Kiro for Codex

A VS Code extension that brings spec-driven development to Codex CLI. Manage your specs, steering documents, and custom prompts visually while leveraging Codex CLI's powerful AI capabilities.

Features

📝 SPEC Management

• Create Specs: generate requirements, design, and task documents with Codex CLI
• Visual Explorer: browse and manage specs in the sidebar
• Spec Workflow: Requirements -> Design -> Tasks with a review at each step
• CodeLens for Tasks: execute an individual task from tasks.md via Codex and auto-check it off

New in this release:

• Create New Spec UI: starting a spec opens a focused editor (webview) to enter your request before generation

🎯 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: clicking a prompt opens the Markdown for review
• Inline Run Button: use the ▶ action on the right to execute with Codex CLI
• Organize & Refresh: manage a workspace prompt library with quick refresh
• Markdown Simplicity: no front-matter required; write plain Markdown instructions

💬 CHAT

• Sidebar Chat (webview): start quick conversations with Codex inside VS Code
• Run once or stream: send a one-off message or stream via a dedicated Codex terminal session
• Stop anytime: terminate the active session from the Chat view

🚫 Temporarily Disabled Views/Flows

• AGENTS, HOOKS, MCP views: hidden in this build
• "New Spec with Agents" flow: disabled

Screenshot

The extension provides an organized sidebar for OVERVIEW, SPEC, STEERING, PROMPTS, and CHAT. Other views are hidden in this build.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Codex CLI v0.28.0 or later installed and available on PATH
• VS Code 1.84.0 or later

Compatibility:

Platform	Support	Notes	Status
macOS	Yes	Fully supported	released
Linux	Yes	Fully supported	released
Windows (WSL)	Yes	Supported with conditional path conversion	released
Windows (PowerShell)	Yes	Recommended on Windows	beta

From Extension Marketplace

VS Code users:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Kiro for Codex"
4. Click Install

Or via command line:

code --install-extension atman-33.kiro-for-codex

From VSIX file

Download the latest .vsix from GitHub Releases, then:

# VS Code
code --install-extension kiro-for-codex-{latest-version}.vsix

Replace {latest-version} with the actual version number, e.g., 0.2.4.

Usage

Creating a Spec

Recommended flow:

1. Click the Kiro for Codex icon in the activity bar
2. In the SPEC view, click + Create New Spec
3. A webview editor opens; describe your feature/request
4. The extension generates the requirements document with Codex CLI
5. Review and approve before proceeding to design
6. Generate tasks after design is complete

Tip: From tasks.md, use the inline CodeLens action to execute a single task and auto-check it off.

Spec Workflow

1. Requirements: define what you want to build
2. Design: create technical design after requirements approval
3. Tasks: generate implementation tasks after design approval
4. Implementation: execute tasks one by one

Steering Documents

Create project-specific guidance:

• Click the sparkle icon to create custom steering
• Generate initial docs (product, tech, structure)
• Documents are stored under .codex/steering/

Prompts

Create and run project prompts:

1. Open the Prompts view in the activity bar
2. Click + Create Prompt to scaffold .codex/prompts/<name>.md
3. Write instructions in Markdown (no front-matter required)
4. Click the prompt item to open the file and review the content
5. Press the inline ▶ Run button to execute the prompt with Codex CLI (split view)

Chat

Use the Chat view to quickly iterate with Codex:

1. Open the Chat view under the Kiro activity container
2. Type a message and choose run mode (send once or stream)
3. For streaming, the conversation continues in a dedicated Codex terminal session
4. Use Stop to end the active session

Overview

The Overview view provides quick access to settings, availability checks, and helpful entry points.

Commands (Quick Reference)

Core commands registered by the extension:

• kiroCodex.spec.create: Create a new spec (requirements -> design -> tasks)
• kiroCodex.spec.createWithAgents: Disabled in this build
• kiroCodex.spec.navigate.requirements / kiroCodex.spec.navigate.design / kiroCodex.spec.navigate.tasks: Open spec documents
• kiroCodex.spec.implTask: Run an individual task from tasks.md
• kiroCodex.spec.refresh: Refresh the SPEC explorer
• kiroCodex.steering.create: Create a custom steering document
• kiroCodex.steering.generateInitial: Analyze the project and generate initial steering docs
• kiroCodex.steering.refine: Refine an existing steering document
• kiroCodex.steering.delete: Delete a steering document and update docs
• kiroCodex.prompts.create / kiroCodex.prompts.run / kiroCodex.prompts.refresh: Manage and run prompts
• kiroCodex.settings.open: Open workspace settings file .codex/settings/kiroCodex-settings.json
• kiroCodex.menu.open: Toggle visibility of views (Specs / Steering; others when enabled)
• kiroCodex.codex.checkAvailability: Check Codex CLI availability and version
• kiroCodex.checkForUpdates: Manually trigger the extension update checker

Configuration

Project-local settings are stored in .codex/settings/kiroCodex-settings.json and only contain paths. UI visibility and Codex runtime options live in VS Code settings under the kiroCodex.* namespace.

Minimal settings file:

{
  "paths": {
    "specs": ".codex/specs",
    "steering": ".codex/steering",
    "settings": ".codex/settings",
    "prompts": ".codex/prompts"
  }
}

Notes:

• Only the paths.* values are honored by the extension at runtime.
• Changing paths.* may require a window reload to take effect.
• The location of kiroCodex-settings.json itself is fixed to .codex/settings/kiroCodex-settings.json (editing paths.settings does not relocate the file).

Workspace Structure

The extension creates the following structure in your workspace:

.codex/                      # Extension data directory
specs/                       # Feature specifications
  {spec-name}/
    requirements.md          # What to build
    design.md                # How to build
    tasks.md                 # Implementation steps
prompts/                     # Project prompts (Markdown)
  <your-prompt>.md
steering/                    # AI guidance documents
  product.md                 # Product conventions
  tech.md                    # Technical standards
  structure.md               # Code organization
settings/
  kiroCodex-settings.json          # Extension settings

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• VS Code 1.84.0+
• TypeScript 5.3.0+

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/atman-33/kiro-for-codex.git
cd kiro-for-codex

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode (auto-compile on changes)
npm run watch

Running the Extension

1. Open the project in VS Code
2. Press F5 to launch Extension Development Host
3. The extension will be available in the new VS Code window

Building

# Build VSIX package
npm run package

# Output: kiro-for-codex-{latest-version}.vsix

Build details:

• Extension bundling: esbuild (outputs dist/extension.js)
• Webview UI: Vite (outputs dist/webview/app/**)

Project Structure

src/
  extension.ts                 # Extension entry point, command registration
  constants.ts                 # Configuration constants
  features/                    # Business logic (spec, steering, etc.)
  providers/                   # VS Code TreeDataProviders
  services/                    # Process/error managers and helpers
  utils/                       # Utilities
  prompts/                     # Prompt sources (generated artifacts under prompts/target)
  types/                       # Shared types
webview-ui/                    # Webview source (React + Vite)
dist/webview/app               # Built webview assets consumed by providers

Testing

• Vitest
• Run: npm test (watch: npm run test:watch, coverage: npm run test:coverage)
• Target coverage for new code: >= 80%

Windows Notes

• PowerShell is recommended on Windows (direct Codex CLI support)
• WSL is supported with conditional path conversion

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Inspiration

Kiro for Codex was inspired by the excellent "Kiro for CC" project for Claude Code by @notdp. This extension started as a port/adaptation from Claude Code's Kiro to a Codex CLI–focused workflow, carrying over the spec-driven development experience and UI while integrating tightly with Codex CLI.

• Original project: https://github.com/notdp/kiro-for-cc