Superpowers

1. What is Superpowers?

Superpowers is a set of "skills" (written process instructions) that you add to an AI coding assistant such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Gemini CLI. Once installed, the assistant stops jumping straight into code. It follows a fixed process instead: it asks what you actually want, writes a design, breaks the work into a small-step plan, writes tests before code, and reviews its own work before saying it is done.

It is built by Jesse Vincent and the team at Prime Radiant, open source under the MIT license, and free. The latest release at the time of writing is v7.0.1, published on 21 October 2026.

To be clear: this is a tool for people who already use AI to write software. Superpowers is not a standalone app and has no window of its own. It only runs inside an AI coding assistant you already have.

A good fit if:

• You already use Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI or a similar coding assistant.
• Your AI often misreads what you want, writes a lot in one go, then says "done" while the code does not work.
• You want the AI to work through longer tasks (a few hours) against a clear plan rather than guessing step by step.

Not a good fit if:

• You do not use any AI coding assistant yet. Install one of those first.
• You only want quick one-off answers. The questioning and planning will feel like overhead on very small jobs (although Superpowers scales itself down for small work).
• You need to keep token use as low as possible. The mode that runs many subagents (helper assistants) uses noticeably more tokens.

2. What do you need?

• An AI coding assistant that is installed and signed in. Superpowers supports 16 harnesses: Claude Code, Antigravity, Codex App, Codex CLI, Cursor, Devin CLI, Factory Droid, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Grok Build CLI, Kimi Code, OpenCode, Pi, Qwen Code, Hermes Agent and Muse. Accounts and costs belong to that tool; check each tool's official site.
• A project folder, ideally already a Git repository (Git keeps the history of your code changes; download it from https://git-scm.com). Superpowers uses Git to give each feature its own working branch.
• No API key is needed for Superpowers itself, and Superpowers costs nothing.

Note: If you use more than one tool (for example both Claude Code and Cursor), install Superpowers separately in each one.

3. Step-by-step installation

Pick the section for the tool you use. The first three are the easiest because they install through a plugin marketplace (the place inside the tool where you browse and add extensions).

Step 1 (Claude Code): install from the official marketplace

Open Claude Code in your project folder, type this into the chat box and press Enter:

/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official

What you should see: Claude Code confirms the superpowers plugin is installed. Quit Claude Code and open it again so the plugin loads.

Alternatively, use the Superpowers marketplace, which also carries a few related plugins:

/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace

/plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

Step 1 (Codex App): click install under Plugins

1. In the Codex app, click Plugins in the left sidebar.
2. Find Superpowers in the Coding section.
3. Click the + next to Superpowers and follow the prompts.

What you should see: Superpowers appears in your list of installed plugins.

Step 1 (Cursor): install from the marketplace

In Cursor's Agent chat, type:

/add-plugin superpowers

Or open Cursor's plugin marketplace and search for "superpowers".

Step 1 (Codex CLI)

Type /plugins in Codex CLI to open plugin search, search for superpowers, then choose Install Plugin.

Step 1 (Gemini CLI)

gemini extensions install https://github.com/obra/superpowers

Step 1 (GitHub Copilot CLI)

copilot plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace

copilot plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

Step 1 (Antigravity)

agy plugin install https://github.com/obra/superpowers

Step 1 (other tools)

• Devin CLI: devin plugins install obra/superpowers
• Qwen Code: qwen extensions install obra/superpowers, then pick superpowers when asked.
• Hermes Agent: hermes plugins install obra/superpowers --enable, then restart any open Hermes sessions.
• Pi: pi install git:github.com/obra/superpowers
• OpenCode: tell OpenCode: "Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/superpowers/refs/heads/main/.opencode/INSTALL.md". OpenCode V2 needs version 2.0.4 or later.
• Factory Droid, Grok Build CLI, Kimi Code, Muse: follow the matching section of the official README: https://github.com/obra/superpowers

Step 2: Start a new session

After installing, close the session you had open and start a fresh one. Superpowers loads its bootstrap when a session starts, so an older session will not pick it up.

What you should see: in the new session, when you ask for something, the AI mentions using a skill (such as "brainstorming") instead of writing code straight away.

4. First use

Quick test: ask for a small app

The official docs suggest this test. Type it into a new session:

Let's make a react todo list

What you should see: the AI does not write code yet. The brainstorming skill starts on its own; the AI reads your existing project, then asks about whatever is still unclear, one point at a time, and plays back what it understood so you can correct it.

The process you will go through

1. Brainstorming: answer the questions. The AI lays out two or three approaches, recommends one and waits for your choice. Small changes are agreed in chat; for a project it writes a design document and builds nothing until you approve it.
2. An isolated workspace: the AI creates a worktree (a copy of your project folder on a new Git branch) and runs the tests to confirm a clean starting point.
3. A written plan: the work is split into 2–5 minute tasks, each with exact files, the code to write and how to check it.
4. Execution: you choose one of two modes. subagent-driven-development hands each task to a fresh helper assistant and reviews after every task (most thorough). executing-plans does everything in the current session with one review at the end (cheapest).
5. Tests first (TDD): the AI writes a test, watches it fail, writes the minimum code to make it pass, then commits.
6. Finishing the branch: the AI reruns the tests and asks whether you want to merge, open a pull request, keep the branch or discard it.

Note: Read the design and the plan carefully before you tell the AI to go. That is where you control the result.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Installed, but the AI still writes code immediately and asks nothing	The open session started before the install and never loaded the bootstrap	Quit the tool completely, start a new session and retry the test in section 4
Skills do not trigger in a second tool	Each tool needs its own install	Install again using that tool's section in part 3
Skills stop triggering in a very long session (Hermes Agent)	Hermes has no post-compaction hook, so the bootstrap is lost	Start a new session
On Windows, hooks do not run or Git Bash paths fail	Fixed in v7.0.0	Update to the latest version (section 6)
The AI ignores its plan, repeats work or burns unusual amounts of tokens	A skill fired at the wrong time or the session went wrong	Ask "figure out what went wrong with superpowers in this session" so the diagnosing-superpowers skill reviews the session and points to the problem
Token use is higher than expected	Subagent mode is being used for every task	When asked how to execute the plan, choose executing-plans

If the problem remains, check or report it at https://github.com/obra/superpowers/issues . The maintainers do not accept agent-written pull requests that fix issues someone else filed; add your details to the existing issue instead.

6. Uninstall / update

Updating: the docs say updates depend on the tool and are often automatic. Some tools have their own command:

gemini extensions update superpowers

devin plugins update superpowers

qwen extensions update superpowers

For Antigravity, run the install command again to update. For Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, use that tool's own plugin manager.

Uninstalling: open the plugin or extension manager of the tool you use (for example /plugin in Claude Code), select Superpowers and remove or disable it. Start a new session to make sure the skills are no longer loaded.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money? Superpowers is free (MIT license). You only pay for the AI assistant you use. The multi-step process, and subagent mode in particular, uses more tokens than asking the AI to write code directly.

Does it send my data anywhere? According to the docs, the optional "visual companion" in brainstorming loads the Prime Radiant logo from their website along with the Superpowers version number, without any project details or prompts. To turn this off, set the environment variable SUPERPOWERS_DISABLE_TELEMETRY to a true value (for example 1). Superpowers also honours Claude Code's DISABLE_TELEMETRY and CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC.

Can I use it if I cannot code? Superpowers makes the AI work with a process, but you still need to read and approve the design and the plan. It suits people who are already comfortable with an AI coding assistant.

Will small jobs get buried in questions? Since v7.0.0, brainstorming sizes the work first: quick, clear tasks are done right away, small changes are agreed in chat, and only projects get a design document. You can ask it to do otherwise.

Is there business support? Prime Radiant offers commercial services for companies; the contact address is in the official README.