Kiro for Codex: Seamless Spec‑Driven Development in VS Code

Kiro for Codex is a VS Code extension that brings the best of Kiro's Spec‑Driven Development into a Codex‑centric workflow. It centralizes Specs, Steering Docs, and Prompts so you can generate, review, and execute from one place—without leaving your editor.

Available on the VS Code Marketplace:

In the original kiro-for-codex, interacting with Codex required sending prompts through the terminal, which unfortunately reduced usability. To address this, I’ve been developing kiro-for-codex-ide, which passes the necessary prompts (such as those for spec creation) directly into the context of Codex - OpenAI’s coding agent.

TL;DR

• Integrates with Codex CLI to generate and manage requirements, design, and tasks directly in VS Code
• Visualizes Specs in a sidebar; run each task from tasks.md via CodeLens and auto‑check it off
• Treat Steering Docs and Prompts as shared workspace assets to reduce decision friction
• Inspired by notdp/kiro-for-cc, redesigned around Codex CLI

Motivation & Approach

Kiro excels at a spec‑first workflow with a thoughtful UI and model usage that meaningfully improves developer experience. I use Codex daily, so I wanted to recreate—and extend—that experience around Codex. Using notdp/kiro-for-cc as a reference, this extension reworks the interactions, structure, and artifacts to fit Codex tightly.

Core Features

SPEC Management

• Create Specs: scaffold Requirements / Design / Tasks via Codex CLI
• Visual Explorer: browse and manage Specs from the sidebar
• Spec Workflow: review each stage (Requirements → Design → Tasks)
• CodeLens for Tasks: run individual tasks from tasks.md and auto‑mark as done

STEERING Management

• Steering Documents: browse and edit global/project‑specific guidelines
• Generated Docs: product, tech, and structure steering documents

PROMPTS

• Create Prompts: scaffold .codex/prompts/<name>.md from the Prompts view
• Click to Open: open the prompt Markdown for quick review
• Inline Run Button: use ▶ to execute with Codex CLI in place
• Organize & Refresh: maintain a workspace prompt library with quick refresh
• Markdown Simplicity: plain Markdown—no front matter required

Who It's For

• Individuals or small teams who want a smooth path from specs to implementation
• Developers who rely on Codex CLI and prefer to stay in VS Code
• Teams who value Specs, decision guidelines (Steering), and Prompts as shared assets

Setup

Prerequisites

• VS Code (latest)
• Codex CLI installed (codex --version)
• Permission to run commands at the project root

Installation

• Marketplace: install from the listing above
• From VSIX (alternative):
  • VS Code: Extensions → … → Install from VSIX
  • CLI: code --install-extension ./kiro-for-codex-ide-x.y.z.vsix

Quick Start

1. Open your workspace
2. Open the “Kiro for Codex” sidebar
3. Run “Create Specs” to scaffold Requirements → Design → Tasks
4. Use CodeLens ▶ in tasks.md to run tasks individually
5. Curate Steering/Prompts so repeated decisions and steps become reusable assets

Architecture

• Sidebar views and CodeLens built with the VS Code Extension API
• Safely invokes Codex CLI and writes generated artifacts (Specs/Docs/Prompts) into the workspace
• Unifies creation and review in one UI to cut context‑switching

Differences vs. Kiro / Claude Code

• Preserves the spirit of Kiro while optimizing IO layout and execution units for Codex CLI
• Learns UI/interaction patterns from notdp/kiro-for-cc and adapts them to Codex‑specific workflows

Use Cases

• Rapidly settle requirements → design → task breakdown for new projects
• Drive work in small increments and visualize progress via tasks
• Capture product/tech decision criteria (Steering) and reuse them across projects

Troubleshooting

• Codex not found: verify PATH with codex --version
• Execution fails: check permissions at the workspace root and line endings
• Windows issues: confirm shell configuration (PowerShell/WSL)

Roadmap

• Richer settings UI

Repository / Credits

• GitHub: atman-33/kiro-for-codex-ide
• Inspiration: notdp/kiro-for-cc

Closing

The goal is to bring Kiro’s delightful flow into a Codex‑first daily development loop in VS Code. Feedback and contributions are welcome—issues and PRs appreciated.