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. Enterprise governance includes MCP registry allow-lists, model governance, and centralized admin settings via Kiro Profile.

Steering

Instructions

Vendor 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

Steering for IDE ↗Steering for CLI ↗

Prompts

Vendor Terms prompts, reusable prompts, MCP prompts

Interfaces CLI

Scopes

Project / Repo RootUser / Home

Availability current (explicit)

Trust Model Reusable prompt templates invoked manually; content previewed before sending to model

Notes CLI only; local, global, and MCP prompt sources with local > global > MCP priority; invoked with @name

Manage prompts ↗

Skills

Vendor Terms agent skills, SKILL.md

Interfaces IDE, CLI

Scopes

Project / Repo RootUser / Home

Availability current (explicit)

Trust Model Reusable text-only instruction packages loaded on demand; cannot execute code on their own

Notes Progressive disclosure (name+description at startup, full content on demand); IDE supports slash command invocation and importing from GitHub repos; workspace takes priority over global

Skills for IDE ↗Skills for CLI ↗

MCP Servers

MCP & Tools

Vendor Terms MCP servers, mcp.json, MCP registry, Add to Kiro badge

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; curated server directory with 30+ servers and one-click install; enterprise MCP registry allow-list fetched at startup and every 24h

MCP overview ↗MCP configuration ↗Enterprise MCP governance ↗

Custom Agents and Subagents

Agents

Vendor Terms custom agents, subagents, plan agent, headless mode

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 MCP servers; IDE subagents are Markdown with YAML frontmatter; DAG-based task dependencies for CLI subagents; headless mode for CI/CD; ACP enables CLI agents in JetBrains and Zed

Creating custom agents ↗Agent configuration reference ↗Subagents for CLI ↗

Hooks

Vendor 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 with JSON stdin, tool matching aliases/wildcards, and caching; natural language hook creation in IDE

Hooks for IDE ↗Hooks for CLI ↗Hook types ↗

Powers

Plugins & Distribution

Vendor 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; 40+ curated and community powers via kiro.dev marketplace; install from kiro.dev, IDE panel, or GitHub URL

Powers docs ↗Create powers ↗Powers marketplace ↗

Enterprise Governance and Settings

Settings & Policy

Vendor Terms Kiro Profile, admin settings, .kiroignore, content exclusion, MCP governance, model 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

Notes Kiro Profile controls encryption, prompt logging, MCP, web tools, model allow-lists, and API key generation; MCP governance via registry allow-list; content exclusion via .kiroignore; CLI tool permissions default to read-trusted with per-request approval for writes; SSO with Okta and Microsoft Entra ID

Enterprise settings ↗Enterprise governance ↗CLI permissions ↗