Kiro Necro-Engine

Revive abandoned code: auto-update old projects, fix dependencies, improve docs, and generate ready-to-merge PRs—bringing dead software back to life with minimal effort.

Comment

Inspiration

I have dozens of half-finished ideas, prototypes, and abandoned repos scattered across my GitHub. Great concepts that I never had the time, structure, or energy to fully complete. This hackathon’s Resurrection theme immediately clicked:

What if I could build a tool that resurrects all the unfinished versions of “me”?

A system that picks up my old projects, understands them, modernizes them, repairs them, and pushes them forward—just like I always meant to. Kiro’s ecosystem (vibe coding, specs, agent hooks, MCP) finally gave me the tools to attempt it.

What it does

Kiro Necro-Engine analyzes a GitHub repository, identifies outdated or unfinished parts, and generates a “Modernization Plan” that includes:

dependency upgrades

broken code fixes

missing documentation

conversion of old patterns to new ones

code improvements (React class → functional, etc.)

PR-ready patches

It basically takes an abandoned repo and prepares the next step toward shipping it.

Right now, the engine:

scans the repo

generates structured issue findings

organizes them by severity

generates modernization tasks

creates code diffs

renders a full PR preview in the UI

It’s not fully autonomous yet, but it works as a resurrection assistant for my old projects.

How we built it

This was a solo build, heavily powered by Kiro’s agentic features:

🪄 Vibe Coding

I used Kiro conversationally to scaffold:

scanning logic

modernization task generator

the React + Node app

spooky Halloween UI

the PR View renderer

Instead of switching contexts or writing boilerplate, vibe coding let me stay “in flow.”

📜 Specs

Specs helped structure the Modernization Engine: file scanning → issue classification → plan generation → PR diff output.

Every time I rewrote a component or backend module, I updated the spec and Kiro regenerated the implementation cleanly.

🪝 Agent Hooks

I created hooks to automate:

repo cloning

file parsing

dependency extraction

JSDoc documentation checks

GitHub API requests

These let me build a workflow that operates like a small agent system.

🧠 MCP (Attempted)

I tried integrating a GitHub MCP server to allow:

authenticated repo access

branch creation

PR creation

I got the basics scaffolded and partially functional, but didn’t fully complete the agent-GitHub loop during the hackathon. Still, the MCP attempt taught me exactly how I’d finish it next.

🎃 UI

The UI is a spooky Halloween-themed dashboard with:

Home screen (ritual start)

PR View screen (modernization plan)

Scan results

Issue breakdown

Modernization tasks

Challenges we ran into

MCP server complexity: Handling auth + repo write access while building the engine alone was tough.

Time constraints: Trying to create a full agentic pipeline (scan → plan → patch → PR) solo in a few days required scope control.

UI layout tuning: The Halloween theme was fun but styling it cleanly, responsively, and without breaking interactions took multiple refactors.

Diff generation: Producing readable, structured changes was harder than expected.

Not every dead repo is revivable: Old folder structures, missing configs, and inconsistent code quality made automation tricky.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully functional modernization engine from scratch.

Learned and implemented multiple Kiro features (vibe coding, specs, hooks, partial MCP).

Built a working UI + backend system as a solo developer.

Successfully revived multiple old repos of mine through the tool.

Gained confidence building agentic AI workflows I’ve always wanted to create.

Created something that I will genuinely use after the hackathon.

What we learned

Kiro can replace hours of boilerplate by keeping you in a creative, high-productivity flow.

Specs are incredibly powerful for keeping a solo project organized.

MCP unlocks real automation, but requires careful design around permissions and workflows.

Building agentic systems is less about “one big agent” and more about deterministic steps + small tools.

Even unfinished attempts (like my GitHub MCP integration) teach enough to accelerate future builds.

What's next for Kiro Necro-Engine

The next version will include:

  1. Full GitHub MCP Server

authenticate

clone

create branch

commit changes

open PR automatically

This will enable true one-click repo resurrection.

  1. Autonomous Revival Agent

A background agent that can:

scan a dead repo

generate a modernization plan

apply fixes

run tests

open a PR

notify the developer

  1. Better rule engines

Extend modernization rules for:

multi-language repos

outdated frameworks

security fixes

documentation generation

UI modernization

  1. A public hosted version

Where anyone can paste a GitHub URL and get a fully AI-generated modernization plan.

Share this project:

Updates