Superpowers

Commands and capabilities of Superpowers 7.0.1 checked on October 31, 2026.

Superpowers by Jesse Vincent (obra) implements SDD as a set of skills. Between design and implementation, the instructions set mandatory checkpoints called HARD-GATE.

Installation

The main way to install it uses the Claude Code marketplace.

/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official

The pack also includes instructions and manifests for Codex, Cursor, Antigravity, GitHub Copilot CLI and OpenCode.

Workflow

At session start, a hook loads using-superpowers, which requires checking whether skills apply before answering. The agent discusses a new feature through brainstorming and investigates a bug through systematic-debugging.

In brainstorming, you clarify the goal and choose an approach. A small change gets a short written design; a project gets a full one. Both record the alternatives and reasons for the choice. You review the document before implementation.

Discussion and approachchoiceTask sizeSmall changeshort designProjectfull designBuilder checkfresh contextYou review the designPlan → implementation →checkstask size changes design depth
Discussion and approachchoiceTask sizeSmall changeshort designProjectfull designBuilder checkfresh contextYou review the designPlan → implementation →checkstask size changes design depth

For a project, the builder check finds questions that would prevent a builder from planning. A fresh subagent normally performs it; without that tool the agent checks it itself. A small change goes straight to your review. A clear trivial request can be handled directly; an agreed throwaway spike and an explicit opt-out from interviewing also have separate exceptions. See brainstorming.

After design approval, writing-plans prepares tasks with actions and checks. Isolation through using-git-worktrees belongs to execution preparation. subagent-driven-development or executing-plans executes the plan; test-driven-development sets the TDD cycle. requesting-code-review and receiving-code-review support review, and finishing-a-development-branch completes a verified branch through your choice of merge or PR. verification-before-completion requires checks before declaring success.

Artifacts

Artifact Where it lives
Design document docs/superpowers/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-\-design.md
Implementation plan docs/superpowers/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-\.md

Short and full designs are Markdown documents. For a project, the builder check precedes your review. The plan follows design approval; its location can be overridden. A throwaway spike ends with an answer; keeping its code requires a new decision.

What makes it different

  • A small change gets a short written design; a project gets a full design with an additional check.
  • A hook helps the agent pick the right procedure automatically.
  • Separate contexts for the executor and the reviewer keep implementation apart from evaluation.
  • The plan includes red–green–refactor steps.

When to choose it

Superpowers fits a team that needs a single process with mandatory checkpoints. For quick changes this process can be excessive. If you prefer to keep the outcome of discussions in an issue tracker, compare Matt Pocock's skills.

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