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Models

OverviewAvailable modelsReasoning effort

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Configuration scopes

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  1. Docs
  3. Features
  5. Configuration scopes

Configuration scopes

Kiro uses a layered configuration system with three scopes. Configuration closer to your current context takes priority over broader settings.

CapabilityIDECLIWebMobile
Global scope (~/.kiro/)✓✓——
Project scope (.kiro/)✓✓✓✓
Agent scope (.kiro/agents/ or ~/.kiro/agents/)✓✓——

Scopes

  1. Global — applies across all projects. Stored in ~/.kiro/.
  2. Project — specific to a workspace. Stored in <project-root>/.kiro/.
  3. Agent — defined per agent in ~/.kiro/agents/ (global) or .kiro/agents/ (project).
Override the global directory with KIRO_HOME

Set the KIRO_HOME environment variable to redirect the global ~/.kiro directory to a different location. Agents, skills, steering, settings, and sessions all resolve against KIRO_HOME when it's set — useful for keeping separate Kiro profiles on the same machine.

File paths

ConfigurationGlobal scopeProject scope
MCP servers~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json.kiro/settings/mcp.json
Permissions~/.kiro/settings/permissions.yaml~/.kiro/workspace-roots/<hash>/permissions.yaml (per-user, outside the repo)
Custom agents~/.kiro/agents/.kiro/agents/
Steering~/.kiro/steering/.kiro/steering/
Skills~/.kiro/skills/.kiro/skills/
Hooks~/.kiro/hooks/.kiro/hooks/
Powers~/.kiro/powers/—
Specs—.kiro/specs/
Kiroignore~/.kiro/settings/kiroignore.kiroignore
Settings (CLI)~/.kiro/settings/cli.json—

What each scope supports

Not every feature is available at every scope. The table below shows where each configuration can be defined and whether it can be embedded in an agent profile.

ConfigurationGlobalProjectAgent scope
MCP servers✓✓✓ (mcpServers field or includeMcpJson)
Permissions✓✓✓ (permissions field)
Custom agents✓✓N/A
Steering✓✓✓ (resources field)
Skills✓✓✓ (resources field)
Hooks✓✓✓ (CLI only, hooks field)
Powers✓—✓ (includePowers field)
Specs—✓—
Kiroignore✓✓—
Settings✓——

Resolving conflicts

When the same configuration exists in multiple scopes, the scope closest to your current context wins:

ConfigurationPriority (highest → lowest)
MCP serversAgent > Project > Global
Permissionsdeny wins regardless of scope (deny-overrides algorithm)
Custom agentsProject > Global (same-name: project wins with warning)
SteeringAll scopes merged (not overridden)
SkillsAll scopes merged
HooksAll scopes merged
Tip

Permissions use a deny-overrides algorithm — a deny rule in any scope blocks the action regardless of allow rules elsewhere. See Permissions for details.

Since MCP servers can be configured in three scopes and agents have an includeMcpJson setting, MCP server resolution has additional rules. See MCP server loading priority for details.

Web and Mobile

Web and Mobile clients only read project-scope configuration committed to the repository. Global configuration (~/.kiro/) is not available — there's no local filesystem on these surfaces.

ConfigurationWebMobile
Project steering (.kiro/steering/)✓✓
Project skills (.kiro/skills/)✓✓
Project MCP servers (.kiro/settings/mcp.json)——
Sandbox MCP (configured via Web settings)✓—
Permissions——
Hooks——

See Custom agents: surface behavior for details on Web/Mobile limitations.

Next steps

  • Custom agents — create and configure specialized agents
  • Steering — project context and conventions
  • Permissions — capability-based access control
  • MCP configuration — connect external tools
  • Hooks — automate workflows with event-driven actions
  • Skills — reusable instruction packages
  • Powers — extend with packaged MCP servers and docs
  • Kiroignore — control which files Kiro can access
Page updated: August 4, 2026
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IDE 1.x