superpowers

Superpowers

Superpowers is a complete software development workflow for your coding agents, built on top of a set of composable "skills" and some initial instructions that make sure your agent uses them.

How it works

It starts from the moment you fire up your coding agent. As soon as it sees that you're building something, it doesn't just jump into trying to write code. Instead, it steps back and asks you what you're really trying to do.

Once it's teased a spec out of the conversation, it shows it to you in chunks short enough to actually read and digest.

After you've signed off on the design, your agent puts together an implementation plan that's clear enough for an enthusiastic junior engineer with poor taste, no judgement, no project context, and an aversion to testing to follow. It emphasizes true red/green TDD, YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It), and DRY.

Next up, once you say "go", it launches an executing-plans process in the current session, working through each engineering task with explicit verification and review checkpoints.

There's a bunch more to it, but that's the core of the system. And because the skills trigger automatically, you don't need to do anything special. Your coding agent just has Superpowers.

Sponsorship

If Superpowers has helped you do stuff that makes money and you are so inclined, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd consider sponsoring my opensource work.

Thanks!

• Jesse

Installation

Note: Installation differs by platform. Claude Code or Cursor have built-in plugin marketplaces. Codex and OpenCode require manual setup.

Claude Code Official Marketplace

Superpowers is available via the official Claude plugin marketplace

Install the plugin from Claude marketplace:

/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official

Claude Code (via Plugin Marketplace)

In Claude Code, register the marketplace first:

/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace

Then install the plugin from this marketplace:

/plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

Cursor (via Plugin Marketplace)

In Cursor Agent chat, install from marketplace:

/add-plugin superpowers

or search for "superpowers" in the plugin marketplace.

Codex

Tell Codex:

Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/superpowers/refs/heads/main/.codex/INSTALL.md

Detailed docs: docs/README.codex.md

OpenCode

Tell OpenCode:

Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/superpowers/refs/heads/main/.opencode/INSTALL.md

Detailed docs: docs/README.opencode.md

GitHub Copilot CLI

copilot plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace
copilot plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

Gemini CLI

gemini extensions install https://github.com/obra/superpowers

To update:

gemini extensions update superpowers

Verify Installation

Start a new session in your chosen platform and ask for something that should trigger a skill (for example, "help me plan this feature" or "let's debug this issue"). The agent should automatically invoke the relevant superpowers skill.

The Basic Workflow

1. brainstorming - Activates before writing code. Refines rough ideas through questions, explores alternatives, presents design in sections for validation. Saves design document.

2. writing-plans - Activates with approved design. Runs selecting-implementation-architecture first to lock Lightweight vs Heavyweight, then breaks work into bite-sized tasks (2-5 minutes each). Every task has exact file paths, complete code, verification steps.

3. executing-plans - Activates with plan. Executes tasks directly in-session on main/master with verification checkpoints. Follows the plan's architecture line (lightweight or hex).

4. selecting-implementation-architecture - Used during planning (and when a plan is ambiguous). Recommends lightweight vs heavyweight from signals; user confirms. Records the decision in the plan.

5. lightweight-software-principles OR hex-infra - Applied per plan. Lightweight: modular, domain-centered, minimal ceremony. Heavyweight: commands/queries, ports, adapters, domain craftsmanship; deep DDD reference lives under hex-infra/references/ddd-expert-knowledge-base.md. Always paired with TDD.

6. test-driven-development - Activates during implementation. Enforces RED-GREEN-REFACTOR: write failing test, watch it fail, write minimal code, watch it pass, commit. Deletes code written before tests.

7. requesting-code-review - Activates between tasks. Reviews against plan, reports issues by severity. Critical issues block progress.