Using startup credits

After your Kiro Startup Credits application is approved, you need to:

1. Enable and configure IAM Identity Center (required before anything else)
2. Create users and groups for your developers
3. Activate your Kiro subscription in the AWS Console
4. Download and sign into Kiro IDE with your organizational identity

Estimated time: 20-30 minutes for initial setup, then about 5 minutes per additional user.

Before you begin, confirm you have:

• Approval email from Kiro Startup Credits (check your inbox)

• AWS Console access using the same email associated with the AWS Account ID you provided in your application (you must be the account owner or have admin access). It is important that you use the email and Account ID from your original application to avoid any issues with credit activation or access.

• Active AWS account with no billing or MFA issues (verify you can sign into the console without errors)

• Active email addresses for all team members who will use Kiro

Your AWS account must be fully active and in good standing. If you have unresolved MFA issues or your account shows as “suspended,” resolve those first via AWS Support before proceeding.

Loading image...

You must enable IAM Identity Center before doing anything else. This is the service that manages your team’s access to Kiro. The Kiro subscription cannot be activated without it.

1. Sign into the AWS Console using the email associated with your approved application.
2. In the search bar at the top, type “IAM Identity Center” and select it.
3. Click “Enable” to activate the service. Confirm by clicking “Enable” again.
4. When prompted, choose a region — a supported region where your workloads reside (e.g., us-east-1). Write this region down — you will need it later when signing into Kiro.
5. Save your region. You will need to select this exact region when signing into Kiro IDE later. If you choose the wrong region at sign-in, authentication will fail silently.

About AWS Organizations: IAM Identity Center may prompt you to enable AWS Organizations if it is not already active. This is normal. AWS Organizations is a prerequisite for IAM Identity Center to function. Accept the prompt and proceed. You do not need to configure Organizations further for Kiro setup.

Already using Okta or Microsoft Entra ID? If your startup already uses Okta or Microsoft Entra ID as an identity provider, you can connect it to Kiro directly instead of using IAM Identity Center’s built-in directory. This means you can skip Steps 2, 3, and 4 and manage users through your existing IdP. See the Kiro docs on connecting your identity provider for setup instructions.

Groups make it easy to manage Kiro access for multiple developers at once. In the IAM Identity Center sidebar, navigate to “Groups”:

1. Click “Create group”
2. Give your group a descriptive name (e.g., “Developers” or “Kiro Users”)
3. Click “Create group”

Create a user for each team member who will use Kiro.

1. In the IAM Identity Center sidebar, navigate to “Users” and click “Add user”
2. Fill in: Username, Email address (must be active and accessible), First/Last name
3. Password options: Generate a one-time password OR send an email invitation
4. Add the user to your group from Step 2
5. Review and confirm. Repeat for each team member.

This step happens in the AWS Console (browser), not in the Kiro IDE application.

Loading image...

1. In the AWS Console, search for “Kiro” and select it to open the Kiro console
2. Make sure you are in the same AWS Region where you set up IAM Identity Center in Step 1
3. Click “Sign up for Kiro,” then review the dialog and click “Enable.” This creates your Kiro profile, which connects your team’s identities to their Kiro subscriptions
4. (Optional) Edit your profile name or description in the Settings page
5. Navigate to the Users & Groups page
6. Choose the “Groups” tab and click “Add group”
7. Select a subscription tier. For Kiro Startup Credits, select Pro+ (2,000 credits per user per month)
8. Click “Continue,” then search for the group you created in Step 2 and click “Assign”

All members of that group are now subscribed.

Finding your sign-in URL: To find your sign-in URL for the next step, go back to IAM Identity Center in the AWS Console. On the dashboard or Settings page, look for the AWS access portal URL (it looks like https://d-xxxxxxxxxx.awsapps.com/start). Copy this URL and share it with your team — everyone will need it to sign into Kiro IDE.

About the “Pending” state: After subscribing, your subscription may briefly show as “Pending.” This usually resolves within a few minutes. If it persists for more than 15 minutes, try refreshing the page or signing out and back in.

Different views for different users: The Kiro console may display differently depending on your account role. The account owner or admin sees the subscription management view; other users may see a limited view. If you don’t see subscription options, confirm you are signed in as the account owner.

Go to kiro.dev/downloads and download the Kiro IDE desktop app for your operating system (not the CLI or Kiro Crew).

1. Install and open the application
2. Complete the initial onboarding prompts
3. When asked how to sign in, select “Sign in with your organizational identity” (Do NOT use personal sign-in or “Create an account.”)
4. Paste the sign-in URL you copied in Step 4
5. Select the correct region (the same region you chose when enabling IAM Identity Center in Step 1)
6. Enter your username (the one your admin created in Step 3)
7. Enter the one-time password from Step 3 (if applicable), then set your permanent password
8. If prompted, set up MFA using an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, or similar). Scan the QR code and enter the verification code to confirm
9. When asked to allow Kiro access, click “Allow”

Loading image...

After signing in, you should see your active plan and credit balance in the Kiro IDE. If you see “Free tier” or an individual plan, sign out and re-sign in using “organizational identity.”

Loading image...

Confirm everything is working:

• In Kiro IDE: Check that you see your organization’s plan name and credit amount (not “Free tier” or an individual plan)
• In the AWS Console: Go to Billing and Cost Management to verify Kiro charges appear under your service charges. Your credits will automatically offset Kiro usage.

Loading image...

When adding new developers to your Kiro subscription:

1. Cancel any existing individual Kiro accounts they may have. Otherwise, they will continue to be billed individually instead of using your startup credits.
2. Sign out completely from Kiro on all devices
3. Sign back in with organizational identity using the AWS access portal URL from Step 4 and the region from Step 1
4. Verify they see the organization’s plan and credits, not an individual account

• Kiro Downloads: kiro.dev/downloads
• Kiro Console: AWS Console > Search “Kiro”
• IAM Identity Center: AWS Console > Search “IAM Identity Center”
• Sign-in method: “Sign in with your organizational identity”
• Recommended plan: Pro+ (2,000 credits/month)
• Supported identity providers: IAM Identity Center (built-in directory), Okta, Microsoft Entra ID
• Subscription tiers available: Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, Power

• Enterprise getting started
• Subscribing your team to Kiro
• Connecting your identity provider
• Connect IAM Identity Center
• Managing Kiro subscriptions
• Deployment options
• Subscription tiers and billing