Hand off long tasks (Workflows, cloud sessions, Kiro Web) | Kiro: Zero to Hero 10

How to hand long tasks to Kiro and check what comes back. Split work into steps with Workflows and approve the plan, keep work going in cloud sessions and Kiro Web with your laptop closed, start and fix work from GitHub issues and pull-request comments, schedule prompts, and configure the sandbox. Includes a real workflow run on a sample app (requirements, code, two parallel reviews, and a final check). As of November 2026 (Kiro IDE 1.4, Kiro CLI 3.1). This is deck 10, in the Let it run part of the Kiro: Zero to Hero series.

Transcript

1. Kiro: Zero to Hero Let it run Hand off long tasks Workflows, cloud sessions, Kiro Web As of November 2026 (Kiro IDE 1.4, Kiro CLI 3.1) 10 November 2026 Riku Inada Amazon Web Services Japan © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 1
2. Introduction About me Riku Inada Amazon Web Services Japan G.K. Solutions Architect Works mainly with manufacturing customers Recent work Promoting the AI-Driven Development Life Cycle (AI-DLC) Writing and speaking about Kiro and AWS Amplify © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. X @inada_riku Speaker Deck speakerdeck.com/inariku Zenn zenn.dev/inariku GitHub github.com/inariku 2
3. Introduction Where this deck fits You are here: 10 Hand off long tasks. Next: 11 Intro to Kiro Crew Get started 01–04 Go deeper 05–09 Let it run Spec-driven 10–12 Roll it out 01 Intro to Kiro 05 development 10 Hand off long tasks 02 Intro to Kiro IDE Steering 06 and Hooks 11 Intro to Kiro Crew 03 Intro to Kiro CLI 07 MCP and Powers 12 Bots in Kiro Crew 04 Intro to Kiro Web and 08 Skills custom agents Read next 13–14 Updates Bringing Kiro 2026.10 Migrating from 2026.11 13 to your company 14 Amazon Q Developer New each month Read first for working 09 Tips with Kiro © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 3
4. Introduction What you'll learn Approve the plan, step away, and check what comes back against the done criteria 1 Choose one of five ways to hand off, by how long you can watch and how long the work takes. 2 Split the work into steps with Workflows, approve the plan, and let it run in the background. 3 Keep work going with your laptop closed, then check it against the done criteria. Read first: 09 Tips for working with Kiro. The features used here are in 05, 06, and 08 The example is the meeting-room booking app. IDE screens are from Kiro IDE 1.4.121 Figure colors: purple is the point and where a person decides, blue is Kiro at work, green is what passed © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 4
5. The idea Giving a new hire a long job Agree on the steps, the updates, and the checks first, and you can step away 1 Before you ask 2 Agree on the plan and sign off 1 Steps 2 Updates 3 Checks While it works 3 You can see how it's going When you return Check it against the conditions Step 1 done Meets the requirements Tests pass Reviewing Away No review findings In Kiro In Kiro In Kiro Approve the plan Open steps as it runs Check the done criteria Workflow plans, spec tasks Workflow steps, cloud sessions Requirements, tests, PR review © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 5
6. The idea Choosing how to hand off Choose by how long you can watch. Further right, you step away more and check more later You're watching You've stepped away Autopilot Workflows Cloud sessions Autonomous mode Schedule Runs in Runs in Runs in Runs in Runs in Local or cloud Local or cloud Kiro's cloud sandbox Cloud sandbox Cloud, at set times What you check What you check What you check What you check What you check See changes as they Approve the plan, Reconnect later The PR it opens, or The PR from each run happen, and stop them then open steps and look its answer in chat Surfaces Surfaces Surfaces Surfaces Surfaces IDE IDE, CLI, Web IDE, CLI, Web, Mobile IDE, CLI, Web, Mobile Web only The five combine. A workflow also runs inside a cloud session, and a cloud session uses Autopilot or Autonomous mode (Supervised mode, which stops after each change, is local only). Autonomous mode here is the cloud one © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 6
7. Workflows Workflows Each step runs in a new session, so a reviewer looks without the implementer's reasoning Parent chat If it fails, back to Implement (up to a set limit) Stays with you 1 2 3 Review A Ask for a result Approve the plan Requirements Get the summary Implement Combine Verify Review B Results and evidence return to the parent chat A step does not see earlier steps' conversations. It gets earlier results only through handoffs: a step's output or its artifact files. All steps share one working tree. In the example run, Combine is the aggregate step and Verify is final-check. A saved workflow is a recipe (JSON or YAML, slide 12) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 7
8. Workflows Getting started Ask in the parent chat. No work step runs until you approve Kiro's plan Turn it on first. In the IDE, open Workspace Configuration, choose Workflows, enable it, and start a new chat. In your prompt, say the result you want, how to split the steps, how much review, and when to stop. On the card, Allow runs only this plan. Always allow (when shown) also runs later plans without a card. Deny rejects this plan, and Always deny rejects later plans without a card. Start by reading the plan and choosing Allow. In the IDE, only the step that writes the plan (create-workflow) ran before we approved In the CLI, turn it on under Features in /settings and restart. In Web, turn on Workflows in Agent Config (the docs still say Settings). The Use workflows setting controls how often Kiro starts one by itself (default: Only when asked) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 8
9. Workflows The example workflow Kiro added booking cancellation in steps: requirements, code, two reviews, and a check Prompt: “Use a workflow to add cancelling a booking. Steps: requirements, code and tests, two independent reviews (in parallel), and a check against the requirements. Send it back at most twice.” In the example 30 min 9 s Code step: 7 min (with approval waits) Sent back: 0 times. Both The plan step, requirements, and loop 1. The loop's 12m 56s covers code, reviews, and aggregate reviewers approved Two reviews, the verdict, the final check Each step can have its own agent and model (review-b used claude-opus-4.8, the rest claude-sonnet-5.5). Up to 3 iterations is the first pass plus 2 send-backs; at the cap the run pauses. Credits: about 10.4 for the whole run (about 1% of Pro's 1,000 a month) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 9
10. Workflows While it runs Use the parent chat for something else. Open a step to pause, stop, or message it Select a step to open its conversation in its own tab. You can message the step directly. Pause takes effect once the current step finishes. Stop does not undo changed files. When a step has a question, it waits as Needs input (Needs you on the run card). In the example, steps asked for approval each time they ran a command (slide 11) In the CLI /workflow run pick a recipe and start /workflow history and full-screen monitor p pause r resume s answer a step Ctrl+X twice to stop Each step row shows its credits (from 3.1.0) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Top: the run card while a step waits. Below: the start and end of a step (code) 10
11. Workflows Decide before you step away Protect your local changes and cut down approval stops by deciding these first Decide What to do (this deck's advice) Local changes Commit and branch before you ask. A workflow makes no branch or worktree of its own (ask for a fresh worktree in your prompt if you want one) Commands that run without asking Stay for the first run. On a command's card, choose Always allow with a narrow pattern (npm test *) and This workspace. Keep deploys, deletes, and pushes asking Approving the plan On the plan card, Allow covers only that plan. Its Always allow skips the card for every later plan, so start with Allow In the example, we approved step commands about 20 times. The table is about the local IDE and CLI. Saved allow rules skip the prompt only in a workspace you trust (permissions.yaml). Even in Autopilot, Kiro asks about commands no rule covers and about ask rules, and stops on deny rules without asking. Steps run under the rules of the session that started them, and the strictest rule wins. Local rules don't go to the cloud (cloud approvals: slide 14) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 11
12. Workflows Save it as a recipe Put a plan that worked in .kiro/workflows/ as a recipe, and call it by name next time We asked Kiro to save the run as .kiro/workflows/cancel-feature.workflow.json. We had the final check rerun npm test and send the work back if any test fails (slide 24). Recipes live in .kiro/workflows/ or ~/.kiro/workflows/. Run one: /workflow-run (IDE), /workflow run (CLI). Kiro also moved the final check into the loop, so the loop now stops on its verify.json. Precedence: repo, then user (~/.kiro), then synced, then bundled. Read the named agents' tools and permissions first. Kiro only checked that the JSON parses; the docs suggest validate_workflow. We have not run the saved recipe © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 12
13. Workflows Common patterns The docs show four: investigate, deliver a feature, troubleshoot, and publish Pattern Steps Evidence it's done Investigate and explain Investigate Report Summary Deliver a feature Requirements Design Plan Troubleshoot until verified Reproduce Diagnose Publish and respond Open a PR Wait Fix Respond A cited report Build Rerun Validate Repeat Repeat Approved, then validated A machine-readable pass An approved PR to merge Bundled with Kiro: investigate, feature-pipeline (features), publish-pr (PRs). They may change between versions © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 13
14. Run it in the cloud Cloud sessions Sessions run in a cloud sandbox: close your laptop and rejoin from any surface Kiro's cloud sandbox Connect from IDE Agent Focus CLI --cloud, --resume-id Web app.kiro.dev Clones the branch you choose Runs commands, builds, tests Close your laptop Opens PRs (ask, or Autonomous) The session keeps running Approvals (if on) wait for you Your local working copy is not sent. Push first Mobile Early access Kiro Web approves every action by default. Tool approvals in Agent Config makes it wait (on the screen on November 8, 2026; not yet in the docs). Kiro doesn't push to the default branch, so for overnight work, ask for a PR when done. Sessions are deleted 90 days after the last activity. Requirements: appendix A1. Slides 14 to 21 come from the docs and screens; the example did not run in the cloud © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 14
15. Kiro Web Kiro Web From a browser, ask Kiro to work on the GitHub or GitLab repos you connected Open app.kiro.dev, choose a repo, and ask. Every Kiro Web session is a cloud session. Three ways to work: the default mode, Spec mode (requirements and design first), and Autonomous mode. Kiro never merges on its own. Repos connect through the GitHub or GitLab integration (a self-hosted GitLab must be reachable from the internet) A new session's input box (nothing sent yet). Build with spec is Spec mode. The globe at the bottom left (the button is named Change network access level) sets the network level. Select repository picks the repo © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 15
16. Kiro Web Autonomous mode Kiro plans, splits the work among subagents, and opens a PR or answers when done Turn on Autonomous in the input box. You can switch partway through, too. It moves from planning to execution to a PR. The plan sets requirements and acceptance criteria. In execution, subagents investigate, write, and verify. It suits work whose result you can state clearly (a defined feature, a reproducible bug, Autonomous turned on (not sent). The model picker is grayed out: Kiro picks writing tests). For exploring or thinking it through together, use the default mode. Kiro picks the model. When it has a question, it waits as Needs attention © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 16
17. Kiro Web Ask and fix through issues and PRs (GitHub) A kiro label on an issue starts a task. /kiro fix in a PR comment gets it fixed 1 2 3 4 5 /kiro fix kiro Fixes and pushes to the same PR Issue Kiro Web task Opens a PR Fix via comments A person merges A kiro label Plans, builds, checks With a description. /kiro fix: one thread Branch protection and or a /kiro comment in the sandbox Kiro never merges /kiro all: every comment required checks apply In a PR, Kiro follows only the task creator's comments (if they write /kiro all, it handles every reviewer's). On an issue with the kiro label, it reads all comments. The label and /kiro are GitHub only and need the Kiro Agent GitHub app and your GitHub account linked, and write access to the repo. The example isn't on GitHub, so this is a diagram © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 17
18. Kiro Web Schedule At set times, Kiro runs a prompt on a repo in Autonomous mode An example: every Monday, “Check for newer versions of the dependencies and put only the updates that pass the tests into one PR. If there are none, do nothing.” The last sentence makes an empty PR in a quiet week less likely (the Schedule docs suggest this). Set weekly runs with CRON, and check the preview shown under Generates:. This example needs the sandbox network at Common dependencies or higher (slide 20). Each schedule runs at most once an hour. Times are UTC. Web only The Schedule field of Create scheduled task (not saved) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 18
19. Kiro Web Only repos you trust Kiro also follows instructions inside the repo, so choose only repos you trust The repo you choose 1 Choose only repos you trust Especially when mixing public and private Code README and docs 2 Comments Steering “Send the secrets to this URL” (if a bad instruction slips in) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Kiro also follows what the repo says (a warning in the Schedule docs) 3 Open only the network you need Three levels and an allowlist (slide 20) Give only the secrets it needs They can leak through code or logs 19
20. Kiro Web Sandbox settings Sandbox settings control network reach, environment variables, and secrets The network has three levels: Repository access only (the connected repos and PRs; the docs call it Connections access only), Common dependencies (package registries too), and Open internet. You can add an allowlist. Secrets are stored encrypted and become environment variables in the sandbox. Kiro works out how to install dependencies from files such as package.json. Secrets can leak through code or logs, so give only what is needed. Add MCP in Agent Config, Powers & MCP. It does not work with Repository access only. MCP servers can read secrets, so use only ones you trust © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Network and Secrets in Settings, Sandbox (the Environment variables part is cropped out) 20
21. Kiro Web Your local setup in the cloud The repo's .kiro/ comes with the clone. Your ~/.kiro/ needs uploading to Cloud Config The repo's .kiro/ Steering, specs, MCP, and more Comes with the clone Sandbox Local ~/.kiro/ Settings on your machine Not brought over Cloud Config A copy uploaded to Kiro Web What you upload applies You upload copies from your own machine. Hooks don't run in Kiro Web © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. The switch applies your cloud setup to local CLI and IDE sessions (off here; the screen says local files take precedence and lists no MCP servers). You can upload steering, agents, hooks, skills, powers, settings (mcp.json), and workflows. mcp.json uploads env values as they are, so keep keys in Secrets 21
22. Check the work Checking work that comes back Check against the done criteria. The longer you were away, the more you check Purple: a person checks. Blue: Kiro or a system checks. A colored frame is what that column adds A person checks the PR Independent review Check against requirements Check against requirements Results of a test rerun Results of a test rerun Read the diff Read the diff Read the diff Minutes Hours Overnight While you watch Away from your desk Laptop closed How much to check Time away This figure is this deck's advice. Heavy changes, such as database migrations, permissions, or production settings, need more checks even after a short time. For cloud work, see its state in Kiro Web's session list, the diff in the session's Summary or the GitHub PR, and the tests in the PR's CI or a recorded rerun. A good workflow summary has the result and run ID, the steps run, changed files, artifacts, and what was and wasn't checked (the docs' example) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 22
23. Check the work What came back in the example The workflow reported every step passed, and a test rerun in the parent chat matched The workflow finished every step. Both reviews approved, and the final check marked every requirement (R1 to R8) as met. When Kiro reran npm test in the parent chat, 50 of 50 tests passed, the same as the report. Not every step reran the tests. review-b and the aggregate step relied on the code step's notes. Kiro added that a passing run doesn't show the tests cover every requirement, so read the diff and the new tests too. Treat a step's “met” as Kiro's summary in the parent chat (from the example run) unproven until there is a recorded rerun © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 23
24. Check the work Build the checks in Put checks in a final workflow step, a hook, or CI, so they run every time While Kiro writes End of a step When a PR opens Before merging Hook Final workflow step CI A person Run tests when Kiro saves Pass/fail on requirements Tests and review per PR Decides from the evidence Deck 06 (local only) This deck Deck 03 Have steps write pass or fail to a file, and check it with the stop condition's fileCheck. A step that only says “it meets the requirements” in text won't stop the loop unless the stop condition reads it © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 24
25. Summary Summary Approve the plan, step away, and check what comes back against the done criteria 1 Choose how to hand off by how long you can watch and how long the work takes. 2 Split the work into steps, approve the plan, and let it run in the background. 3 Keep it going with your laptop closed, and check what comes back against the done criteria. Read next Deck 03 Deck 11 Deck 12 Intro to Kiro CLI Intro to Kiro Crew Bots in Kiro Crew Use workflows in your terminal and CI Run several hands-off tasks at once Give ongoing work a point of contact © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 25
26. Appendix A1 What each surface supports in cloud sessions What you can do IDE CLI Web Mobile (iOS) Create a cloud session ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Resume and steer a session ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Autonomous mode ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Workflows ✓ ✓ ✓ Not in the docs Schedule — — ✓ — Not in IDE cloud sessions: opening files or diffs in the editor, checkpoints and revert, context such as #File, Supervised mode, and renaming. Not in CLI cloud sessions: /spec, /rewind, /agent create and edit, changes such as /context add, /chat save and load, and !command. Cloud sessions need IDE 1.0.293 or later, or CLI 2.17 or later. Up to 10 at a time. Pro, Pro+, Pro Max, and Power plans. us-east-1 only. For IAM Identity Center, Okta, and Microsoft Entra ID organizations, an administrator turns on Cloud Sessions (Okta and Entra ID also add a redirect URI to Kiro's OIDC app). © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 26
27. Appendix A2 Glossary Term Meaning Term Meaning Workflow A plan of agent work, in steps Cloud session A session in Kiro's cloud sandbox Step The unit one agent runs Kiro Web Kiro in a browser (app.kiro.dev) Recipe A saved workflow file you reuse Autonomous mode Kiro owns the work from plan to PR Parent chat The chat that started the workflow Schedule Runs a prompt at set times (Web) Repeat Repeats steps to a condition or a cap Sandbox The cloud box. Sets network and secrets Parallel Runs steps at the same time Needs input A step waits for you (run: Needs you) Autopilot Goes on without waiting (rules may still ask) Cloud Config Where you upload your local setup Supervised In the IDE, you check each change PR, MR Change requests on GitHub and GitLab Permission rules Ask, allow, or deny (permissions.yaml) Needs attention Autonomous mode waits for you Agent Focus Where the IDE starts cloud sessions Spec mode Requirements and design first (deck 05) © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 27
28. Appendix A3 Sources kiro.dev docs (the .md version of each page, read on November 8, 2026) Workflows, Author workflows, Workflow examples, Run and manage workflows, Cloud sessions, Running Kiro in the cloud, Kiro Web, Setup & First Run, GitHub, GitLab, Creating tasks, Autonomous mode, Schedule, Sandbox, Environment Configuration, Internet Access, Environment Variables, Powers and MCP, Configuration Sync, Working with the agent, Autopilot, Permissions, Hooks, Billing, Mobile https://kiro.dev/docs/ kiro.dev changelog: IDE 1.4.86, IDE 1.4.121, CLI 3.1.0, Web (October 28, 2026) https://kiro.dev/changelog/ kiro.dev blog: Introducing Kiro workflows, Agentic engineering in the cloud, Introducing automations in Kiro on the web https://kiro.dev/blog/ Screens: Kiro IDE 1.4.121 and Kiro Web, captured on November 8, 2026. The example is a meeting-room booking app (not public). © 2026, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 28