Kiro is a new agentic IDE that brings structure and intent back into AI-assisted software development. Instead of generating isolated code snippets from prompts, Kiro introduces a workflow centered around persistent context, structured specifications, and event-driven automation.
This article walks through the three core building blocks of Kiro: Steering Docs, Specs, and Hooks, and how they work together to support spec-driven development.
📘 Steering Docs — Persistent Project Context
Steering docs allow Kiro to understand a project beyond the current prompt. They store long-lived knowledge such as architecture decisions, coding standards, naming conventions, and domain rules.
These documents are written in markdown and live alongside the codebase. Once defined, Kiro consistently uses them when generating code, reviewing changes, or performing automated tasks. This removes the need to repeatedly explain project context and helps ensure outputs match real-world team standards.
📐 Specs — Structured Development from Intent
Specs are the foundation of Kiro’s spec-driven workflow. Instead of jumping directly from a prompt to code, Kiro helps break features into structured documents:
Requirements — clear functional expectations and acceptance criteria
Design — technical architecture, data models, and implementation approach
Tasks — a sequenced list of actionable development steps
This approach makes complex features easier to reason about, review, and maintain, while keeping AI output aligned with the original intent.
⚙️ Hooks — Event-Driven Automation
Hooks enable automation based on IDE events such as file saves, file creation, or commits. When triggered, Kiro can run agent workflows or commands automatically.
Common use cases include:
Generating or updating tests when files change
Keeping documentation in sync with code
Enforcing project standards and best practices
Running checks before changes are committed
Hooks allow Kiro to operate continuously in the background, reducing manual overhead and improving consistency across the codebase.
🔁 How It All Fits Together
Steering docs provide long-term context
Specs provide structure and traceability
Hooks provide automation and enforcement
Together, they enable a workflow where AI assists with real engineering work, not just code generation.
🎥 Video Walkthrough
A full walkthrough of Kiro, covering steering docs, specs, and hooks in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPDziEBuWwY