Superpowers Practical Guide: 7‑Step Workflow, 14 Skills, and 3 Iron Laws for Stable AI‑Driven Coding

What Is Superpowers?

Superpowers is a standardized development workflow system for AI‑coding agents, created by Jesse Vincent (GitHub: obra) and currently at version v5.0.7 (2026‑03‑31). It supports six platforms: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, and GitHub Copilot CLI. Its core premise is not to make AI smarter but to make it follow disciplined engineering processes.

Core 7‑Step Workflow

brainstorming → using-git-worktrees → writing-plans → subagent-driven-development → test-driven-development → requesting-code-review → finishing-a-development-branch

The steps, explained in plain language, are:

Brainstorming – clarify the goal through a dialogue.

Git Worktree Isolation – create an independent workspace.

Writing Plans – split the design into 2‑5 minute tasks.

Sub‑agent Development – assign each task to a dedicated sub‑agent.

Test‑Driven Development – write a failing test, then the production code, then refactor.

Code Review – automatically review code quality and compliance.

Finishing Branch – after all tests pass, merge, create a PR, keep, or discard the branch.

14 Skills in Four Categories

Collaboration (9) : brainstorming, writing‑plans, executing‑plans, subagent‑driven‑development, dispatching‑parallel‑agents, requesting‑code‑review, receiving‑code‑review, using‑git‑worktrees, finishing‑a‑development‑branch.

Testing (1) : test‑driven‑development.

Debugging (2) : systematic‑debugging, verification‑before‑completion.

Meta (2) : writing‑skills, using‑superpowers.

Forced‑Trigger Mechanism

The workflow relies on a forced‑trigger design: if a skill is applicable, the agent must use it, leaving no choice. This is implemented using Robert Cialdini’s persuasion principles—authority, commitment, and social proof—embedded in the prompt.

Three Real‑World Scenarios

Scenario 1: New Project – run the full 7‑step workflow. The brainstorming skill enforces a hard rule: “Do not start implementation until the design is approved,” preventing mis‑aligned architecture.

Scenario 2: Adding Features to an Existing Project – the same 7 steps but with a focus on respecting existing code style, architecture, and dependencies. The workflow includes a “Working in existing codebases” guideline that tells the agent to follow the project’s conventions (e.g., stay with Vue 2 + Options API if that’s what the code uses).

Scenario 3: Bug Fixing – a trimmed 3‑step workflow: systematic‑debugging → test‑driven‑development → verification‑before‑completion. The three phases of systematic debugging are root‑cause investigation, pattern analysis, hypothesis testing with a failing test, and finally implementing the fix.

Three Iron Laws

No production code without a failing test – enforced by the test‑driven‑development skill.

No bug fix without root‑cause investigation – enforced by the systematic‑debugging skill.

No completion declaration without fresh verification evidence – enforced by the verification‑before‑completion skill.

These laws combat three common shortcuts: skipping tests, fixing bugs without understanding the cause, and declaring work done without proper validation.

Practical Advice

Spend extra time in the brainstorming phase to clarify requirements.

Ensure task granularity (2‑5 minutes) during the writing‑plans step.

Run a baseline test after creating a worktree before development.

Installation

For Claude Code:

/plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official

For Cursor: /add-plugin superpowers Other platforms are documented in the project README.

When to Use Superpowers

It shines on complex tasks that involve multiple files, require testing protection, or need code review. Simple scripts or single‑file changes may be overkill.

Conclusion

Superpowers addresses the unreliability of AI‑generated code rather than the inability of AI to write code. By mandating a disciplined, seven‑step workflow, 14 composable skills, and three iron laws, it reduces rework, enforces quality, and makes AI‑assisted development trustworthy.