiro CLI, Kiro on the web, ACP compatible IDEs, and automation in software development (ex: reviews during CI/CD). Use with OpenClaw and similar tools that leverage third-party harnesses is prohibited.

Usage limits reset at the start of each billing month. Unused credits do not roll over to the next month.

We accept all major credit cards.

Currently, you can purchase a Kiro paid plan with a billing address in Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao SAR, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, and Yemen. More countries or regions will be added soon. Model availability can vary by country or region. Kiro's model offerings align with each model provider's usage and geographic requirements for third-party services and interfaces. For more information, see each model provider's supported countries and regions, if relevant: [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/supported-countries), Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, MiniMax, GLM.

Kiro on the web uses the existing credit model. Credits are consumed regardless of which interface the work runs on (IDE, CLI, or web). No separate charge for cloud compute. Available in preview to Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power users.

No, there is no additional charge for using Kiro powers. All Kiro users can access and use Kiro powers.

Yes, Kiro pricing in [AWS GovCloud](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/latest/UserGuide/govcloud-kiro.html) (US) Regions is approximately 20% higher than standard commercial region pricing. All Kiro subscription tiers (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power) are subject to this regional pricing adjustment when accessed through AWS GovCloud (US) Regions.

The Free tier is not available in the AWS GovCloud (US) Regions. Kiro in AWS GovCloud (US) requires a paid subscription plan (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, or Power) and enterprise authentication via AWS IAM Identity Center.

Kiro subscriptions can be used with Kiro IDE, Kiro CLI, Kiro on the web, ACP compatible IDEs, and automation in software development (ex: reviews during CI/CD). Use with OpenClaw and similar tools that leverage third-party harnesses is prohibited.

Kiro CLI is a tool that allows you to interact with Kiro’s AI agents directly from your terminal. The CLI enables you to use AI for tasks like writing, reviewing, modifying code, and automating workflows, all within your command-line environment. It understands your codebase and speeds up development through adaptive, natural dialogue. Kiro CLI carries over [steering files](/docs/cli/steering/) and [MCP configurations](/docs/cli/mcp/) from the Kiro IDE, leveraging the [Auto agent](/docs/cli/models/) to deliver the best results at the best price.

Kiro IDE is for active, local development with real-time agent collaboration. Kiro CLI is for terminal-based workflows, custom agents, and deployment pipelines. [Kiro on the web](/docs/web/) is for delegating and steering from the browser, with sessions that run in isolated cloud [sandboxes](/docs/web/sandbox/), keep going when you close your laptop, and coordinate changes across [GitHub](/docs/web/github/) and [GitLab](/docs/web/gitlab/) repos in a single session. All three modes ([autonomous](/docs/web/autonomous-mode/), [spec](/docs/specs/), and default) are available together in Kiro on the web. Autonomous mode and [cloud automations](/docs/web/automations/) are only available in Kiro on the web today. Use whichever Kiro interface fits the work; they work best together. [Steering files](/docs/web/steering/) and learnings carry across all three so context builds no matter where you work.

Kiro on the web is where you build, delegate, and steer development work with Kiro from your browser. Connect your GitHub or GitLab repositories, describe what you need, and Kiro writes code, coordinates changes across repos, and opens pull requests. Set up [automations](/docs/web/automations/) to run recurring work on a schedule. Available in preview for Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power subscribers.

Go to [app.kiro.dev](https://app.kiro.dev/agent), sign in, describe what you need, connect your repositories from GitHub or GitLab in Settings if your task needs it, and Kiro writes code and opens pull requests across one or multiple repos. You can chat and iterate together, or toggle Autonomous to let Kiro own a task end-to-end, use [spec mode](/docs/specs/) to shape the work before execution starts, or create an automation to run recurring tasks on a schedule. If your organization uses AWS IAM Identity Center, your administrator needs to enable Kiro on the web first.

Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power users. [Sign in to try it](https://app.kiro.dev/agent).

Kiro on the web uses the existing credit model. Credits are consumed regardless of which interface the work runs on (IDE, CLI, or web). No separate charge for cloud compute. Available in preview to Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power users.

Yes, if your organization uses AWS IAM Identity Center, your administrator needs to [enable Kiro on the web](/docs/web/identity-center/) before you can access it. Enabling applies to all users in the profile and uses the same Identity Center start URL as your existing Kiro settings. During preview, Kiro on the web is available in AWS US-East-1 (Northern Virginia) region only. MCP and other governance controls are not yet supported.

Kiro Crew is an open source workspace for development that runs on your own machine and keeps working across sessions. It remembers your projects and preferences, turns corrections into lasting lessons, runs scheduled and long-running tasks unattended, and coordinates multiple agents in parallel. You can work with it from the desktop app, the web dashboard, the CLI, or chat tools like Slack and Discord.

Kiro on [the web](/web), in [the IDE](/ide), and in [the CLI](/cli) handles tasks inside a single session while you drive. Kiro Crew extends that foundation across sessions: it keeps its own memory, runs recurring jobs on schedules, picks up work on its own through webhooks and CI heartbeats, and orchestrates multiple agents in parallel. It runs on the Kiro CLI using ACP, and reads your existing .kiro configuration, so it extends Kiro rather than replacing it.

Kiro Crew is built for development work with real access to code and CI, and it is inspectable end to end. Every orchestration decision is visible: agent reasoning, tool calls, and approvals stream live in the Activity view, and a signed audit log records every action. It ships with 7-layer defense-in-depth security, including an OS-level sandbox, denied-by-default commands, and credential redaction. Skills built for OpenClaw, Hermes, and other open standards-based platforms work in Kiro Crew without modification.

Organizations can [get started with Kiro](/docs/enterprise/getting-started/) using their AWS IAM credentials.

Yes, we provide an output indemnity for paid Kiro subscribers. See Section 50.10 of the [Service Terms](https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/) for more details.

We do not collect telemetry from Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, or Power users that access Kiro through AWS IAM Identity Center or external identity provider. However, enterprise admins can configure Kiro to collect user activity reports for the users in your organization.

The Kiro CLI and IDE are [available](/docs/enterprise/supported-regions/) in the US East (N. Virginia) and Europe (Frankfurt) AWS Regions when logging in via IAM Identity Center. Kiro is also available in [AWS GovCloud](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/latest/UserGuide/govcloud-kiro.html) (US) Regions to address regulated workloads.

We do not use content from Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, or Power users that access Kiro through AWS IAM Identity Center or external identity provider. If you have an Amazon Q Developer Pro subscription and access Kiro through your AWS account with the Amazon Q Developer Pro subscription, then Kiro will not use your content for service improvement. We may use certain content from Kiro Free Tier and Kiro individual subscribers (those that access Kiro through a social login provider or AWS Builder ID) for service improvement. You can opt out of content collection at any time using the opt-out mechanism described in our [documentation](/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection/#opt-out-of-data-sharing). For more information, see [Service Improvement](/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection/#service-improvement).

No. Amazon Q Developer Pro customers who use Kiro will retain their Q Developer Pro benefits by logging into Kiro with the same credentials used for Amazon Q Developer Pro. Kiro will not collect their content for service improvement.

Yes — how it works depends on whether you're on an individual or team plan: **Individual plans (Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, Power):** Purchase add-on credits to continue working. Credits cost $0.04 each, are billed immediately when you buy a pack, and you control exactly how much extra capacity to add. Packs range from $5 (125 credits) to $100. Unused add-on credits roll over and expire 12 months from the date of purchase. See [Add-on credits](/docs/billing/add-on-credits/) for details. **Team plans (Enterprise):** Admins can enable overages so users keep working past their limits automatically. Additional usage is billed at $0.04 per credit at month-end based on usage beyond the plan allocation. Overages are disabled by default and must be enabled in the Kiro console settings.

Yes, if your organization uses AWS IAM Identity Center, your administrator needs to [enable Kiro on the web](/docs/web/identity-center/) before you can access it. Enabling applies to all users in the profile and uses the same Identity Center start URL as your existing Kiro settings. During preview, Kiro on the web is available in AWS US-East-1 (Northern Virginia) region only. MCP and other governance controls are not yet supported.

Kiro in [AWS GovCloud](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/latest/UserGuide/govcloud-kiro.html) (US) Regions supports enterprise authentication via AWS IAM Identity Center, including integration with external identity providers such as Okta and Microsoft Entra ID. Individual login methods such as GitHub, Google, and AWS Builder ID are not available in AWS GovCloud (US) Regions.

The Kiro CLI and IDE are [available](/docs/enterprise/supported-regions/) in the US East (N. Virginia) and Europe (Frankfurt) AWS Regions when logging in via IAM Identity Center. Kiro is also available in [AWS GovCloud](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/latest/UserGuide/govcloud-kiro.html) (US) Regions to address regulated workloads.

Currently, you can purchase a Kiro paid plan with a billing address in Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao SAR, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, and Yemen. More countries or regions will be added soon. Model availability can vary by country or region. Kiro's model offerings align with each model provider's usage and geographic requirements for third-party services and interfaces. For more information, see each model provider's supported countries and regions, if relevant: [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/supported-countries), Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, MiniMax, GLM.

Kiro credits are supported in most countries globally where AWS billing is available. Excludes individuals living in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Greater China Region (GCR), Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Belarus, the region of Crimea, and the United Arab Emirates.

Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power users. [Sign in to try it](https://app.kiro.dev/agent).

Kiro in [AWS GovCloud](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/latest/UserGuide/govcloud-kiro.html) (US) Regions supports enterprise authentication via AWS IAM Identity Center, including integration with external identity providers such as Okta and Microsoft Entra ID. Individual login methods such as GitHub, Google, and AWS Builder ID are not available in AWS GovCloud (US) Regions.

We do not collect telemetry from Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, or Power users that access Kiro through AWS IAM Identity Center or external identity provider. However, enterprise admins can configure Kiro to collect user activity reports for the users in your organization.

We do not use content from Kiro Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, or Power users that access Kiro through AWS IAM Identity Center or external identity provider. If you have an Amazon Q Developer Pro subscription and access Kiro through your AWS account with the Amazon Q Developer Pro subscription, then Kiro will not use your content for service improvement. We may use certain content from Kiro Free Tier and Kiro individual subscribers (those that access Kiro through a social login provider or AWS Builder ID) for service improvement. You can opt out of content collection at any time using the opt-out mechanism described in our [documentation](/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection/#opt-out-of-data-sharing). For more information, see [Service Improvement](/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection/#service-improvement).