Superpowers is a complete software development methodology for coding agents, built on a foundation of composable skills and a mandatory instruction protocol [README.md3-4] [README.md204]. It acts as a multi-platform plugin that provides structured development workflows and AI skills across Claude Code, Antigravity, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, Kimi Code, Pi, and GitHub Copilot CLI [README.md14] [README.md186].
The system is currently at version 6.1.1 [.claude-plugin/plugin.json4] and is maintained at https [.claude-plugin/plugin.json9-10].
Sources: README.md1-15 .claude-plugin/plugin.json1-13 RELEASE-NOTES.md3-4
The fundamental goal of Superpowers is to transform AI coding agents from reactive code-writers into systematic engineers. It prevents agents from jumping directly into code by enforcing a "step back" approach to tease out specifications and sign off on designs before implementation begins [README.md18-19].
The system is anchored by the using-superpowers meta-skill [README.md204]. It enforces a strict protocol where the agent checks for relevant skills before any task; these are treated as mandatory workflows, not suggestions [README.md204]. As of v6.1.0, this bootstrap has been compressed to reduce per-session token costs while maintaining the "Red Flags" rationalization and user-instruction precedence rules [RELEASE-NOTES.md18-20].
| Principle | Implementation in Code |
|---|---|
| Test-Driven Development | Enforced via test-driven-development skill RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle [README.md198-199]. |
| Systematic over Ad-hoc | Replaces intuition with 4-phase processes in systematic-debugging [README.md206]. |
| Complexity Reduction | Emphasizes YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) and DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) [README.md22]. |
| Isolation & Safety | Mandatory use of git worktrees for workspace isolation and clean baselines [README.md192-193 README.md207]. |
Sources: README.md18-22 README.md190-207 RELEASE-NOTES.md16-20
Superpowers uses a single source of truth (the skills/ directory) but integrates uniquely with various AI environments through platform-specific hooks and configuration files. Gemini CLI support was officially removed in v6.1.0 following its EOL [RELEASE-NOTES.md30].
| Platform | Integration Mechanism | Key Configuration File / Command |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Native marketplace/hooks | .claude-plugin/plugin.json [.claude-plugin/plugin.json1-20] |
| Antigravity | Session-start hook | agy plugin install [README.md69-72] |
| Codex | Native skill discovery | .agents/plugins/marketplace.json [RELEASE-NOTES.md25-26] |
| Cursor | Marketplace/hooks | /add-plugin superpowers [README.md106] |
| OpenCode | JS plugin / prompt transform | .opencode/INSTALL.md [README.md167] |
| Pi | Session-start extension | pi install [README.md177-186] |
The following diagram illustrates how a user's natural language request is routed through the platform-specific "Shim" into the core logic and finally to the specific skill files.
Request Routing and Skill Discovery:
Sources: README.md64-186 RELEASE-NOTES.md25-30 RELEASE-NOTES.md64-71
As of v6.0.3, SDD scratch files (task briefs, implementer reports, progress ledgers) have moved from .git/ to a self-ignoring .superpowers/sdd/ directory in the working tree [RELEASE-NOTES.md36]. This avoids permission issues in environments like Claude Code that protect the .git/ directory [RELEASE-NOTES.md36].
In v6.0.0, the SDD process was significantly streamlined:
spec-reviewer-prompt.md and code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md were replaced by a single task-reviewer-prompt.md [RELEASE-NOTES.md61].~/.config/superpowers/worktrees/) was removed in favor of project-local .worktrees/ directories [RELEASE-NOTES.md62].Maintainers use package-codex-plugin.sh to produce deterministic Codex portal archives [RELEASE-NOTES.md12]. To prevent Codex from falling back to Claude Code's auto-discovered hooks, the Codex manifest explicitly declares an empty hooks object (hooks: {}) [RELEASE-NOTES.md7].
Sources: RELEASE-NOTES.md7-12 RELEASE-NOTES.md36 RELEASE-NOTES.md53-63
Superpowers enforces a linear pipeline from idea to merged code.
Workflow Entity Diagram:
Sources: README.md190-202 RELEASE-NOTES.md61-62 RELEASE-NOTES.md74
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