We are starting a series to keep you updated on Amazon Devices Builder Tools for AI (ADBT for AI). We’ll post the features and improvements available in the latest releases periodically, so you can see what’s changed at a glance and dig into the parts that matter for your development.
What’s new at a glimpse
- A dedicated
adbt-devagent you can install into your coding host, available for Vega and Fire OS apps. It gives you more control and clearer guidance, from setup through development. (1.0.16)* - WebView debugging through Chrome DevTools, available for Vega apps. ADBT automatically identifies a WebView app and selects the correct tools. (1.0.16)*
- Accessibility workflows, now on by default, available for Vega apps. (1.0.13)*
- React Native DevTools that you reach just by describing the problem, available for Vega apps. If your app uses RN 0.83, ADBT selects React Native DevTools by default for re-render profiling and network inspection. (1.0.13)*
- Ember catalog integration, available for Vega apps. (1.0.12)*
- FOS-to-Vega native migration targeted to RN 0.83, available for Fire OS apps. (1.0.12)*
New here? Quick recap on ADBT for AI
Amazon Devices Builder Tools for AI (ADBT for AI) is a suite of AI-powered tools for Fire TV development both on Vega and Fire OS: the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server plus a set of agent skills. It makes coding agents such as Kiro, Claude, and Codex aware of Fire TV-specific knowledge and procedures, so they stop guessing at the parts of Vega and Fire OS development that don’t exist in a general model’s training data.
This matters because device development is device-specific, multi-step, and environment-heavy. ADBT supplies the Amazon Devices knowledge layer as purpose-built tools and skills grounded in current, versioned Amazon documentation, so your agent follows an Amazon procedure instead of reconstructing one from a training snapshot.
Where applicable, ADBT runs steps as scripts instead of instructions; this ensures deterministic, accurate results while actively reducing token spend.
Start using ADBT now: https://developer.amazon.com/docs/adbt/get-started
A closer look at what’s new
-
Your own Amazon Devices agent: Until now ADBT installed a steering document that sits in every session whether you need it or not. You can now install a dedicated agent instead, and call on it only when you want Amazon Devices help. Run
init-context --install-agentand pick your host such as Kiro, Claude, or Codex. One thing to know: agent mode takes the ADBT steering document back out of your workspace, and if that file also holds your own notes it is edited in place, so have it in version control first. -
Debug a WebView app without guessing which tool: Just describe the problem. Your agent works out whether you have a WebView app or a React Native app and opens the right tool: Chrome DevTools for rendering, DOM and CSS, console errors, breakpoints, and network, or the Vega tools for launch, key-input latency, KPIs, and crashes. Pre-0.83 React Native apps get Chrome DevTools too.
Ask
“My WebView app renders wrong, help me debug it.”
“Open DevTools for my app.”
-
Accessibility, no longer opt-in: Every installation now gets the accessibility knowledge base: 10 documents, 4 skills, and a getting-started guide. It covers what assistive technologies need from each control, and the OS caption and audio-description settings for both Vega and WebView players. If you were in the early opt-in group, you can safely drop
--enable-features A11Y_COMPASS_BETA.Ask
“Review my project for accessibility issues.”
“How do I label an icon-only button so VoiceView announces it?”
“How do I honor the user’s caption settings in my video app?”
-
React Native DevTools, set up and aimed for you: If you’re on React Native 0.83 and you want to profile your app, chase a re-rendering issue, or inspect network calls and memory, just describe the problem: your agent now routes you straight to React Native DevTools without you naming it. It handles the setup steps for you, and once DevTools is open it points you at the right tab for the question you asked. New in 1.0.13, it also suggests the likely fix before the session, and again from what you find in it so you know what to do next. And if you’d already started, with Metro running or your debug build installed, it checks that in one command and picks up from there instead of starting over.
Ask
“Which component is re-rendering?”
“Why is the app janky?”
-
EMBER catalog integration: You can generate an EMBER catalog adapter from your existing content system and validate its output, without rebuilding your catalog. The adapter is additive, so it sits alongside what you already have, and you can confirm the result is well-formed before you wire it into Fire TV.
Ask
“Help me build an EMBER catalog adapter for my system.”
“Help me validate my EMBER catalog output.”
⚠️ Important: Catalog integration is available to select partners only.
- FOS-to-Vega native migration, on RN 0.83: The FireOS-to-Vega native migration path now targets React Native 0.83 rather than the older RN baseline. If you’re moving a FireOS native (Java/Kotlin) app toward VegaScript, the guidance the agent follows now lands you on the current RN for Vega version.
- Improved Robustness: Improved memory and the MCP server stability for 1.0.13 → 1.0.16.
Full release history RELEASE_NOTES.md, in the npm package.
