Why it matters
- Free unlimited completions (Individual tier) make it the best-value AI coding assistant for developers building on AWS.
- Security scanning specifically targeting AWS misconfigurations — IAM over-privilege, public S3 buckets, unencrypted resources — not just generic code vulnerabilities.
- Reference tracker is unique to AWS: when completions come from open-source training data, Q flags the license type — important for legal compliance.
- Deep AWS service training means CDK/CloudFormation/Boto3 code generation is accurate in ways general coding AIs often aren't.
Key capabilities
- Free code completion: Unlimited inline completions in VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Cloud9.
- Security scanning: 50 scans/month free; detects vulnerabilities in code and IaC (CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform).
- AWS-aware generation: CDK constructs, CloudFormation templates, Boto3 calls, SAM, Lambda handlers.
- Reference tracker: Identifies when suggestions derive from open-source code; shows license.
- Q in AWS Console: Natural language queries and code help within the AWS Management Console.
- Q CLI: Terminal assistance —
q chatfor AWS CLI help and troubleshooting. - Code transformation: Java 8→17 upgrade, .NET Framework→.NET Core migration (Pro).
- Agentic tasks: Multi-step task completion for dev/ops workflows (Pro).
Technical notes
- IDE support: VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, GoLand, WebStorm, Rider, CLion, Visual Studio, AWS Cloud9
- Individual tier: Free; AWS Builder ID required; unlimited completions; 50 scans/month
- Pro tier: $19/user/mo; org admin; unlimited scans; agentic features
- Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, C/C++, SQL, Terraform HCL, CloudFormation
- Previously: Amazon CodeWhisperer (renamed Amazon Q Developer 2024)
Ideal for
- AWS developers who want free AI code completion with deep AWS service knowledge — no cost for the Individual tier.
- Teams building AWS infrastructure who want AI help with CDK, CloudFormation, and Terraform for AWS.
- Security-focused AWS teams who want automated scanning of both application code and infrastructure.
Not ideal for
- Non-AWS development — AWS-specific knowledge doesn't help GCP or Azure development.
- Maximum general coding quality — GitHub Copilot and Cursor edge ahead for non-AWS code.
- Agentic multi-file coding tasks — Cursor and Windsurf provide better agentic coding experiences.
See also
- Amazon Q — The broader Q platform including Q Business for enterprise knowledge bases.
- GitHub Copilot — Best general-purpose AI coding assistant; paid, broader language quality.
- Codeium — Free alternative with broader IDE support including Vim/Neovim.