Amazon CodeWhisperer Deprecated2022年〜
An AI coding companion that generates real-time code suggestions within your IDE
What It Does
Amazon CodeWhisperer is a service that generates real-time code completions and full function suggestions while developers write code in their IDE (Integrated Development Environment). It reads the intent from comments and existing code to suggest appropriate code snippets. It also includes a security scanning feature that detects vulnerabilities in your code and suggests fixes.
Use Cases
CodeWhisperer is used in everyday coding tasks: auto-generating boilerplate code, completing AWS SDK API call code, and auto-generating unit tests. It is also useful when working with unfamiliar programming languages or frameworks, where you can simply write a comment describing your intent and receive implementation code suggestions.
Everyday Analogy
Think of it like having an experienced pair programming partner. When you say "I want to fetch a file from S3 here" (write a comment), your partner suggests "Here's how you can write that" with actual code. You decide whether to accept the suggestion and modify it as needed.
What Is CodeWhisperer?
Amazon CodeWhisperer is a service that assists with the task of writing code. Install it as a plugin in development environments such as VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, or AWS Cloud9, and it suggests completion candidates in real time as you type. It supports over 15 programming languages including Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, and C#.
How Code Suggestions Work
CodeWhisperer analyzes the context around the cursor position - surrounding code, comments, import statements, and more - to predict what code should come next. It generates suggestions at various levels of granularity, from single-line completions to entire function or class implementations. It is particularly strong at suggesting code that uses AWS SDKs, accurately proposing integration code for tasks like uploading files to S3 or querying DynamoDB.
Security Scanning
CodeWhisperer includes a built-in security scanning feature. It detects security vulnerabilities in your code (hardcoded credentials, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, etc.) and suggests fixes. Detection rules based on the OWASP Top 10 and CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) are applied. Since security checks run in real time as you write code, it helps catch vulnerabilities early. For case studies and practical tips on security scanning, tech books on Amazon can also be a useful reference.
Getting Started
To get started with CodeWhisperer, install the AWS Toolkit from the VS Code extension marketplace. Sign in with a Builder ID (free) or IAM Identity Center to enable CodeWhisperer. As you type code, suggestions appear automatically and can be accepted with the Tab key. The Individual plan (free) provides access to basic code suggestion and security scanning features.
Things to Watch Out For
- CodeWhisperer suggestions are just candidates - verifying their accuracy is the developer's responsibility. Always review suggested code before accepting it
- The reference tracker feature displays license information when suggested code is similar to open source code. Check the license terms before adopting it
- There are Individual (free) and Professional (paid) plans. The Professional plan offers organization-wide policy management and SSO integration
