Refactoring your HERE application with AWS Kiro and MCP-powered documentation

When I review older HERE sample applications, some may use an older version of the HERE Maps API for JavaScript, even though 3.2 has been out for quite a while. Maybe nobody has touched the code since it was written. Maybe a coding assistant generated it from training data that predates 3.2. From the code alone, you can't always tell.

Either way, a lot of us have apps like this: demos, proofs of concept, conference sessions, internal tools. They still run and people still use them, but they've fallen behind current frameworks, dependencies, and recommended practices. None of the updates are especially hard. The challenge is in finding time to maintain them.

AI coding assistants can help clear that backlog, but only if they're working from current information. Otherwise they risk repeating the same outdated patterns you're trying to remove.

In this article, I'll walk through how AWS Kiro can help modernize an older HERE app. It pairs AI-assisted refactoring with a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built on HERE's documentation, so its suggestions come from today's docs instead of outdated training data.

Why modernizing HERE apps is harder than it looks

Outdated dependencies are usually the easy part of an old app. The harder part is the implementation patterns that made sense when the code was written but no longer match HERE's current recommendations.

Those patterns are easy to miss when you're upgrading by hand, and easier still when an AI coding assistant does the work. Think back to the 3.1 code I mentioned earlier. An assistant without current docs has no reason to flag it and may keep writing code the same way.

Moving from 3.1 to 3.2 shows why. You can't just bump the version number in your imports and move on. Version 3.2 changed how rendering works: older rendering approaches were removed, and the engine model was simplified. In practice, a migration usually means:

• Updating library references

• Reviewing how rendering is configured

• Replacing deprecated functionality

• Bringing the code in line with HERE's current guidance

That's where a coding assistant connected to current documentation earns its keep. It has to know what changed in 3.2, and most of that lives in the docs.

An assistant can't use what it can't see

A coding assistant is only as reliable as the information it can access.

Without current documentation, an assistant relies primarily on its training data. Depending on when that data was collected, recommendations may reference deprecated methods, outdated examples or older implementation practices.

Connecting a documentation-based MCP server changes that process.

Instead of relying solely on previously learned information, AWS Kiro can then query current documentation via MCP while reviewing and refactoring code.

This provides access to:

• Current API documentation

• Updated method signatures

• Recommended implementation patterns

• Migration guidance

• Product-specific best practices

For developers maintaining production applications, this reduces uncertainty and helps improve confidence in AI-generated suggestions.

Connecting HERE documentation to AWS Kiro

There are several ways to configure MCP servers in AWS Kiro.

The fastest approach is to use the MCP configuration provided in the documentation and allow Kiro to update the configuration automatically.

Simply paste the MCP server configuration into the chat and instruct Kiro to add it to the MCP settings.

JSON
{
"servers": {
"here-docs": {
"url": "https://docs.here.com/mcp",
"type": "http"
}

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For developers who prefer a manual approach:

1. Open the MCP panel in AWS Kiro

2. Create a new MCP server entry

3. Add the HERE documentation MCP configuration

4. Save the configuration

5. Restart the connection if required

Regardless of the approach, verifying the connection status is essential before beginning any refactoring effort.

A disconnected MCP server can create a misleading experience.

Before starting any modernization project, confirm that:

• The MCP server is connected

• Documentation queries succeed

• Current HERE documentation can be retrieved

A quick validation step can prevent significant rework later.

Review the codebase before making changes

With the MCP server connected and validated, the next step is selecting a codebase for review.

For this example, I used an older HERE sample application.

The goal was not to redesign the application. The objective was to identify opportunities to:

• Upgrade HERE Maps API for JavaScript implementations

• Modernize coding patterns

• Remove deprecated functionality

• Improve maintainability

• Align with current HERE recommendations

Even simple single-page applications can benefit from these improvements.

Use Kiro as a HERE code reviewer

Before making changes, I typically ask Kiro to act as a code reviewer.

Starting with a review helps identify improvement opportunities before generating new code.

Example prompt:

text
Act as an experienced HERE platform code reviewer.
Analyze the current {application name} application and identify opportunities to:
1.	Upgrade the implementation to the latest HERE Maps API for JavaScript version
2.	Replace deprecated patterns and functions
3.	Follow current HERE documentation and recommended practices
4.	Improve code readability and maintainability
5.	Refactor duplicated or unnecessary logic
6.	Suggest performance improvements where applicable
7.	Keep the application functionality unchanged unless a better approach is recommended
Provide:
1.	A summary of findings
2.	Prioritized improvements
3.	Code examples
4.	Migration guidance
5.	Refactored implementations

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This review-first approach provides a clear understanding of the modernization path before code changes begin.

Upgrade with confidence

The most important lesson from this process is simple.

AI coding assistants are highly effective at modernization and refactoring tasks when they have access to accurate and current information.

Without grounding, recommendations may reflect older documentation or outdated examples. With access to current documentation through a Model Context Protocol server, AWS Kiro can generate suggestions that better align with the latest HERE platform guidance.

The difference is significant.

Rather than asking:

How do I upgrade this application?

The process becomes:

How do I upgrade this application using the latest HERE documentation and recommendations?

That additional context can dramatically improve the quality of generated results.

Conclusion

Not every older HERE application needs a rewrite. Someone needs to go through them, find what's out of date, and fix it, and that's a job that can keep getting pushed to next week.

With access to current documentation and a structured review process, AWS Kiro can help identify outdated patterns, recommend improvements, and accelerate migration work.

For teams managing multiple repositories, developer samples or long-lived applications, this approach can reduce the effort required to keep projects aligned with current HERE platform capabilities.

If you look after a few samples, demos, or internal tools, pick one and try it. Point Kiro at the code, run the review prompt from this article, and see what comes back. The move to 3.2 might be smaller than you expected, or it might be more overdue than you thought. Either way, you'll have a list to work from instead of a vague sense that the code is old.

Explore the HERE Maps API for JavaScript documentation, connect the HERE documentation Model Context Protocol server to AWS Kiro and run a review against one of your existing applications. The results may reveal modernization opportunities that are easy to implement and valuable to maintain.