Obra Superpowers - Setup Guide¶

Source: obra/superpowers (1.2M+ combined installs) Category: Engineering / Workflow Quality Tier: 🟢 Production

Obra Superpowers is one of the most-installed skill suites on skills.sh, providing structured engineering workflows that turn any agent into a disciplined software engineer. The suite covers the full development lifecycle: brainstorming → planning → implementation → code review → testing → debugging.

Installation¶

npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill brainstorming
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill systematic-debugging
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill writing-plans
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill using-superpowers
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill requesting-code-review
npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill test-driven-development

Included Skills¶

Skill	Installs	Purpose
brainstorming	295.4K	Structured ideation with divergent/convergent thinking phases
systematic-debugging	200.3K	Root-cause analysis with hypothesis testing and evidence collection
writing-plans	197.5K	Create detailed implementation plans with milestones and acceptance criteria
using-superpowers	195.5K	Meta-skill: teaches agents when and how to invoke other superpowers
requesting-code-review	179.3K	Structured code review with diff analysis, feedback categorization, and approval gates
test-driven-development	177.7K	Red-green-refactor cycle: write tests first, implement, then refactor

Key Capabilities¶

Brainstorming - Structured Ideation¶

Divergent phase: generate many ideas without judgment
Convergent phase: evaluate, prioritize, and select
Useful for architecture decisions, feature design, and problem-solving

Systematic Debugging - Root-Cause Analysis¶

Hypothesis-driven: form a theory, test it, gather evidence
Systematic elimination of variables
Evidence collection and documentation at each step

Writing Plans - Implementation Planning¶

Breaks work into milestones and tasks
Includes acceptance criteria and dependencies
Template-driven for consistency across projects

Requesting Code Review - Quality Gates¶

Structured diff analysis with categorized feedback
Approval workflow with explicit gates
Focus on architecture, correctness, and maintainability

Test-Driven Development - Quality Assurance¶

Write failing tests first (red)
Implement minimal code to pass (green)
Refactor for clean design (refactor)
Maintains the discipline across the full cycle

Quick Start¶

# Start any engineering task with brainstorming
npx skills use obra/superpowers@brainstorming

# Debug a complex issue systematically
npx skills use obra/superpowers@systematic-debugging

# Write a plan before implementing
npx skills use obra/superpowers@writing-plans

Verification¶

npx skills list | grep "obra/superpowers"
# Expected: 6 skills listed with install counts

Notes¶

1.2M+ combined installs makes this the most-installed engineering workflow suite on skills.sh
All skills follow a structured, phase-based approach - no ad-hoc workflows
The using-superpowers meta-skill teaches agents WHEN to use each workflow (not just how)
Best used as a pipeline: brainstorm → plan → TDD implementation → code review → debug any issues
These skills are Claude Code native but compatible with any Hermes agent doing engineering work
The disciplined approach reduces rework and improves code quality across sessions