Using Superpowers
Use when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring skill invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions
Install
/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowersThe repo is a Claude Code plugin marketplace. Run /plugin afterwards to pick the plugin that includes this skill.
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill using-superpowersgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/obra/superpowers.git /tmp/superpowers
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/superpowers/skills/using-superpowers ~/.claude/skills/using-superpowersPersonal skills live in ~/.claude/skills. Use .claude/skills in a project folder to share a skill with your team.
From the SKILL.md
<SUBAGENT-STOP> If you were dispatched as a subagent to execute a specific task, ignore this skill. </SUBAGENT-STOP> <EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT> If you think there is even a 1% chance a skill might apply to what you are doing, you ABSOLUTELY MUST invoke the skill. IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT. This is not negotiable. You cannot rationalize your way out of this. </EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT> ## The Rule **Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action** — including clarifying questions, exploring the codebase, or checking files. If it turns out wrong for the situation, you don't have to use it. **Before entering plan mode:** if you haven't already brainstormed, invoke the brainstorming skill first. Then announce "Using [skill] to [purpose]" and follow the skill exactly. If it has a checklist, create a todo per item. ## Skill Priority When multiple skills apply, process skills come first — they set the approach, then implementation skills (frontend-design, etc.) carry it out. Brainstorming and systematic-debugging are Superpowers' most common process skills, but the rule holds for any of them. - "Let's build X" → superpowers:brainstorming first, then implementation skills. - "Fix this bug" → superpowers:systematic-debugging first, then domain skills. ## Red Flags These thoughts mean STOP—you're rationalizing: | Thought | Reality | |---------|---------|
Details
- Skill name
using-superpowers- Repository
- obra/superpowers
- Path
skills/using-superpowers/SKILL.md- License
- MIT
- Repo updated
- 29 October 2026
FAQ
What does the Using Superpowers skill do?
Use when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring skill invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions
How do I install the Using Superpowers skill?
Claude Code plugin: /plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers. Skills go in ~/.claude/skills (personal) or .claude/skills (project), and Claude loads them automatically when a task matches the description.
Is Using Superpowers popular?
It lives in obra/superpowers, which has 309,696 GitHub stars and 27,549 forks, and is included in 6 curated skill lists.
Related skills
Brainstorming
310kobra/superpowers
Transforms rough ideas into fully-formed designs. Structure your brainstorming sessions and develop ideas systematically.
Diagnosing Superpowers
310kobra/superpowers
Use when a superpowers session went wrong and your human partner wants to know why — repeated work, ignored plans, stumbles, poor results, a skill that didn't fire, "it took too long", "why is it so expensive", "what is it doing" — or wants to build a bug report for the superpowers maintainers, for the current session or a past one identified by id or path, on any harness.
Dispatching Parallel Agents
310kobra/superpowers
Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
Verification Before Completion
310kobra/superpowers
Use when about to claim work is complete, fixed, or passing, before committing or creating PRs - requires running verification commands and confirming output before making any success claims; evidence before assertions always
Ask Matt
308kmattpocock/skills
Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the skills in this repo.
Implement
308kmattpocock/skills
Implement a piece of work based on a spec or set of tickets.
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