Kiro

Download the Starter Project

From your project’s Details page in Buildpad.ai, find the AI IDE Setup section and click Download Starter under the Kiro card.

The download contains a ready-to-use project with Kiro steering files and backend connections — everything your AI agent needs to understand your project and its tech stack.

Explore the Project Structure

The starter project is generated with a .kiro/ directory containing steering files, agent skills, and backend connection settings:

• project-starter
  • .kiro
    • steering
    • skills
    • templates
    • settings

Key components:

• .kiro/steering/agent.md — Steering files  give Kiro persistent knowledge about your workspace without repeating yourself in every chat. This file uses inclusion: always mode, which loads it automatically into every Kiro interaction — ensuring the agent follows your project’s conventions, libraries, and standards at all times.
• .kiro/skills/ — Skills  are reusable instruction packages that follow the open Agent Skills  standard. Kiro activates them automatically when your request matches what a skill does, or you can invoke any skill directly with a / slash command in chat. 22 skills are included, covering tasks like creating API routes, generating tests, scaffolding features, managing access control, and more.
• .kiro/templates/ — Project templates (minimal, standard, enterprise) for bootstrapping new applications.
• .kiro/settings/mcp.json — MCP (Model Context Protocol)  is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data sources. This config connects Kiro to the Buildpad component library, your live DaaS backend, and the Buildpad platform.

Connect to Backend Services

The .kiro/settings/mcp.json file connects the Kiro agent to three backend services:

• buildpad — Gives Kiro access to the Buildpad UI component library, API patterns, and platform conventions so it can write code that follows your project’s standards.
• daas — Connects Kiro to your project’s live backend, giving it direct access to your database collections, schemas, and runtime environment for accurate code generation.
• buildpad-platform — Connects Kiro to the Buildpad platform, giving it access to your full project context: organization, project configuration, microservices, and environment URLs.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildpad": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@buildpad/mcp@latest"]
    },
    "daas": {
      "url": "https://<your-project-id>.daas.buildpad.ai/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-daas-token>"
      }
    },
    "buildpad-platform": {
      "url": "https://app.buildpad.ai/api/tools/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-mcp-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Start the Backend Connections

Once you open the project in Kiro:

1. Kiro will automatically detect .kiro/settings/mcp.json and initialize your MCP connections.
2. To verify or manage your connections, click the Kiro “ghost” icon in the activity bar and navigate to MCP Servers to view your enabled connections.
3. Once initialized, Kiro can query your database, look up component documentation, and generate code that works with your actual data.

Start Building with AI

With backend connections active, open the Kiro Chat panel and start describing what you want to build. The agent will use the steering files and backend connections to:

• Create projects — Bootstrap a full Next.js application with DaaS integration.
• Scaffold features — Generate CRUD pages, forms, and API routes from your collection schemas.
• Generate specs — Use Kiro’s spec-driven workflow to plan and implement features with requirements and task tracking.
• Manage data — Create database migrations, collections, and set up role-based access control.
• Add UI components — Install and configure Buildpad UI packages for forms, tables, and more.