Amazon Q Developer

Overview

Amazon Q Developer is AWS's AI programming assistant, formerly known as CodeWhisperer. It provides code completion, AI chat, security scanning, code transformation, and other features. Amazon Q's distinctive feature is its deep integration with the AWS ecosystem, able to recommend AWS best practices, identify security issues, and assist with AWS resource management. It supports multiple IDEs and programming languages, and is particularly suitable for AWS users. The free version provides 50 chats per day and unlimited completions.

Installation

Amazon Q Developer is installed via IDE plugins. It supports VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Eclipse, and more. After installation, you need to log in with AWS Builder ID or AWS IAM Identity Center.

# VS Code installation
# 1. Open the extension store
# 2. Search for "Amazon Q"
# 3. Click install
# 4. Restart VS Code
# 5. Log in with AWS Builder ID

# JetBrains installation
# Settings -> Plugins -> Search for "Amazon Q"

VS Code Setup

Using Amazon Q in VS Code requires configuring AWS credentials. You can use AWS Builder ID (free) or IAM Identity Center (enterprise). After configuration, you can access all Amazon Q features.

# Configure AWS credentials
# Method 1: Use AWS Builder ID
# Click "Sign in with AWS Builder ID" in the Amazon Q panel

# Method 2: Use IAM Identity Center
aws configure sso
# Configure SSO as prompted

# Method 3: Use access keys
aws configure
# Enter Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

Code Suggestions

Amazon Q provides smart code completion, supporting single-line, multi-line, and whole-function completion. It provides suggestions based on context and AWS best practices. It is particularly good at AWS SDK calls, able to recommend correct API usage and parameters. It supports reference tracking, identifying open-source code references.

# Code completion example
# Input:
import boto3
s3 = boto3.client('s3')
# Amazon Q will suggest:
# response = s3.list_buckets()
# for bucket in response['Buckets']:
#     print(bucket['Name'])

Chat

Amazon Q Chat provides a conversational AI assistant. You can ask code questions, AWS service questions, architecture suggestions, and more. Chat understands project context and can reference the current file. It supports AWS documentation search, providing accurate AWS information.

# Use Chat
# Shortcut: Alt+Q

# Example conversations:
# "How to upload large files with S3?"
# "Explain what this Lambda function does"
# "How to optimize this DynamoDB query?"
# "Add CloudWatch monitoring for this API"

Security Scanning

Amazon Q provides a security scanning feature that automatically detects security issues in code. It supports security standards such as OWASP Top 10 and CWE. Scan results include vulnerability descriptions, severity, and fix suggestions. This is a unique advantage of Amazon Q, helping developers write more secure code.

# Run a security scan
# In the Amazon Q panel:
# 1. Click the "Scan" button
# 2. Select the scan scope (current file/project)
# 3. View scan results
# 4. Fix issues based on suggestions

# Or via command:
# Cmd+Shift+P -> "Amazon Q: Scan Code"

Code Transformation

Amazon Q supports code transformation, such as Java version upgrades and framework migrations. It can automatically upgrade Java 8 code to Java 17, or migrate from Spring Boot 2 to 3. The transformation process includes code modification, dependency updates, test validation, and more. This significantly reduces the workload of upgrades.

# Code transformation example
# 1. Select "Transform" in the Amazon Q panel
# 2. Select the transformation type (e.g., Java 8 -> 17)
# 3. Select the project
# 4. Amazon Q analyzes and generates a transformation plan
# 5. Execute the transformation
# 6. Verify the results

AWS Integration

Amazon Q is deeply integrated with AWS services. It can assist with AWS resource management, CloudFormation template writing, IAM policy generation, and more. It supports AWS CLI command generation and error diagnosis. For AWS users, Amazon Q is a powerful tool for improving efficiency.

# AWS integration example
# Generate a CloudFormation template
# "Create an S3 bucket with versioning enabled"

# Amazon Q generates:
Resources:
  MyBucket:
    Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
    Properties:
      VersioningConfiguration:
        Status: Enabled

Pricing

Amazon Q Developer offers a free version and a Pro version. Free version: unlimited code completion, 50 chats per month, security scanning. Pro version ($19/month): unlimited chats, higher limits, management features. The enterprise version provides team management, SSO, and more. AWS users can subscribe directly in the AWS console.

Configuration

Amazon Q Developer is configured through AWS authentication and the IDE extension. Sign in with AWS Builder ID (free) or IAM Identity Center (enterprise). The extension settings control code completion, chat, and security scanning. Code Transformation and AWS integration features are accessed from the Q panel.

# Authenticate
# Option A (free): AWS Builder ID -> click "Sign in with AWS Builder ID"
# Option B (enterprise): IAM Identity Center
aws configure sso
# Option C: access keys
aws configure

# VS Code settings
{
  "amazonq.enableSuggestions": true,
  "amazonq.enableChat": true,
  "amazonq.referenceTracker": "log"
}

# Security scanning: Amazon Q panel -> Scan -> select scope
# Code transformation: Amazon Q panel -> Transform -> Java 8 -> 17, etc.

The free tier includes unlimited completion and 50 chats/month; Pro ($19/month) raises limits.

FAQ

Common questions cover pricing, AWS integration, security scanning, model selection, and Code Transformation. Amazon Q is deeply integrated with AWS—it recommends correct SDK usage and generates CloudFormation. Security scanning detects OWASP Top 10 issues.

Q: Is there a free tier?
A: Yes—free tier includes unlimited code completion, 50 chats/month, and
   security scanning. Pro ($19/month) raises limits and adds management.

Q: Do I need an AWS account?
A: You need AWS Builder ID (free) or an IAM Identity Center login; no
   full AWS account is required for the free tier.

Q: What does security scanning detect?
A: OWASP Top 10 and CWE issues, with severity and fix suggestions; run it
   from the Amazon Q panel.

Q: Can it transform legacy code?
A: Yes—Code Transformation upgrades Java 8 -> 17 and migrates Spring Boot
   2 -> 3, including dependency updates and test validation.

Q: Is it only for AWS projects?
A: No—it works with any code, but it's strongest at AWS SDK calls,
   CloudFormation, and IAM policy generation.

For AWS-heavy projects, Amazon Q's SDK best-practice suggestions and security scanning are especially valuable.