(Credit: Kiro)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) debuted a tool called Kiro today, which aims to formalize vibe coding, or a way to generate custom code through an AI chatbot.
The vibe coding process typically entails talking to an AI until you are satisfied with its output. It's relatively unstructured, and not always effective. A recent study found it actually increased task completion time for experienced software engineers by 19%.
Kiro offers a more professional approach that starts with project planning. Developers can enter specifications for each component of their project, and then vibe code to meet the requirements.
"I’m sure you’ve been there: prompt, prompt, prompt, and you have a working application," says a blog post introducing Kiro, co-authored by Nikhil Swaminathan, AWS's head of agentic AI developer tools, and Deepak Singh, a VP at AWS.
"It’s fun and feels like magic. But getting it to production requires more. What assumptions did the model make when building it? You guided the agent throughout, but those decisions aren’t documented. Requirements are fuzzy and you can’t tell if the application meets them."
(Credit: Kiro)Once you finalize the specifications, Kiro generates a technical design document based on your codebase. While you're completing the work, an AI agent works alongside you, acting like an "experienced developer" who catches your mistakes and completes routine tasks, Kiro says. It also performs quality checks once you've finished.
The main AI model behind Kiro is Anthropic's code-focused Claude Sonnet 4, with Claude Sonnet 3.7 as a backup option, Amazon tells The New Stack. Support for more models is coming soon. Kiro is free for now while it's in preview. Eventually, the company will offer three pricing tiers: Free, Kiro Pro ($19-per-month), and Kiro Pro+ ($39-per-month). It will also be free for those with a Developer Pro account on Amazon Q, the company's AI coding assistant ($20-per-month).
In a departure from other AWS launches, Kiro's website markets it as a standalone tool, with only a small AWS logo in the corner. Amazon has been working on it since at least May, when Business Insider first reported it.
Amazon may still be deciding how it wants to sell the tool, whether it will be a part of AWS or exist independently. It will compete with other coding editors like Cursor and Windsurf. Google just hired the CEO of Windsurf for $2.4 billion after OpenAI's talks to acquire the company fell through, The New York Times reports. Microsoft GitHub's agent mode and Google Gemini Code Assist are also direct competitors from rival Big Tech firms, according to GeekWire.