Kiro CLI 3.0 makes V3 the default and retires Classic mode and the desktop app

Archive entry: this covers an event from November 3, 2026, and we published it on November 8, 2026. The details come from sources dated at the time and may have changed since.

On November 3, 2026, Kiro released CLI 3.0.0, which made the V3 agent the default interactive agent and stopped the Classic (V1) experience from running, according to the Kiro changelog. The changelog marked the change as breaking.

What changed in CLI 3.0

• The CLI desktop app and inline shell autocomplete were retired with CLI 3.0.
• V3 was the terminal version of the agent harness behind Kiro IDE and Kiro Web, sharing tools, permissions, context and model calls.
• V3 features included cloud sessions (kiro-cli --cloud, offered only in the US East (N. Virginia) us-east-1 region), memories, spec mode (/spec new), /tangent, a /sessions pane, workflows, global hooks and nested AGENTS.md files.
• The use_aws tool was not available in V3, so AWS CLI commands went through the shell tool and its approval rules.

What it meant for people building with AI

Kiro CLI users who relied on Classic mode, the desktop app or inline autocomplete needed to move to the V3 terminal agent. Anyone who had used use_aws had to run AWS CLI commands through the shell tool and its approval rules instead.

Rollout timeline

Kiro's blog post of October 9, 2026 announced the rollout, with a startup prompt to switch appearing gradually from October 12. CLI 2.37.0, released on October 30, 2026, made V2-format agents upgrade to V3 automatically at session start unless users opted out.

Sources

• V3 by Default, Classic and Desktop App Retired (Kiro, November 3, 2026, official)
• Kiro CLI V3 is rolling out as the default experience (Kiro, October 9, 2026, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.