Kiro IDE Integration¶

SpecMem integrates with Kiro IDE through MCP servers, hooks, and steering files to provide AI-powered specification management.

Quick Start¶

# Install SpecMem
pip install -e ".[all]"

# Launch the demo dashboard
specmem demo

Configuration Overview¶

SpecMem uses the .kiro/ directory structure:

.kiro/
├── settings/
│   └── mcp.json          # MCP server configuration
├── hooks/
│   ├── spec-coverage.yaml
│   ├── spec-validation.yaml
│   └── impact-analysis.yaml
├── steering/
│   ├── specmem-development.md
│   ├── spec-writing.md
│   ├── python-style.md
│   └── testing-guide.md
└── specs/
    └── {feature-name}/
        ├── requirements.md
        ├── design.md
        └── tasks.md

MCP Server¶

The SpecMem MCP server exposes tools for AI agents to query and analyze specifications.

Configuration¶

.kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "specmem": {
      "command": "specmem-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "SPECMEM_WORKSPACE": "${workspaceFolder}"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": [
        "specmem_query",
        "specmem_tldr",
        "specmem_coverage"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools¶

Tool	Description	Auto-Approve
`specmem_query`	Search specs by natural language	✅
`specmem_tldr`	Get summary of key specifications	✅
`specmem_coverage`	Analyze spec coverage gaps	✅
`specmem_impact`	Find affected specs for file changes	❌
`specmem_context`	Get optimized context bundle	❌
`specmem_validate`	Validate spec quality	❌

Running Manually¶

# Start MCP server
specmem-mcp --workspace .

# With debug logging
specmem-mcp --workspace . --log-level DEBUG

Hooks¶

Hooks automate spec-related tasks when files change.

spec-coverage.json¶

Triggers when test files are saved:

{
  "name": "spec-coverage-check",
  "description": "Check spec coverage when test files change",
  "trigger": "file_save",
  "filePattern": "tests/**/*.py",
  "action": "Check spec coverage after test changes",
  "enabled": true
}

spec-validation.json¶

Triggers when spec files are modified:

{
  "name": "spec-validation",
  "description": "Validate specifications when spec files are modified",
  "trigger": "file_save",
  "filePattern": ".kiro/specs/**/*.md",
  "action": "Validate specification changes",
  "enabled": true
}

impact-analysis.json¶

Triggers when source code changes:

{
  "name": "impact-analysis",
  "description": "Analyze spec impact when source files change",
  "trigger": "file_save",
  "filePattern": "specmem/**/*.py",
  "action": "Analyze impact on specifications",
  "enabled": true
}

Steering Files¶

Steering files provide context-aware guidance to AI agents.

Inclusion Modes¶

Mode	Front-matter	When Included
Always	`inclusion: always`	Every conversation
File Match	`inclusion: fileMatch`	When matching files are open
Manual	`inclusion: manual`	When explicitly referenced

specmem-development.md (Always)¶

Project overview, key commands, architecture summary. Included in every conversation.

spec-writing.md (File Match)¶

EARS patterns and spec structure guide. Included when editing .kiro/specs/**/*.md.

python-style.md (File Match)¶

Code style and formatting rules. Included when editing **/*.py.

testing-guide.md (File Match)¶

Property-based testing patterns. Included when editing tests/**/*.py.

CLI Commands¶

# Launch web dashboard
specmem demo

# Search specifications
specmem query "authentication flow"

# Check spec coverage
specmem cov

# Check spec health
specmem health

# Build memory index
specmem build

# Validate specifications
specmem validate

Web Dashboard¶

The demo dashboard provides a visual interface for:

Browsing specifications by type and source
Semantic search across all specs
Health score visualization
Coverage analysis
Impact graph visualization
Session history (if Kiro sessions exist)

Access at http://127.0.0.1:8765 after running specmem demo.

Workflow Example¶

Start Development

specmem demo  # Launch dashboard in background

Query Specs (via MCP or CLI)
```
specmem query "user authentication"
```
Check Coverage
```
specmem cov --feature user-auth
```
Analyze Impact
Edit source files
Hook triggers impact analysis
AI suggests related specs to update
Validate Changes
Edit spec files
Hook triggers validation
AI checks EARS compliance

Troubleshooting¶

MCP Server Not Starting¶

# Check if specmem-mcp is installed
which specmem-mcp

# Test manually
specmem-mcp --workspace . --log-level DEBUG

No Specs Found¶

# Verify specs exist
ls -la .kiro/specs/

# Check adapter detection
python -c "from specmem.adapters.kiro import KiroAdapter; print(KiroAdapter().detect('.'))"

Dashboard Shows No Data¶

# Rebuild memory index
specmem build

# Check block count
python -c "from specmem.adapters.kiro import KiroAdapter; print(len(KiroAdapter().load('.')))"