Chat Interface Basics

Kiro CLI's interactive chat lets you have natural-language conversations with AI directly in your terminal. It goes beyond simple Q&A — you can operate files, execute commands, and work with an agentic assistant.

Launch and Basic Operations

# Launch in your project directory
cd my-project
kiro-cli

When the prompt (>) appears, type your instructions:

> Add a validation function to src/utils

Input Tips

Newlines: Press Ctrl+J to insert a line break within your prompt.

Editor Mode: Run /editor to open your default text editor (typically vi) for composing long prompts.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Cancel input
Ctrl+J	Insert newline
Ctrl+S	Fuzzy search (commands/files)
Ctrl+T	Toggle tangent mode
↑ / ↓	Navigate input history

Non-Interactive Mode

Execute tasks without starting an interactive session. Ideal for scripts and CI/CD pipelines.

Basic Usage

kiro-cli chat --no-interactive "How do I run tests in this project?"

Pipe Integration

One of the CLI's most powerful features is pipe integration — feed other command outputs directly into Kiro.

# Review Git changes
git diff | kiro-cli "Review these changes"

# Fix build errors
npm run build 2>&1 | kiro-cli "How do I fix this error?"

# Analyze test results
npm test 2>&1 | kiro-cli "Analyze the failing tests"

# Parse log files
tail -100 /var/log/app.log | kiro-cli "Identify the error cause from this log"

Tool Trust Settings

In non-interactive mode, confirmation prompts can interrupt automation.

# Trust all tools (no confirmations)
kiro-cli chat --no-interactive --trust-all-tools "Run tests and report results"

# Trust specific tools only
kiro-cli chat --trust-tools "read,write,shell" "Update the README"

Warning: --trust-all-tools runs all tools without confirmation. Use only in trusted projects.

flowchart LR
    subgraph Interactive["Interactive Mode"]
        A["kiro-cli"] --> B["Conversational interaction"]
        B --> C["Tool confirmations per use"]
    end
    subgraph NonInteractive["Non-Interactive Mode"]
        D["kiro-cli --no-interactive"] --> E["Single execution"]
        E --> F["Output result and exit"]
    end
    subgraph Pipe["Pipe Integration"]
        G["Command output"] --> H["| kiro-cli"]
        H --> I["Context-aware analysis"]
    end
    style Interactive fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style NonInteractive fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style Pipe fill:#22c55e,color:#fff

Model Selection

Kiro CLI lets you switch AI models based on task complexity and cost requirements.

Available Models

Model	Characteristics	Cost Multiplier	Plans
Auto (recommended)	Automatically selects the optimal model	1.0x	All
Claude Haiku 4.5	Fast, low cost	0.4x	All
Claude Sonnet 4.0	Balanced	1.3x	All
Claude Sonnet 4.5	Advanced coding	1.3x	All
Claude Opus 4.5	Maximum performance	2.2x	Pro+
Claude Opus 4.6	Latest, highest performance	2.2x	Pro+

Switching Models

Change the model during a chat session:

> /model claude-sonnet-4.5

Save your preference permanently:

> /model set-current-as-default

Or configure directly from the CLI:

kiro-cli settings chat.defaultModel claude-sonnet-4.5

When to Use Which

• Auto: Best for everyday development. Good cost-quality balance
• Haiku 4.5: Quick questions, fast feedback loops
• Sonnet 4.0/4.5: Complex coding, refactoring
• Opus 4.5/4.6: Architecture decisions, advanced analysis

Essential Slash Commands

Commands available within a chat session:

Navigation

Command	Description
/help	Switch to the Help Agent
/quit	Exit session (also /exit, /q)
/clear	Clear display (data preserved)

Input

Command	Description
/editor	Compose prompt in default editor
/reply	Reply to last assistant message
/paste	Attach clipboard image

Information

Command	Description
/model	Select/change AI model
/usage	Credit usage information
/mcp	Active MCP servers
/tools	Available tools list
/hooks	Configured hooks
/changelog	CLI update history

Management

Command	Description
/compact	Summarize and compress conversation
/issue	Report a bug
/logdump	Generate diagnostic logs
/experiment	Toggle experimental features

Help Agent

For questions about Kiro CLI itself, the Help Agent provides the most accurate answers. It responds based on official documentation, not general AI knowledge.

Usage

> /help

> /help How do I configure MCP servers?

The Help Agent can also create and edit files in the .kiro/ directory, helping you set up agent configurations and prompts.

Return to your previous agent by running /help again or using /agent swap.

Tool Management

Kiro CLI uses various built-in tools to execute tasks. Manage tool trust with the /tools command:

> /tools              # List all tools
> /tools trust read   # Trust the read tool
> /tools untrust read # Remove trust
> /tools trust-all    # Trust all tools
> /tools reset        # Reset trust settings
> /tools schema read  # Show tool schema

Summary

Topic	Details
Interactive mode	kiro-cli for conversational development
Non-interactive mode	--no-interactive for script integration
Pipe integration	command | kiro-cli "instruction"
Model selection	Auto (recommended), Haiku (fast), Opus (best)
Slash commands	/help, /model, /tools, /compact, etc.
Help Agent	/help for documentation-based answers

In Day 3, you'll learn session management and terminal power features like translate and autocomplete.