Augment Code vs Kiro | agentconfig.ing

Augment Code vs KiroComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Augment Code (IDE) uses markdown configuration while Kiro (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 1 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Augment Code	Kiro	Notes
Config format	markdown	markdown
Hierarchy support	✓	✓	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✓	✓	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✗	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	✗	✗
IDE integration	✓	✓
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Augment Code	Kiro
Project instructions	AGENTS.md	.kiro/steering/*.md
Project instructions	.augment-guidelines.md	AGENTS.md
Project instructions	.augment/guidelines.md	.kiro/agents/*.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Augment Code

AGENTS.md

markdown

# Project Rules

## Architecture
- Clean architecture with domain, application, and infrastructure layers
- Domain models must not import from infrastructure
- Use dependency injection for all services

## Code Style
- TypeScript strict mode, no implicit any
- Use Result<T, E> for error handling in domain layer
- Prefer composition over inheritance
- Maximum 3 parameters per function; use options objects for more

## Testing
- Unit tests for domain logic (no mocking frameworks)
- Integration tests for API endpoints
- E2E tests for critical user journeys with Playwright

## Dependencies
- Do not add new dependencies without discussing first
- Prefer standard library over third-party for simple tasks

Kiro

.kiro/steering/*.md

markdown

---
inclusion: always
---

# Project Standards

## Stack
- TypeScript 5.x with Node.js 22
- AWS CDK v2 for infrastructure
- DynamoDB for data, S3 for assets

## Conventions
- Use ESM imports, not CommonJS
- Lambda handlers export a named `handler` function
- Use middy middleware for cross-cutting concerns
- All API responses follow JSON:API format

## Testing
- Unit tests with vitest
- Integration tests with aws-testing-library
- E2E tests use deployed staging environment

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Subdirectory scoping

Augment Code: Supported. Kiro: Not supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Augment Code, configure AGENTS.md. If you use Kiro, configure .kiro/steering/*.md. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh

bash

# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md