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AWS brings vibe coding to the Enterpise with spec-driven Kiro IDE tool

AWS brings vibe coding to the Enterpise with spec-driven Kiro IDE tool

Techday NZ18-07-2025
AWS has introduced Kiro, an "agentic IDE" designed to bridge the gap between the excitement of prompt-based prototyping and the practical demands of production software. According to Kiro product lead Nikhil Swaminathan, the tool aims to bring structure, rigour and automation to the modern, AI-powered coding process.
Swaminathan describes the appeal of recent AI tools, saying, "Prompt, prompt, prompt, and you have a working application. It's fun and feels like magic. But getting it to production requires more." He outlines the typical stumbling blocks: "What assumptions did the model make when building it? What edge-cases did it cover? How did it handle errors? Requirements are fuzzy and you can't tell if the application meets them."
Kiro is designed to solve these problems by introducing what its creators call "spec-driven development." As the team puts it, "Kiro is great at 'vibe coding' but goes way beyond that - Kiro's strength is getting those prototypes into production systems with features such as specs and hooks."
Swaminathan explains how it works: "Start with a prompt: 'Add a review system for products.' Kiro translates this into a set of user stories with EARS-style acceptance criteria." He says Kiro then generates artefacts including "a data-flow diagram, TypeScript interfaces, a database schema, and API definitions."
The system's approach includes automatically specifying essential features for each user story. Swaminathan writes, "Kiro automatically includes requirements like mobile responsiveness, accessibility, loading states, and tests in the spec." Tasks are then "sequenced correctly and connected to requirements."
Importantly, the specs remain in sync as the code evolves. Swaminathan notes, "Developers can author code and ask Kiro to update specs or manually update specs to refresh tasks. This solves the common problem where developers stop updating original artifacts during implementation."
To automate repetitive work, Kiro introduces "agent hooks." These are "event-driven automations" that "trigger based on events like file saves or deletions." As Swaminathan puts it, "When you save a React component, hooks update the test file. When you modify API endpoints, hooks refresh README files. When you're ready to commit, security hooks scan for leaked credentials." He describes the benefit: "It's like having an experienced developer catching things you miss or completing boilerplate tasks."
These hooks are also collaborative by design. Swaminathan explains, "Once this hook is committed to Git, it enforces the coding standard across my entire team - whenever anyone adds a new component, the agent automatically validates it against the guidelines."
Kiro is built on top of Code OSS, meaning it is "compatible with existing VS Code settings and Open VSX plugins." It supports "Model Context Protocol (MCP)," agentic chat, and multiple context providers, including "files, URLs and document uploads."
Looking ahead, Swaminathan and AWS VP of Developer Experience & Agents Deepak Singh set out an ambitious vision for Kiro. They write, "We want to tackle the root causes of pain in software development - clarity of design, alignment with requirements, technical debt, code reviews, and knowledge sharing."
Kiro is available in a preview release for Mac, Windows and Linux, supporting most programming languages. Swaminathan invites developers to experience its approach: "We invite you to try Kiro and share feedback. We're just getting started, and your input will help shape the future of agentic development."
By combining the "magic" of AI-powered coding with structured specs and event-driven automation, Kiro is positioning itself as a tool for developers seeking to move quickly without sacrificing discipline or reliability.
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Cafe Owner Protests Punakaiki Parking Charges
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Cafe owner protests Punakaiki parking charges
Cafe owner protests Punakaiki parking charges

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Cafe owner protests Punakaiki parking charges

DoC is aiming to launch a pilot programme in October at Punakaiki, Franz Josef and White Horse Hill at Aoraki Mt Cook. Project manager John Dore told the Board that DoC had serious budget pressures including a 30% shortfall in funding for its visitor network and a huge deficit in the amount available for biodiversity. 'For protection of all endangered species we have a budget of $300 million but a need of $2.3 billion,' Dore said. Climate events in the last few years had added $90m in costs, he added. Paid parking was a tool used internationally in nature parks and would help manage overcrowding at busy sites, he told the board. But Parrett said the move would turn public conservation land into a Wilsons-style parking lot, and urged the board to oppose it. 'However you label it, it's a National Park entry fee. It contravenes the National Parks Act and it diminishes DoC's social licence to operate.' A business owner says parking fees will disadvantage local people who call in for a coffee. Photo / LDR There were no free parks at Punakaiki because they had been removed to make room for the new Visitor Centre development and people would have no option but to pay to walk around the Pancake Rocks, Parrett said. Unlike Franz Josef or Aoraki Mt Cook, Punakaiki was not a tourist destination but a stop-off attraction for people driving the scenic coast road, and, for most of the year, there was no congestion or capacity problem in the carpark, he said. 'Parking fees will disadvantage local people who call in for a coffee or to stretch their legs, and we don't want this,' he said. While DoC owned the land, taxpayers had funded the $45 million Dolomite Point Visitor Centre development and the building was gifted by the last Government to manawhenua, NgatiWaewae, who now leased office space back to DoC. The public had paid for this development and costs should be kept low, he said. 'I am surprised that the iwi has supported the paid parking trial … unless they stand to benefit from it,' Parrett said. If people had to pay for parking they might be less likely to pay for Ngati Waewae's interactive visitor experience inside, he suggested. Ngati Waewae's representative on the Conservation Board, Francois Tumahai, objected. 'I disagree with everything you've said. The cost of the building was not $45 million and we're not getting a cent from the project. In the early days we suggested we might provide [parking] wardens … that's it.' Parrett suggested it would be good if the iwi put out a statement to that effect in the interests of transparency. The iwi leader responded: 'You're the one causing all the grief - you put it out.' Board chairperson Dr Mike Legge closed off the discussion and thanked Parrett for his contribution to the public forum. The Dolomite Point Visitor Centre, funded by the Provincial Growth Fund, was budgeted to cost $26 million but the project - including the new carparks - received a funding boost of $15m in 2023 and cost a total of $40.9m. The paid parking trial, including charging technology and upgrades to carparks at the three sites, is being funded by $3.8m from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy. DoC plans to release its pricing strategy early next month and hold public drop-in sessions at Punakaiki, Franz Josef and Aoraki in mid-August. Submissions close on August 26 for Punakaiki and September 30 for Aoraki. - RNZ

Cafe owner protests Punakaiki parking charges
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A Punakaiki cafe owner is urging the Department of Conservation to rethink its plan to charge for parking at the famous Pancake Rocks on the West Coast. Grant Parrett told a meeting of the West Coast Tai o Poutini Conservation Board on Tuesday that parking charges created a de facto entry fee to (Paparoa) National Park, which was unlawful. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has asked for a trial of paid parking to boost revenue. Doc is aiming to launch a pilot programme in October at Punakaiki, Franz Josef and White Horse Hill at Aoraki Mt Cook in Canterbury. Project manager John Dore told the board that Doc had serious budget pressures, including a 30% shortfall in funding for its visitor network and a huge deficit in the amount available for biodiversity. 'For protection of all endangered species we have a budget of $300 million - but a need of $2.3 billion," Mr Dore said. Climate events in the last few years had added $90 million in costs, he added. Paid parking was a tool used internationally in nature parks and would help manage overcrowding at busy sites, he told the board. But Mr Parrett said the move would turn public conservation land into a Wilsons-style parking lot and urged the board to oppose it. 'However you label it, it's a National Park entry fee; it contravenes the National Parks Act and it diminishes DOC's social license to operate.' There were no free parks at Punakaiki because they had been removed to make room for the new Visitor Centre development and people would have no option but to pay to walk around the Pancake Rocks, Mr Parrett said. Unlike Franz Josef or Aoraki Mt Cook, Punakaiki was not a tourist destination but a stop-off attraction for people driving the scenic Coast Road, and for most of the year there was no congestion or capacity problem in the carpark, he said. 'Parking fees will disadvantage local people who call in for a coffee or to stretch their legs, and we don't want this,' he said. While Doc owned the land, taxpayers had funded the $45 million Dolomite Point Visitor Centre development and the building was gifted by the last government to manawhenua, NgatiWaewae, who now leased office space back to the department. The public has paid for this development and costs should be kept low, he said. "I am surprised that the iwi has supported the paid parking trial … unless they stand to benefit from it," Mr Parrett said. If people had to pay for parking they might be less likely to pay for Ngati Waewae's interactive visitor experience inside, he suggested. Ngati Waewae's representative on the Conservation Board, Francois Tumahai, objected. 'I disagree with everything you've said. The cost of the building was not $45 million and we're not getting a cent from the project. In the early days we suggested we might provide (parking) wardens … that's it.' Mr Parrett suggested it would be good if the iwi put out a statement to that effect in the interests of transparency. The iwi leader responded: 'You're the one causing all the grief - you put it out." Board chair Dr Mike Legge closed off the discussion and thanked Mr Parrett for his contribution to the public forum. The Dolomite Point Visitor Centre, funded by the Provincial Growth Fund, was budgeted to cost $26 million but the project - including the new carparks - received a funding boost of $15 million in 2023 and cost a total of $40.9 million. The paid parking trial, including charging technology and upgrades to carparks at the three sites, is being funded by $3.8 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy. Doc plans to release its pricing strategy early next month and hold public drop-in sessions at Punakaiki, Franz Josef and Aoraki in mid-August. Submissions close on August 26 for Punakaiki, and September 30 for Aoraki. • The National Parks Act 1980 gives the public freedom of entry and access to the parks "so that they may receive in full measure the inspiration, enjoyment, recreation and other benefits that may be derived from mountains, forest, sounds, seacoasts, lakes, rivers and other natural features.' By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter

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