Your first project

This guide walks you through Kiro's essential features by working with a real project. You'll learn how to set up steering files, build features with specs, automate workflows with hooks, and extend capabilities with MCP servers.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Installed Kiro
Signed in with your Kiro account
A project to work with (either an existing project or a new one)
Basic familiarity with your project's structure and technology stack

Open your project

Launch Kiro and open your project:
- Use File > Open Folder to select your project directory
- Or drag and drop your project folder into Kiro
- Or run kiro . from your project directory in the command line
Access the Kiro Panel:
- Click the Kiro Ghost icon in the activity bar (left sidebar)
- This panel provides access to all of Kiro's AI-powered features
Start a Chat Session:
- The chat pane should be open by default
- This opens Kiro's conversational interface where you interact with the AI

Set up steering files

Steering files provide context about your project, helping Kiro understand your codebase, conventions, and requirements. They are stored in .kiro/steering/ and shared across all Kiro surfaces.

Choose Generate Steering Docs from the Kiro panel. Kiro analyzes your repository and generates steering documents that guide its behavior, including:

Your product and its purpose
Technical stack and frameworks
Project structure and conventions

You can also create custom steering files by clicking the + button in the steering section to add coding standards, workflows, and team best practices.

View transcript: Generating steering documents in Kiro

Learn more about steering in the Steering documentation.

Build features with specs

Specs transform high-level feature ideas into detailed implementation plans through three phases:

Requirements - User stories with acceptance criteria
Design - Technical architecture and implementation approach
Tasks - Discrete, trackable implementation steps

Create your first spec

Start a new spec:
- Click the Spec button in your chat session
- Or choose the + button in the Kiro panel's Specs section
Enter a feature description:
- Describe your feature in natural language
- Example: "Add a user authentication system with login, logout, and password reset functionality"
Follow the guided workflow:
- Requirements phase: Kiro structures your requirements using EARS notation
- Design phase: Technical architecture and component design are documented
- Implementation phase: Discrete tasks are generated for execution

View transcript: Creating a spec in Kiro

Execute spec tasks

Once your spec is complete:

Review generated tasks in the tasks.md file
Execute tasks by clicking on individual task items
Track progress as tasks automatically update to "In Progress" and "Done"

Learn more about specs in the Specs documentation.

Automate workflows with hooks

Agent hooks eliminate manual work by automatically executing predefined actions when specific agent events occur, such as file changes, tool use, or task execution.

Access hook creation:
- Navigate to the Agent Hooks section in the Kiro panel
- Click the + button to create a new hook
Define hook behavior:
- Describe what you want automated in natural language
- Example: "When the agent saves a React component file, automatically create or update its corresponding test file"
Configure hook settings:
- Event type: Choose when the hook triggers - agent file events (created, saved, deleted), prompt and agent lifecycle events, or spec task events
- File pattern: Specify which files should trigger the hook (e.g., src/**/*.tsx)
- Instructions: Define the specific actions to perform

Learn more in the Hooks documentation.

Extend capabilities with MCP

Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows Kiro to access specialized tools, APIs, knowledge bases, and external services.

Set up MCP

Open the Kiro panel by clicking the Kiro Ghost icon in the activity bar. Enable MCPs, then click the edit button (pencil icon) next to MCP in the panel.
By default, Kiro ships with the fetch MCP server. Set disabled to false to connect to it.
Add any MCP server by editing the JSON file:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-search": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-brave-search"],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": ["search"]
    }
  }
}

Use MCP tools

Once configured, reference MCP tools in several ways:

Direct questions: Ask questions that leverage the server's capabilities
Explicit tool usage: Reference specific tools with the #MCP context provider
Integration: Combine MCP with hooks and specs for automated workflows

Learn more in the MCP documentation.

Next steps

Now that you've experienced Kiro's core features:

Try the interactive tutorial: Work through the hands-on game development tutorial
Explore specs in depth: Check out the Specs documentation for the full workflow
Learn about steering: Read the Steering documentation for advanced configuration
Join the community: Connect with other Kiro users on Discord

Page updated: August 21, 2026

Authentication

Models

{ "mcpServers": { "web-search": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-brave-search"], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here" }, "disabled": false, "autoApprove": ["search"] } } }