Kiro Cheat Sheets & Comparisons

Ship AI-ready code faster with AWS Kiro's spec-driven development

Quick-Start Specs

Basic Spec Structure

Define your requirements in EARS format for automatic task generation

# User Story
As a developer
I want to add user authentication
So that users can securely access their data

# Acceptance Criteria
- Users can register with email
- Passwords are encrypted
- Session management included

Hook: Auto-Test on Save

Automatically run tests when saving files with specific patterns

// .kiro/hooks/onSave.test.js
module.exports = {
  pattern: "**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
  action: async (file) => {
    await exec(`npm test ${file}`);
  }
}

AI Agent Configuration

Configure Claude model preferences and context limits

// .kiro/config.json
{
  "model": "claude-sonnet-3.7",
  "contextLimit": 100000,
  "hooks": {
    "beforeCommit": ["lint", "test"]
  }
}

Spec-Driven API Design

Generate API endpoints from high-level specifications

spec: "User Management API"
features:
  - CRUD operations for users
  - JWT authentication
  - Rate limiting
  - OpenAPI documentation

Hook: Doc Sync

Keep documentation in sync with code changes automatically

// .kiro/hooks/onCommit.docs.js
module.exports = {
  trigger: "pre-commit",
  action: async () => {
    await generateDocs();
    await updateChangelog();
  }
}

Multi-Agent Workflow

Coordinate multiple AI agents for complex tasks

workflow: "Feature Implementation"
agents:
  - architect: "Design system architecture"
  - coder: "Implement components"
  - tester: "Write test cases"
  - reviewer: "Code review & optimize"
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AI Coding Tools Comparison Directory

Compare AWS Kiro with 15+ AI coding assistants

Tool Type Price Best For
AWS Kiro Spec-driven IDE $19-39/mo Production-ready code NEW
GitHub Copilot Code completion $10-39/mo Quick coding Compare →
Cursor AI-first IDE $20/mo Context-aware editing Compare →
Claude Code Code analysis $20/mo Deep understanding Compare →

GitHub Copilot

POPULAR
$10-39/mo

Key Features

  • Code completion
  • Multi-IDE support
  • GPT-4 powered
  • Chat interface
Best for: Individual developers

Cursor

$20/mo

Key Features

  • AI-native editor
  • Multi-file edits
  • Context engine
  • Codebase search
Best for: Power users

Claude Code

$20/mo

Key Features

  • 100K token context
  • Code explanation
  • Refactoring
  • Documentation
Best for: Code review & learning

Devin

FULL AI
$99+/mo

Key Features

  • Autonomous coding
  • End-to-end tasks
  • Self-debugging
  • Deploy capable
Best for: Automated workflows

Windsurf

$15/mo

Key Features

  • Flow-based coding
  • AI workflows
  • Multi-agent
  • Google backed
Best for: Complex projects

v0.dev

$20/mo

Key Features

  • UI generation
  • Tailwind CSS
  • React components
  • Vercel integration
Best for: Frontend prototypes

Bolt.new

$20/mo

Key Features

  • Full-stack apps
  • Instant deploy
  • WebContainer
  • Live preview
Best for: Rapid prototyping

Amazon Q

$19/mo

Key Features

  • AWS integration
  • Code transform
  • Security scan
  • IDE plugins
Best for: AWS developers