Superpowers Skills
Superpowers is a skill system for Claude Code. Skills are structured prompt files that give Claude a repeatable workflow for specific tasks — things like debugging, writing implementation plans, or doing a code review. Instead of you re-explaining how you want a task done every time, you invoke a skill and Claude follows the procedure defined in it.
What a skill is
Section titled “What a skill is”A skill is a Markdown file with instructions. When invoked, its contents are loaded into Claude’s context and followed as a procedure. Skills can be simple (“always do X before Y”) or elaborate (multi-step workflows with decision trees).
Skills are organised into plugins. A plugin is a collection of related skills — for example, a superpowers plugin might contain skills for debugging, planning, and code review.
How to invoke a skill
Section titled “How to invoke a skill”In Claude Code, use the Skill tool and pass the skill name:
Skill("superpowers:systematic-debugging")Or type a slash command if the skill is registered as one:
/systematic-debuggingAvailable skills are listed in your session context. Claude will confirm which skill is loading before following it.
Common skills in the Superpowers plugin
Section titled “Common skills in the Superpowers plugin”| Skill | When to use |
|---|---|
brainstorming | Before building anything new — explores requirements and produces a design |
writing-plans | Turns a design into a step-by-step implementation plan |
systematic-debugging | When you have a bug — structured root cause analysis before guessing at fixes |
subagent-driven-development | Executes a plan by dispatching fresh subagents per task with review between each |
test-driven-development | Enforces TDD discipline when implementing features |
verification-before-completion | Runs checks before claiming work is done |
requesting-code-review | Structures a code review request |
Why use skills
Section titled “Why use skills”Without skills, the quality of Claude’s work depends on the quality of your prompt. A vague prompt produces vague work. Skills encode the “how” so you only have to specify the “what.”
A skill like systematic-debugging enforces that Claude reads the error, forms a hypothesis, checks the assumption, and only then proposes a fix — rather than jumping straight to a guess. That discipline is built into the skill, not into your prompt.
Installing and managing skills
Section titled “Installing and managing skills”Skills are installed as plugins. The Superpowers plugin ships with a default set. You can also write your own — see Building Custom Skills.