Amazon Q Developer now available in GitHub preview

Amazon Q Developer is now available in preview on GitHub, providing a powerful tool for developers who use GitHub for both professional and personal projects. This integration allows developers to leverage Amazon Q Developer for feature development, code reviews, and Java code migration directly within the GitHub interface.

Amazon Q Developer now available in GitHub preview

To demonstrate the functionality of Amazon Q Developer, an example project called "StoryBook Teller" has been created. This application is designed as an ASP.Core website using .NET 9, which takes three user-provided images and generates a story using Amazon Bedrock with Anthropic’s Claude.

To begin using Amazon Q Developer, users must first install the Amazon Q Developer application in GitHub. No AWS account connection is required to get started. Upon installation, users can choose to add it to all repositories or select specific ones. Once installed, users can verify the application’s presence by navigating to their GitHub account settings, where it will appear in the Applications section.

Permissions can be configured as needed, allowing users to add or remove the application from repositories at any time.

Feature Development with Amazon Q Developer

Once installed, developers can assign GitHub issues to the Amazon Q development agent to automate feature development. The agent generates code using the entire codebase as context, along with the issue description. Clear and accurate issue requirements are essential to optimize the generated output.

For instance, in the StoryBook Teller project, five issues were created to cover all requirements, from creating a skeleton .NET 9 project to implementing frontend and backend features. Developers simply assign the Amazon Q development agent by selecting the corresponding label within the issue. The agent then begins work, providing progress updates through comments and eventually creating a pull request when the task is complete.

Once the code is generated, it can be downloaded, tested, and reviewed. The developer can run the application locally, ensuring that the generated code meets the specified requirements.

Code Review and Iteration

Amazon Q Developer not only generates code but also performs automatic checks to ensure code quality. Developers can review the generated code through GitHub’s interface, providing feedback directly within the pull request. If changes are needed, developers can request updates, and Amazon Q Developer will iterate based on the feedback.

For example, if the generated code contains default configurations that need adjustment (such as using the Invoke API instead of the Converse API), developers can update their issue descriptions to provide more precise requirements.

Handling Complex Scenarios

When implementing more complex features, Amazon Q Developer also identifies potential security risks, such as missing authorization checks for API endpoints. In such cases, the tool provides warnings, detailed explanations, and suggested fixes, ensuring that the generated code remains secure and robust.

Code Transformation and Migration

Amazon Q Developer can also transform legacy Java codebases, migrating applications from Java 8 or Java 11 to Java 17. This process requires creating an issue within a repository containing the legacy code and assigning the Amazon Q transform agent label. The tool then analyzes the code, performs the migration, and generates a pull request with the updated code.

Conclusion

Amazon Q Developer in GitHub acts as a full-stack development assistant, helping developers build features, review code, and enhance security. It also simplifies the process of migrating Java applications, allowing teams to update outdated codebases efficiently. All of these tasks can be accomplished directly within the GitHub environment, streamlining the development workflow and reducing manual effort.