Superpowers
Open-source collection of agent skills and workflows for Claude Code and other coding agents.
Recommended as a skills plugin that structures coding-agent work into brainstorming, planning and review steps, 123with the /brainstorming skill singled out most often.456 The most common complaint is heavy token usage, 789with some calling it overkill for small changes or no longer needed with newer models.101112
Why people recommend it
Structured workflow · 3
Commenters like that it organizes work into planning, review and implementation with scrutiny at each step.
“superpowers applies a fairly high level of scrutiny at every step. It's really quite effective”
“Before I discovered superpowers I was manually telling claude to do these workflows, the plugin makes it easy.”
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“I’ve been using the Superpowers plan mode: it creates a detailed plan first, then there’s an execute mode”
Brainstorming skill · 3
The /brainstorming skill asks clarifying questions to fill gaps before building and gives consistent results.
“I've been using superpowers:brainstorming skill with claude for a while and have found the process to work well for me.”
“I really recommend the /brainstorming skill there.”
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“I use the superpowers:brainstorming skill. That has consistent process which has worked really well.”
Reliable results · 3
Long-time users say it works well across a variety of tasks and helps them work better in less time.
“If you're not using the Superpowers set of skills, give it a shot. It's been working really well for me on a variety of tasks.”
“Superpowers is one of the few skill/agent suites I use for all software development projects.”
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“I use superpowers for several months now and it really does help.”
Subagent orchestration · 2
It spins up subagents automatically, and one user calls /subagent-driven-development its strongest part.
“Then I use superpowers and it spins up subagents automatically. Works really well”
“IMO, the strongest part of Superpowers is /subagent-driven-development.”
Customizable · 3
Its docs are easy to edit, and users run customized versions or set models per task.
“I love it, the docs are easily editable”
“I use it as well (a customized version suited for my worflow). It is indeed the GOAT.”
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“Then I use superpowers and it spins up subagents automatically. Works really well”
Cross-agent consistency · 1
Installed in both Codex and Claude Code, it produces remarkably similar behavior.
“you could install https://github.com/obra/superpowers/ into both Codex and Claude Code”
Caveats and dissent
Token usage · 3
Many commenters say it burns through tokens much faster.
“I've been using Superpowers for months, it's great, only downside is the extensive token usage.”
“I don't feel like it gave me significantly better results than just raw-dogging it. It did however burn through my tokens significantly faster.”
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“I only found it burning too many tokens to do too little. I guess Superpowers is useful only in hands that know how to manipulate it.”
Mixed results · 3
Some found results no better or even worse than without it, especially with some models.
“I don't feel like it gave me significantly better results than just raw-dogging it. It did however burn through my tokens significantly faster.”
“I personally don't like superpowers very much.”
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“If I use it with other models it's terrible. With composer2.5 it is slightly better, though not much.”
Too much ceremony · 3
Its multi-agent, verification and TDD steps can be overkill and slow for small changes.
“It ended up burning so much tokens and taking actually longer to finish and just could have been done without any agent. I immediately uninstall the plugin.”
“IMO, the strongest part of Superpowers is /subagent-driven-development.”
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“I gave superpowers a shot... which was fine, but still too much.”
Shallow TDD · 2
Its enforced TDD can fill test suites with low-value tests, and some don't want TDD at all.
“when I use the Superpowers skill set, the agent proactively adopts TDD for every new feature.”
“This is great in concept but what prevents me from using it is TDD.”
Less needed now · 2
Some say newer models no longer need it and the skills just add clutter.
“I found superpowers helpful maybe 4 months ago. The models don't seem to need it anymore.”
“They're garbage. That shit was maybe helpful a year ago. It's now just cluttering up space.”
Needs review · 1
Users still check its specs because it sometimes makes poor decisions.
“I use superpowers for several months now and it really does help.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Superpowers 6 7 mentions
- Superlite: A Faster Alternatie to Superpowers 2 mentions
- Why isn't the industry freaking out about DeepSeek 4.1 Flash? 2 mentions
- Agents don't need memory, they need documentation 2 mentions
- Plan mode is dead 2 mentions
- JetBrains reports revenue growth, net financial loss for 2025 1 mention
Also written as superpowers. Data: superpowers.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 41
“I've been using Superpowers for months, it's great, only downside is the extensive token usage.”
“I found superpowers helpful maybe 4 months ago. The models don't seem to need it anymore.”
“I don't feel like it gave me significantly better results than just raw-dogging it. It did however burn through my tokens significantly faster.”
“If you're not using the Superpowers set of skills, give it a shot. It's been working really well for me on a variety of tasks.”
“Before I discovered superpowers I was manually telling claude to do these workflows, the plugin makes it easy.”
“It ended up burning so much tokens and taking actually longer to finish and just could have been done without any agent. I immediately uninstall the plugin.”
“They're garbage. That shit was maybe helpful a year ago. It's now just cluttering up space.”
“if I'm using superpowers, it generates two, the design doc and the implementation plan”
“I've been using superpowers:brainstorming skill with claude for a while and have found the process to work well for me.”
“superpowers applies a fairly high level of scrutiny at every step. It's really quite effective”
“I use the superpowers:brainstorming skill. That has consistent process which has worked really well.”
“plugins like GSD and superpower which I am accustomed too”
“for SDD I prefer to use Superpowers and/or Matt Pocock's skills”
“when I use the Superpowers skill set, the agent proactively adopts TDD for every new feature.”
“I usually develop with superpowers planing.”
“I experiment with different plan-build-evaluate frameworks like GSD, OpenSpec, Superpowers.”
“I use superpowers and ponytail a lot.”
“With the Superpowers skill (which I am trying to get rid of)”
“I use the superpowers plug-in which I think guides the planning.”
“my personal setup is Claude Code with Superpowers, Ponytail, PAAD”
“Superpowers works, because of the same Must use wording.”
“I love it, the docs are easily editable”
I use my local GPU. Yes, I realize it's not exactly a superpower, but it's technology that's pretty darn close to one.
“Then I use superpowers and it spins up subagents automatically. Works really well”
“using some skills from https://github.com/obra/superpowers”
“For any significant new feature or work, I use /brainstorming (superpowers plug-in).”
“IMO, the strongest part of Superpowers is /subagent-driven-development.”
“Likewise.”
“If I use it with other models it's terrible. With composer2.5 it is slightly better, though not much.”
“This is great in concept but what prevents me from using it is TDD.”
“Superpowers is one of the few skill/agent suites I use for all software development projects.”
“I only found it burning too many tokens to do too little. I guess Superpowers is useful only in hands that know how to manipulate it.”
“Seems to be an opinionated collection of skills for dev work”
“See also https://github.com/obra/superpowers”
“I really recommend the /brainstorming skill there.”
“I use superpowers for several months now and it really does help.”
“you could install https://github.com/obra/superpowers/ into both Codex and Claude Code”
“Oh, I use GSD or I use Superpowers and my results have gotten worse”
“I recommend brainstorming everything with https://github.com/obra/superpowers”
“I personally don't like superpowers very much.”
“I’ve been using the Superpowers plan mode: it creates a detailed plan first, then there’s an execute mode”