Amazon Q Developer CLI
✨ Agentic chat experience in your terminal. Build applications using natural language.
What is Amazon Q Developer CLI?
Amazon Q Developer CLI is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to ✨ agentic chat experience in your terminal. build applications using natural language.
✨ Agentic chat experience in your terminal. Build applications using natural language.
This server falls under the Coding Agents category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- ✨ Agentic chat experience in your terminal. Build applicatio
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx amazon-q-developer-cliConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Amazon Q Developer CLI
Amazon Q Developer CLI is an open-source agentic coding assistant that brings natural language application development directly to the terminal, powered by Amazon Q and AWS integrations. It enables developers to build, debug, and deploy AWS applications by describing what they want in plain English, with the agent executing multi-step tasks including file operations, shell commands, and AWS CLI calls. Note that AWS has archived this repository in favor of the closed-source Kiro CLI, so this guide covers the open-source release as documented at the time of archival.
Prerequisites
- macOS or Linux operating system (Windows not supported)
- An AWS account with Amazon Q Developer access enabled
- Rust toolchain (for building from source) or Homebrew (for pre-built binary on macOS)
- AWS CLI configured with valid credentials
- An MCP client or the q CLI itself to interact with the agent
Install the Amazon Q Developer CLI
Install via Homebrew on macOS for the quickest setup. Linux users can download the appropriate package from the GitHub releases page.
# macOS via Homebrew
brew install --cask amazon-q
# Verify installation
q --versionAuthenticate with your AWS account
Run the login subcommand to authenticate. This opens a browser window to complete AWS sign-in and link the CLI to your Amazon Q Developer subscription.
q loginStart an agentic chat session
Launch an interactive agentic chat session in your terminal. Describe what you want to build or fix and the agent will plan and execute the necessary steps.
q chatConfigure MCP server integration
Amazon Q Developer CLI supports MCP servers for extending agent capabilities. Add server definitions to your Q configuration to make additional tools available during agentic sessions.
{
"mcpServers": {
"amazon-q": {
"command": "q",
"args": ["mcp"],
"env": {}
}
}
}Build from source (advanced)
If you need to modify or extend the CLI, build from the Rust source. Install the Rust toolchain first and then use Cargo to compile.
# Install Rust
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli
cd amazon-q-developer-cli
cargo build --releaseAmazon Q Developer CLI Examples
Client configuration
MCP client configuration for connecting to the Amazon Q Developer CLI MCP endpoint.
{
"mcpServers": {
"amazon-q-developer": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["amazon-q-developer-cli"],
"env": {}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts to use in an Amazon Q Developer CLI agentic chat session.
- "Create a Lambda function that processes S3 events and saves results to DynamoDB"
- "Debug why my CloudFormation stack deployment is failing"
- "Write a CDK app that sets up an API Gateway with Lambda backend"
- "List all my EC2 instances and show me which ones are not using IMDSv2"Troubleshooting Amazon Q Developer CLI
Login fails with 'not authorized' or subscription error
Ensure your AWS account has an active Amazon Q Developer subscription (Individual or Pro tier). The free tier may have limited agentic capabilities. Check the IAM permissions for your AWS user or role.
The q command is not found after Homebrew installation
Run 'brew link amazon-q' to ensure the binary is linked to your PATH. If using zsh, add $(brew --prefix)/bin to your PATH in ~/.zshrc and restart the terminal.
Repository is archived and no longer receiving updates
AWS has moved to the closed-source Kiro CLI as the successor. For active development and support, visit the Kiro CLI documentation. The open-source code remains available for inspection and self-hosting.
Frequently Asked Questions about Amazon Q Developer CLI
What is Amazon Q Developer CLI?
Amazon Q Developer CLI is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that ✨ agentic chat experience in your terminal. build applications using natural language. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Amazon Q Developer CLI?
Follow the installation instructions on the Amazon Q Developer CLI GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Amazon Q Developer CLI?
Amazon Q Developer CLI works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Amazon Q Developer CLI free to use?
Yes, Amazon Q Developer CLI is open source and available under the Apache-2.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up Amazon Q Developer CLI in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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