What's new in IDE 1.0

IDE 1.0 brings a new permissions system, a structured hooks format, and an experimental agent-first layout. This page covers what's new, what changed, and how to migrate from 0.x.

Here's a summary of what's new and what you may need to do after upgrading.

IDE 1.0 gives you explicit control over what the agent can do through a capability-based permissions system. The agent asks for approval before performing operations you haven't explicitly allowed.

In practice, this means:

• The first time you use 1.0, you'll see consent prompts when the agent tries to write files, run commands, or call MCP tools
• You can persist decisions as "always allow" or "always deny" rules, scoped to the workspace or all workspaces
• Without any configuration, the agent can read workspace files and run read-only git commands — everything else prompts

For the full reference (capabilities, pattern syntax, configuration examples), see Permissions.

Create purpose-built agents as Markdown files. Define which tools the agent can access using simple tags (read, write, shell, web), embed MCP servers and permission rules inline, and share via version control. Your agent appears in the agent selector the moment you save it.

• Tag-based tools — declare capabilities with tags like read, write, shell instead of listing individual tools
• Inline MCP — bundle MCP server config directly in the agent profile
• Inline permissions — scope what the agent can do without a separate permissions file
• Agent selector — switch agents mid-session from the chat input bar without losing conversation history

For the full format and examples, see Custom agents. To learn about switching agents, see Switching agents.

Open any chat session as a full-width editor tab for more reading space and flexible layouts.

1. Right-click a chat tab in the session tab bar
2. Select Open in Editor

The tab supports splitting, dragging, and multi-monitor workflows. Messages sent from either the panel or the editor tab reach the same session. See Dockable chat.

Save any conversation as a portable zip file for sharing, archiving, or reviewing outside Kiro.

1. Right-click a chat tab
2. Select Export Chat

The zip contains chat.md (full conversation in Markdown) and metadata.json (session metadata). Exports are read-only. See Export sessions.

A new layout that puts agent conversations at the center. Chat occupies the main panel, sessions line up on the left, and specs and diffs appear in an auxiliary panel on the right.

Key capabilities:

• Multi-panel layout — sessions, chat, and auxiliary panels purpose-built for agentic work
• Multiple parallel sessions — run several agents independently on different tasks
• Workflow picker — start sessions with a structured workflow (Spec, Plan, Bug Fix, Quick Spec) or freeform
• Toggle anytime — switch between Agent Focus Mode and Editor View using the button in the top-right corner

Both Autopilot and Supervised modes are available in Agent Focus Mode.

For the full walkthrough, see Agent Focus Mode.

Hooks now use a structured v1 JSON format stored in .kiro/hooks/. Legacy hooks (from 0.x) appear in the Agent Hooks panel with an upgrade badge — they won't execute until you migrate them.

Open the Agent Hooks section in the Kiro panel. Each unmigrated hook displays a badge with an upgrade icon. Click it to convert the hook to the v1 format. The migrated hook becomes active immediately.

Original legacy files remain on disk but are no longer loaded.

The UI creation flow has changed. Click + in the Agent Hooks panel to see two options:

• Ask Kiro to create a hook — describe what you want in natural language
• Manually create a steering file — creates a markdown file in .kiro/steering/ invoked as a /<filename> slash command

Manual hooks (previously the Manual trigger) have been replaced by manual steering files. If you had manual hooks in 0.x, they migrate to steering files. See Steering for the format and capabilities.

The v1 JSON format (.kiro/hooks/*.json) is new in 1.0, replacing the previous .hook file format. See Hooks for the full reference.

IDE 1.0 uses a new session storage format. Sessions from 0.x won't appear in your session list until migrated. If you have no migrated sessions, the chat panel opens to the session list so you can see what needs attention.

You have two options:

• Click Migrate — each unmigrated session shows a Migrate button in the session list
• Open the session — selecting any unmigrated session automatically migrates it

There's no deadline. Unmigrated sessions remain stored locally and you can migrate them whenever you need them.

If a session doesn't migrate correctly, right-click it in the session list for additional options:

• Force Re-migrate — re-runs the migration from scratch (useful if the first attempt produced an incomplete result)
• Show Migration Logs — opens the migration log to help diagnose issues

If you need to revert to 0.x, see the downgrade instructions on the installation page.