AWS Glossary
Amazon Q Developer
Amazon Q Developer is the AWS AI coding assistant for IDEs, terminals, and the AWS console — providing chat, multi-file agents, code transformation, and security scanning.
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Summary
Amazon Q Developer is the AWS AI coding assistant for IDEs, terminals, and the AWS console — providing chat, multi-file agents, code transformation, and security scanning.
Key Facts
- • Amazon Q Developer is the AWS AI coding assistant for IDEs, terminals, and the AWS console — providing chat, multi-file agents, code transformation, and security scanning
- • Definition Amazon Q Developer is an AI coding assistant that runs across the developer toolchain — VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, the AWS CLI, the AWS Management Console, and Slack
- • transform` jobs** — Upgrades Java applications (Java 8/11/17 → 17/21),
- • Security scanning** — Detects vulnerabilities in your code as you write (OWASP Top 10, AWS API misuse patterns, hardcoded secrets)
- • Integrates with Amazon CodeGuru Security
Entity Definitions
- Amazon Bedrock
- Amazon Bedrock is an AWS service relevant to amazon q developer.
- Bedrock
- Bedrock is an AWS service relevant to amazon q developer.
- IAM
- IAM is an AWS service relevant to amazon q developer.
- CI/CD
- CI/CD is a cloud computing concept relevant to amazon q developer.
Related Content
- AMAZON Q FOR DEVELOPERS — Related service
- AWS BEDROCK — Related service
Definition
Amazon Q Developer is an AI coding assistant that runs across the developer toolchain — VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, the AWS CLI, the AWS Management Console, and Slack. It provides natural-language chat for AWS questions, inline code completions, multi-file feature development through the /dev agent, large-scale code modernization through /transform, and continuous security scanning.
Key capabilities
/dev agent — Implements multi-file features from a natural-language prompt. Generates a plan, edits multiple files, and produces a diff for review.
/transform jobs — Upgrades Java applications (Java 8/11/17 → 17/21), .NET Framework to .NET, mainframe COBOL to Java, and Windows workloads to Linux. Runs as a managed job, produces a PR-ready branch.
Security scanning — Detects vulnerabilities in your code as you write (OWASP Top 10, AWS API misuse patterns, hardcoded secrets). Integrates with Amazon CodeGuru Security.
Customizations — Train Q Developer on your private codebase so it suggests internal API patterns. Requires Q Developer Pro and an admin-configured customization in IAM Identity Center.
Inline references — Code suggestions log to a reference tracker so you can see when suggestions resemble open-source training data and review the original licenses.
Pricing (2026)
- Free tier: 50 chat interactions / month, limited
/devand/transformruns - Pro tier: $19/user/month, full chat, unlimited
/dev, generous/transformquota, customizations, admin controls
Amazon Q Developer vs GitHub Copilot
| Aspect | Q Developer | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| AWS expertise | Native, kept up to date with new AWS services | Generic |
/dev multi-file agent | Yes | Yes (Copilot Workspace) |
| Java upgrade automation | Yes (/transform) | No |
| .NET to Linux modernization | Yes | No |
| IAM Identity Center SSO | Native | Via GitHub Enterprise |
| IDE breadth | VS Code, JetBrains, VS, CLI, Console | VS Code, JetBrains, VS, Xcode |
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Rolling out Q Developer free tier to an engineering team. The free tier monthly caps will block productive use after the first week.
Mistake 2: Enabling customizations without curating the training corpus. Q Developer will faithfully reproduce bad patterns from your codebase if they dominate the training set. Exclude generated code, deprecated modules, and test fixtures.
Mistake 3: Treating /transform as a one-click upgrade. It produces a working branch, but you still need to run tests, review diffs, and validate library versions. Plan for 20–30% engineer review time per transformed module.
Related AWS Services
- AWS IAM Identity Center — Required for Pro tier rollouts
- Amazon CodeGuru Security — Powers security scanning in Q Developer
- Amazon CodeCatalyst — CI/CD platform that integrates with Q Developer
- Amazon Bedrock — For custom AI features beyond what Q Developer offers
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