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Using Superpowers

Makes the agent check for and invoke relevant skills before it responds or acts

Source Download skill
Repository
obra/superpowers
Stars
310,931
Licence
MIT
Files
8 files

What it does

This is a meta-skill that sits at the start of every conversation and tells the agent to look for other skills that might apply to a request and use them before answering, asking clarifying questions, or taking action. It also sets an order for multiple skills (process skills like brainstorming or debugging first, then implementation skills), includes a table of rationalizations the agent should resist, and points the agent to platform-specific reference notes for tools like Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini-based harnesses. It does not add a new capability by itself; it changes how the agent decides when to use the capabilities it has.

Great for

  • Developers who already use a set of agent skills and want the agent to consistently apply them
  • Teams building a structured workflow (brainstorm, plan, implement, debug) on top of an AI coding agent
  • People who find their agent skipping relevant skills and want stricter invocation behaviour

Skip it if

  • Users who want the agent to be flexible and quick on simple questions: the skill pushes strongly toward checking for skills before every response, which can add overhead and rigidity
  • Setups where no other skills are installed, since it has little effect on its own
  • Situations where explicit user or project instructions should govern: the file itself says those take precedence, but its wording is very forceful, so an agent may over-apply it if not configured carefully

Try asking

  • “Start a new feature request and let the agent brainstorm the approach before writing any code”
  • “Ask the agent to fix a bug and have it follow a systematic debugging process first”
  • “Begin a conversation where the agent should check which installed skills apply before answering”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Using SuperpowersInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 8 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    using-superpowers.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip using-superpowers.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip using-superpowers.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Install it alongside the other skills it refers to (such as brainstorming and systematic-debugging), otherwise it has nothing to route to
  • State your own instructions in CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md if you want to override its strict behaviour, since the file ranks user instructions higher
  • Check the platform reference file for your harness, for example references/claude-code-tools.md, so tool names are mapped correctly

What's inside

  • references/antigravity-tools.md
  • references/claude-code-tools.md
  • references/codex-tools.md
  • references/gemini-tools.md
  • references/hermes-tools.md
  • references/muse-tools.md
  • references/pi-tools.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from obra/superpowers under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.