AI-DLC is an intelligent software development workflow that adapts to your needs, maintains quality standards, and keeps you in control of the process. For learning more about AI-DLC Methodology, read this blog and the Method Definition Paper referred in it.
Set up the AI-DLC rules/steering files as part of your supported platform.
Clone this repo:
git clone <this-repo>Create a new project folder with a name of your choosing if you're working on a greenfield application:
mkdir <my-project>
Assuming your project is located under the same parent folder as the cloned aidlc-workflows
repo, change directory to your project folder:
cd <my-project>AI-DLC uses Amazon Q Rules to implement its intelligent workflow. To activate AI-DLC in your project, copy the rules to your project's workspace under the <project-root>/.amazonq folder.
Copy the AI-DLC workflow to your project's workspace under the <project-root>/.amazonq folder:
mkdir -p .amazonq/rules
cp -R ../aidlc-workflows/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rules .amazonq/rules/
cp -R ../aidlc-workflows/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rule-details .amazonq/
To confirm that the Amazon Q Rules are correctly loaded in your IDE, follow these steps:
- In the Amazon Q Chat window, locate the
Rulesbutton in the lower right corner and click on it. - Verify that you see entries for
.amazonq/rules/aws-aidlc-rulesin the displayed list of rules.
If you do not see the aws-aidlc-rules rules loaded, please check the directory where you previously issued the mkdir and cp commands.
AI-DLC uses Kiro Steering Files within your project workspace to implement its intelligent workflow. To activate AI-DLC in your project, copy the rules to your project's workspace under the <your-project-root>/.kiro/steering folder.
Copy the AI-DLC workflow to your project's workspace under the <project-root>/.kiro folder:
mkdir -p .kiro/steering
cp -R ../aidlc-workflows/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rules .kiro/steering/
cp -R ../aidlc-workflows/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rule-details .kiro/To confirm that the AI-DLC rules are correctly loaded in your Kiro CLI, follow these steps:
- Start Kiro CLI:
kiro-cli - Check your context contents:
/context show - Verify that you see all entries for
.kiro/steering/aws-aidlc-rulesin the displayed list of rules.
If you do not see the aws-aidlc-rules rules loaded, please check the directory where you previously issued the mkdir and cp commands.
- Start any software development project by stating your intent starting with the phrase "Using AI-DLC, ..." in the chat.
- AI-DLC workflow automatically activates and guides you from there.
- Answer structured questions that AI-DLC asks you
- Carefully review every plan that AI generates. Provide your oversight and validation.
- Review the execution plan to see which stages will run
- Carefully review the artifacts and approve each stage to maintain control
- All the artifacts will be generated in the
aidlc-docs/directory
AI-DLC follows a structured three-phase approach that adapts to your project's complexity:
-
🔵 INCEPTION PHASE: Determines WHAT to build and WHY
- Requirements analysis and validation
- User story creation (when applicable)
- Application Design and creating units of work for parallel development
- Risk assessment and complexity evaluation
-
🟢 CONSTRUCTION PHASE: Determines HOW to build it
- Detailed component design
- Code generation and implementation
- Build configuration and testing strategies
- Quality assurance and validation
-
🟡 OPERATIONS PHASE: Deployment and monitoring (future)
- Deployment automation and infrastructure
- Monitoring and observability setup
- Production readiness validation
- Adaptive Intelligence: Only executes stages that add value to your specific request
- Context-Aware: Analyzes existing codebase and complexity requirements
- Risk-Based: Complex changes get comprehensive treatment, simple changes stay efficient
- Question-Driven: Structured multiple-choice questions in files, not chat
- Always in Control: Review execution plans and approve each phase
Have one of our supported platforms/tools for Assisted AI Coding installed:
- Kiro CLI
- Amazon Q Developer IDE plugin
- Kiro IDE (coming soon)
See CONTRIBUTING for more information.
This library is licensed under the MIT-0 License. See the LICENSE file.

