AWS Builder Center

Builder Center

Getting Started with Kiro, Installing AWS's Agentic IDE on Windows

This guide walks through installing Kiro on Windows and getting through first-run setup, with a spot for you to drop in your own screenshots at each step.

If you've been hearing about Kiro and want to try it for yourself, this walkthrough covers the entire journey from downloading the installer to typing your first prompt in a fresh workspace.
Kiro is AWS's agentic IDE, built on the same open-source foundation as VS Code, but designed around a different idea, instead of jumping straight from a prompt to generated code, Kiro encourages you to work through a spec first requirements, design, and a task breakdown so the AI has real context before it starts writing files. It also ships with steering documents for persistent project context, agent hooks for automating repetitive work, and native MCP support for connecting external tools.

Step 1: Download the Installer

Head to kiro.dev/downloads . The download page detects your OS and offers the right build, but you can also pick manually, there are installers for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, Windows, and both a Debian/Ubuntu-specific and a universal Linux build.
Click Download for Windows to grab the installer.

Step 2: Accept the License Agreement

Launch the downloaded installer. The first screen is the license agreement. Kiro is distributed under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property License read through it, accept, and click Next.

Step 3: Choose an Installation Location

By default, Kiro installs to your user profile:
1
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Kiro
That's a sensible default for most people since it doesn't require administrator rights. If you'd rather install somewhere else a different drive, for examplevclick Browse and pick a folder. Otherwise, just click Next.

Step 4: Pick a Start Menu Folder

Next, choose the Start Menu folder name for Kiro's shortcuts. Kiro is the default and works fine for almost everyone. If you don't want a Start Menu entry at all, tick Don't create a Start Menu folder.

Step 5: Select Additional Tasks

This screen controls a few convenience options:
  • Create a desktop icon
  • Add "Open with Kiro" to the file right-click menu
  • Add "Open with Kiro" to the folder right-click menu
  • Register Kiro as the default editor for supported file types
  • Add Kiro to your PATH (so you can type kiro from any terminal)

Step 6: Review and Confirm

The installer shows a summary of everything you've chosen install location, Start Menu folder, and selected tasks. Double-check it, use Back if you need to change anything, then click Install.

Step 7: Finish Setup

Once the progress bar completes, you'll land on the final wizard screen. Launch Kiro is checked by default, so clicking Finish will close the installer and open Kiro right away.

Step 8: Sign In

On first launch, Kiro asks you to authenticate. You have four options:
  • Google
  • GitHub
  • AWS Builder ID
  • Organization Identity (if your company has federated identity set up)
AWS Builder ID is the natural choice if you don't already have an AWS-linked identity and don't want to use a personal Google or GitHub account.

Step 9: Import Your VS Code Setup (Optional)

If you're moving over from VS Code, Kiro offers to bring across:
  • Extensions (limited to what's available on Open VSX, so a small number of proprietary VS Code Marketplace extensions won't transfer)
  • Keybindings
  • Editor settings
Choose Import from VS Code to carry your setup over, or Skip to start with a clean Kiro profile. If you import, extensions load in the background so onboarding isn't blocked while they install.

Step 10: Shell Integration

This step wires up the kiro command in your terminal so you can open projects or files with it directly, similar to how code works for VS Code. Confirm the setup and click Done.

Step 11: You're In

Onboarding finishes on Kiro's home screen, where you can:
  • Open a project: point Kiro at a local folder to start working
  • Reconnect to a recent project: if you've used Kiro before on this machine
  • Connect to a remote workspace: for cloud-hosted dev environments
# kiro# kiro-agent# agentic-ai# agentic-ide# ai
Any opinions in this article are those of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of AWS.
Enjoyed reading this content? Let the author know!

Your likes, comments, shares, and saves help creators reach more builders.

Loading recommendations

Loading article