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Get Started Installation Authentication Your first project Models Overview Available models Reasoning effort Features How Kiro works Specs Steering Hooks MCP Permissions Custom agents Agent Skills Powers Cloud sessions Compaction Kiroignore Checkpoints and rewind Built-in tools Configuration scopes IDE 1.x What's new in 1.0 Setup & First Run Editor Chat Experimental Agent Focus Mode Troubleshooting 0.x reference CLI What's new in 3.0 Setup & First Run Terminal UI Chat Voice mode Headless mode ACP Auto complete Experimental 2.x reference Crew Quick start Installation Running 24/7 Chat Agent Capabilities Features Interfaces Apps System & storage Configuration Security Troubleshooting Web Setup & First Run Identity Center Connect your repositories Working with the agent Autonomous mode Automations Memory Configuration Sync Sandbox Mobile - Preview Overview Commands and Reference CLI commands Slash commands Built-in tools Exit codes Settings Billing Overview Managing your subscription Upgrading your plan Downgrading your plan Cancelling your plan Purchasing add-on credits Managing your payments Managing usage notifications Managing your taxes Contacting billing support Deleting your account Related questions Enterprise Concepts Onboarding quickstart Connecting your identity provider Deployment options Subscribe your team Manage subscriptions Governance Monitor and track Settings Managed updates Billing IAM Supported regions Privacy and Security Overview Data protection Code references Compliance validation Infrastructure security IAM permissions Firewalls, proxies, and data perimeters VPC endpoints (AWS PrivateLink) Guides Overview Language support Learn by playing Migration Migrating from Q Developer Migrating from VSCode Upgrading from Q CLI * Docs * * IDE 1.x * * Experimental * * Agent Focus Mode Copy page View as Markdown Agent Focus Mode Copy page View as Markdown Overview Chat takes center stage. Agent Focus Mode flips the traditional layout: conversations occupy the main panel, sessions line up on the left, and specs and diffs appear in an auxiliary panel on the right. You're directing agents, not editing code directly. This is designed for developers who work agentically, defining intent through conversation rather than writing code line by line. Start a session, describe what you want, attach a spec when you need structure, and let the agent execute. Both Autopilot and Supervised modes are available. The layout Agent Focus Mode uses a multi-panel layout optimized for agentic workflows: Panel Position Purpose Sessions Left Launch, navigate, and monitor agent sessions Chat Center Your primary interaction surface (wider than the sidebar) Auxiliary Right Specs, code diffs, artifacts (hidden until needed) Switching between views You can toggle between Agent Focus Mode and the traditional Editor View at any time using the Agent Focus button in the top-right corner of the IDE. Click it to move the current session into Agent Focus Mode. Click it again to return to Editor View for code-focused work. Both views can run simultaneously. Work started in one continues in the other. Sessions carry over between them. Starting a new session When you create a new session in Agent Focus Mode, you can optionally pick a workflow to start with: Workflow What it does Spec Structured feature development Plan Breaks ideas down into an implementation plan without making changes Bug Fix Structured bug-fix workflow: investigate, diagnose, and resolve bugs Quick Spec Fast spec workflow: clarify, then auto-generate requirements, design, and tasks Picking a workflow sets the agent mode for that session. You can also skip the picker and start a freeform chat session by typing directly. Multiple parallel sessions Launch multiple agent sessions, each working independently on different tasks or workspaces. Sessions are grouped by workspace in the left panel, with status indicators showing: * Spinning : the agent is actively working * Warning : the agent needs your input (tool approval, clarification) * Paused : the session is idle, waiting for your next message Click any session to switch the center and right panels to that conversation. Clear finished sessions from the list when you no longer need them. Responding to blocking asks When a session needs a decision from you — approving a command or answering a question — it raises an attention card in a panel beside the chat, so you don't have to be watching that session to catch it. Each card names the session and its project, shows the question and the exact command or path involved, and presents the agent's options as buttons, so you can respond in place without switching sessions. Open the attention panel from the bell in the titlebar, which shows a count of outstanding asks. The panel never opens on its own, so a blocked agent won't interrupt what you're reading. Answered cards clear themselves, and an ask that times out is marked rather than silently removed. Pinning sessions Pin a session with Pin Session to keep it at the top of its section in the sessions panel. Pinned sessions stay in place as other sessions come and go, so long-running work is always one click away. Unpin a session to return it to its normal position. Collapsing the sessions rail Collapse the sessions panel to a slim icon strip when you want more room for the chat. Toggle it from the button at the left of the titlebar, or drag the panel's edge narrower to snap it closed (drag back out to reopen). Collapsed, each session becomes a colored monogram tile with a badge for its kind — local, cloud, or CLI — and a status indicator; hover a tile for its full title, workspace, and status. Your choice is remembered the next time you open the window. Resuming a session in Kiro CLI Select Open with Kiro CLI on a session to resume that conversation in Kiro CLI . The session opens in a terminal window, so you can continue directing the agent from the command line. Moving back and forward Agent Focus keeps a history of where you've been — the sessions you've opened, the Settings pane, and a project's Workspace Configuration — so you can retrace your steps. Move back and forward with the arrows in the titlebar, or with Cmd/Ctrl+[ and Cmd/Ctrl+] . The Settings button is a toggle: open it to check something, then use Back (or click Settings again) to return to what you were doing. Cloud Sessions Agent Focus Mode is where the IDE surfaces cloud sessions — sessions that run in a managed cloud sandbox and keep working after you close the window. A Cloud Sessions section appears in the sessions panel when cloud sessions are available for your account. Select + ( New Cloud Session ) to compose one: optionally attach repositories with Select repos , choose a model and autonomy level ( Autopilot or Autonomous ), and submit your first prompt. Kiro provisions the sandbox, clones the selected repositories server-side (your local files are never uploaded), and starts working. Once the session is running, its bound repositories stay visible below the chat input. Cloud sessions can be pinned like local sessions, and their context menu adds Open in Kiro Web and Open with Kiro CLI , so you can continue the same session in the browser or a terminal. Because a cloud session's files live in the sandbox rather than your workspace, editor-side affordances — opening files and diffs, checkpoints, the local context pickers, and clickable spec task actions — are unavailable there, and Supervised mode isn't offered. See Cloud sessions for the full picture, including data boundaries and cloud configuration. Chat-first specs In Agent Focus Mode, specs emerge naturally from conversation. Instead of filling out forms or sequencing through phases manually: * Start a chat session and describe your idea * The agent asks clarifying questions to understand your intent * When you're ready, attach a spec. The agent formalizes what you've discussed into requirements, design, and tasks * Kick off execution and monitor progress across sessions Spec documents and task rows in the context panel open directly in the editor, so you can review requirements, design, or an individual task in full without leaving the session. What's different from Editor View Aspect Editor View Agent Focus Mode Primary surface Code editor Chat File editing Direct Through the agent Sessions One foreground Multiple parallel Specs Sequential phases Conversational, then formalized What's not in Agent Focus yet Some capabilities still require the IDE view. Agent Focus keeps clear paths back for: * Settings and preferences * Powers and skills * MCP server management * Terminal access * Full git workflows * Direct file editing Switch back to the IDE view anytime using the IDE button in the top-right corner. Updating Kiro When a new version of Kiro is available, an update row appears at the bottom of the sessions panel so you don't have to leave Agent Focus Mode to notice it. You can also check manually at any time with the Check for Updates button in the Agent Focus Mode settings pane. Viewing code changes Files changed by the agent appear as inline code diffs in the chat. Click a diff to open the full file view in the auxiliary panel. For direct code editing, switch to Editor View. Agent Focus Mode is about directing the agent, not hand-editing files. Page updated: September 2, 2026 Experimental Troubleshooting