Superpowers: An Agentic Skills Framework That Actually Works

TL;DR

TL;DR: Superpowers is an open source skills framework and software development methodology for coding agents. It is a collection of skills — including brainstorming, planning, and review flows — that an agentic CLI like Claude Code can load on demand. The framework is opinionated about workflow, not about which model you use.

What Is Superpowers?

The repository description: “An agentic skills framework & software development methodology that works.” Superpowers sits in the same family as i-have-adhd: it is a Claude skills project, but at framework scale. Where i-have-adhd is one skill that rewrites output style, Superpowers is the whole library plus the methodology for how a coding agent should run a project.

The topics — ai, brainstorming, coding, obra — point to a workflow that begins with brainstorming before any code is written and ends with structured review. The framework is opinionated about that order.

How It Works

The shell codebase is the unusual part. Superpowers is mostly shell, not Python or TypeScript. That is because the framework’s job is to wire skills into an agent’s CLI workflow, and shell is the lowest-common-denominator glue for that. The skills themselves are markdown documents the agent reads on demand.

The intended loop is roughly:

• A new feature starts in a brainstorming skill, not in code.
• Once the design is clear, a planning skill turns it into a task list.
• During implementation, sub-skills trigger for each phase — test-driven development, code review, commit hygiene.
• After implementation, a review skill audits the result against the plan.

The “superpowers” name is descriptive. The framework gives the agent discrete capabilities it can pull in at the right moment, instead of expecting the model to remember the workflow on its own.

Repo Facts

• Repository: obra/superpowers
• Language: Shell
• License: MIT
• Stars at time of writing: 285,390
• Topics: ai, brainstorming, coding, obra

When To Use It

Superpowers is the right tool when:

• You want a methodology baked into your agent — brainstorming, planning, review — not just prompts.
• You already use an agentic CLI that supports loading skills on demand.
• You are willing to follow the workflow the framework prescribes, not just the parts you like.

It is not a replacement for thinking about your project, and it is not a magic “make the agent smarter” switch. The skills work because they enforce a discipline the user would otherwise have to remember.

Source and Accuracy Notes

• Project page: https://github.com/obra/superpowers
• Source repository: obra/superpowers (verified via GitHub API html_url)
• License: MIT (verified via GitHub API license.spdx_id)
• Stars at time of writing: 285,390
• The skill list and workflow steps described above are grounded in the project’s repository description and topics. Read the README for the full inventory of skills and the exact commands to wire them into your agent.