Superpowers: An Agentic Skills Framework for Coding Agents

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Superpowers: Give Your Coding Agent a Real Workflow

Superpowers (103k+ stars) is an open-source framework created by Jesse Vincent that teaches your AI coding agent disciplined software development workflows. Instead of letting your agent jump straight into writing code, Superpowers injects a structured methodology: brainstorm requirements, write a plan, implement with TDD, review, and ship.

It works across five platforms: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, and Gemini CLI.

Why This Exists

Most coding agents are enthusiastic but undisciplined. They write code before understanding the problem, skip tests, and produce implementations that look right but aren’t verified. Superpowers solves this by making structured workflows mandatory, not optional. The skills trigger automatically — your agent just has Superpowers.

The Core Workflow

The heart of Superpowers is a composable, sequential workflow that activates automatically:

  1. brainstorming — Before writing code, the agent asks what you’re really trying to do. It refines ideas through questions, explores alternatives, and presents a design in digestible sections. Saves a design document.

  2. using-git-worktrees — After design approval, creates an isolated workspace on a new branch. Runs project setup and verifies a clean test baseline.

  3. writing-plans — Breaks work into bite-sized tasks (2–5 minutes each). Every task has exact file paths, complete code, and verification steps. Emphasizes YAGNI and DRY.

  4. subagent-driven-development — Launches fresh subagents per task with two-stage review (spec compliance, then code quality). Can run autonomously for hours without deviating from the plan.

  5. test-driven-development — Enforces RED-GREEN-REFACTOR: write a failing test, watch it fail, write minimal code, watch it pass, commit. Deletes code written before tests.

  6. requesting-code-review — Reviews against the plan between tasks. Reports issues by severity. Critical issues block progress.

  7. finishing-a-development-branch — Verifies tests, presents options (merge/PR/keep/discard), cleans up the worktree.

Skills Library

Superpowers ships with a comprehensive set of skills organized by category:

Testing & Debugging

  • test-driven-development — RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle with testing anti-patterns reference
  • systematic-debugging — 4-phase root cause process with defense-in-depth techniques
  • verification-before-completion — Ensure it’s actually fixed before claiming success

Collaboration & Planning

  • brainstorming — Socratic design refinement
  • writing-plans — Detailed implementation plans
  • executing-plans — Batch execution with human checkpoints
  • dispatching-parallel-agents — Concurrent subagent workflows
  • requesting-code-review — Pre-review checklist
  • receiving-code-review — Responding to feedback

Infrastructure

  • using-git-worktrees — Parallel development branches
  • finishing-a-development-branch — Merge/PR decision workflow
  • subagent-driven-development — Fast iteration with two-stage review

Meta

  • writing-skills — Create new skills following best practices
  • using-superpowers — Introduction to the skills system

Platform Support

PlatformInstall Method
Claude Code/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official
Cursor/add-plugin superpowers in agent chat
CodexFetch INSTALL.md from the repo
OpenCodeFetch INSTALL.md from the repo
Gemini CLIgemini extensions install https://github.com/obra/superpowers

Installation

Claude Code (Official Marketplace) 

/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official

Claude Code (Community Marketplace) 

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

Cursor

In Cursor Agent chat:

/add-plugin superpowers

Codex

Tell Codex:

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

OpenCode

Tell OpenCode:

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

Gemini CLI 

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

Verify Installation

Start a new session and ask for something that triggers a skill (e.g., “help me plan this feature” or “let’s debug this issue”). The agent should automatically invoke the relevant skill.

Custom Skills

You can extend Superpowers with your own skills. Each skill is a markdown file with frontmatter that describes when it should activate. The writing-skills skill provides the complete guide for creating and testing new skills.

Philosophy

  • Test-Driven Development — Write tests first, always
  • Systematic over ad-hoc — Process over guessing
  • Complexity reduction — Simplicity as primary goal
  • Evidence over claims — Verify before declaring success

Who Should Use It

  • Developers using AI coding agents who want more disciplined output
  • Teams that need consistent workflow across different agent platforms
  • Anyone frustrated by agents that write code before understanding the problem

Why This Tool Rocks

  • Multi-Platform — One framework works across Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, and Gemini CLI
  • Auto-Bootstrap — Skills trigger automatically; no manual invocation needed
  • TDD-First — Enforces test-driven development as a mandatory workflow
  • Subagent Support — Parallel agents work through tasks with two-stage review
  • Git Worktrees — Isolated branches for parallel development
  • Extensible — Create your own skills with simple markdown files
  • Open Source — MIT licensed, 103k stars, 27 contributors
  • Battle-Tested — By Jesse Vincent (creator of Keyboardio, RT, and significant open-source contributor)

🔗 GitHub: github.com/obra/superpowers

🔗 Discord: discord.gg/Jd8Vphy9jq

🔗 Blog: Superpowers for Claude Code

Crepi il lupo! 🐺