Amazon Q Developer

What is Amazon Q Developer?

Amazon Q Developer is an AI-powered coding assistant from AWS, embedded directly in popular IDEs such as Visual Studio Code and the JetBrains suite, as well as the AWS Management Console and command line. It generates code, explains and debugs existing logic, and scans for security vulnerabilities, all with built-in awareness of AWS services and APIs. It is purpose-built for developers writing, migrating, or maintaining applications on AWS infrastructure.

How does Amazon Q Developer work?

Amazon Q Developer combines large language models with deep knowledge of the AWS ecosystem. As you type, it offers inline code completions and can answer natural-language questions about your code, your AWS resources, and best practices.

Beyond autocomplete, it acts agentically: you can describe a feature or fix in plain English and Q Developer will plan changes, edit multiple files, run tests, and propose pull requests. Inside the AWS Console it can also help diagnose operational issues and explain billing or service configuration.

Core features

• Inline code generation — Context-aware completions and full functions across many languages, with strong support for AWS SDKs.
• Agentic development — Multi-step tasks such as feature implementation, unit-test generation, and codebase refactoring from a single prompt.
• Security scanning — Detects vulnerabilities and suggests remediations, drawing on AWS security expertise.
• Code transformation — Automated upgrades and migrations, for example moving legacy Java versions or porting workloads onto AWS.
• AWS-native chat — Answers questions about your account, resources, and AWS documentation directly in the IDE or Console.

Pricing

Amazon Q Developer offers a generous free tier suitable for individual developers, with a paid Pro tier that adds higher usage limits, administrative controls, and enterprise features for teams.

Who is it for?

Amazon Q Developer is ideal for software engineers and teams already building on AWS who want an assistant that understands their cloud environment end to end. It is especially valuable for those modernizing legacy applications, tightening security, or accelerating day-to-day development without leaving their existing IDE or the AWS Console.