Kiro PTY

Enhanced terminal wrapper for kiro-cli using a pseudoterminal (node-pty) for full input control.

Why

kiro-cli runs in a terminal — which means no image paste and no quick way to reference project files. Things that IDE-based AI tools get for free become friction points in a CLI workflow:

• Screenshots — You take a screenshot to show the AI a bug, but the CLI can't receive images. You have to manually save the file, find the path, and type it in.
• File/folder paths — You want to point the AI at a specific file or directory. In Finder you can see it, but getting the full path into the terminal takes multiple steps.
• Project file references — Other AI coding tools let you type @ to quickly reference files. Without that, you're copy-pasting paths or navigating by memory.

Kiro PTY solves these by sitting between you and kiro-cli, intercepting input to add the missing capabilities:

• Cmd+V a screenshot → auto-saved to /tmp, path sent to kiro-cli
• Cmd+V files copied in Finder → paths sent directly
• Type @ → inline fuzzy file picker over your project, path inserted on selection

The result: the same DX you'd expect from an IDE-integrated AI, but with kiro-cli.

Features

• @ File Picker — Type @ to open an inline file selector with fuzzy search. Open files are prioritized.
• Image Paste — Cmd+V detects clipboard images (screenshots), saves to /tmp/kiro-imgN.png, and sends the path to kiro-cli.
• Finder File/Folder Paste — Cmd+V detects files/folders copied in Finder and sends their paths.
• Send Code from Editor — Right-click selected code → "Send to Kiro-CLI" sends file:line-range reference.
• Multi-session — Open multiple kiro-cli terminals in the same window.
• Auto venv — Detects .venv in workspace and sets VIRTUAL_ENV + PATH for kiro-cli subprocesses.

Keybindings

Key	Action
Cmd+V	Smart paste (image / Finder files / text)
Cmd+Shift+A	File picker (QuickPick fallback)
@	Inline file picker (at line start or after space)

@ File Picker

> @ext
  ▸ src/extension.ts
    package.json
    tsconfig.json
  ↓ 5 more

• Type to fuzzy search
• ↑↓ to navigate
• Enter to confirm (sends full path)
• Esc to cancel (preserves typed text)

Requirements

• macOS (arm64) — uses native clipboard APIs via Swift/osascript
• kiro-cli installed at ~/.local/bin/kiro-cli

Commands

Command	Description
Kiro PTY: Start Chat	Open a new kiro-cli terminal
Kiro PTY: Reference File	File picker (QuickPick)
Send to Kiro-CLI	Send selected code reference to kiro-cli