Experimenting with Kiro the Spec-Driven Development IDE
Jason explores AWS Kiro, Amazon's new IDE that emphasizes spec-driven development over traditional 'vibe coding.' The episode demonstrates Kiro's unique workflow of creating detailed requirements documents, user stories, and design phases before any coding begins. Built as a VS Code fork, Kiro features agent hooks for automated documentation and SSH connectivity for enterprise environments. While the spec-driven approach may offer cost advantages and better planning, it appears significantly slower for rapid prototyping compared to tools like Cursor, Lovable, or Claude Code that can deliver working prototypes in minutes.
Jump To
Key Takeaways
- Spec-driven development requires thinking through requirements and user stories before coding, offering a different approach than traditional 'vibe coding'
- Kiro is built as a VS Code fork but adds unique features like agent hooks for automated documentation updates and SSH remote development
- The spec-driven approach may have cost advantages by reducing upfront LLM usage through better planning
- Kiro's 15-task approach for a simple todo app suggests it may be slower than tools like Cursor, Lovable, or Claude Code for rapid prototyping
- The tool feels designed for enterprise environments with its emphasis on requirements documentation and structured development phases