Superpowers - Agent Development Workflows

Comprehensive agent development skill collection optimized for AI-assisted coding workflows. Contains 14 skills across 5 categories, prioritized by workflow stage to guide development from ideation to completion.

When to Apply

Reference these skills when:

• Starting a new feature or project (brainstorming, writing-plans)
• Debugging any issue (systematic-debugging)
• Writing or modifying code (test-driven-development)
• Managing branches and isolation (using-git-worktrees)
• Completing and integrating work (finishing-a-development-branch)
• Receiving or requesting code review (receiving-code-review, requesting-code-review)

Skill Categories by Workflow Stage

Stage	Category	Skills	Priority
1	Ideation & Planning	brainstorming, writing-plans	CRITICAL
2	Implementation	test-driven-development, subagent-driven-development, executing-plans	CRITICAL
3	Debugging	systematic-debugging	HIGH
4	Code Review	requesting-code-review, receiving-code-review	HIGH
5	Completion	verification-before-completion, finishing-a-development-branch	HIGH
6	Utilities	using-git-worktrees, dispatching-parallel-agents, using-superpowers, writing-skills	MEDIUM

Quick Reference

1. Ideation & Planning (CRITICAL)

• brainstorming - Collaborative design exploration before implementation
• writing-plans - Create detailed implementation plans with bite-sized tasks

2. Implementation (CRITICAL)

• test-driven-development - RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle for all code
• subagent-driven-development - Execute plans with fresh subagent per task
• executing-plans - Batch execution with checkpoints in separate session

3. Debugging (HIGH)

• systematic-debugging - Four-phase root cause investigation before fixes

4. Code Review (HIGH)

• requesting-code-review - Dispatch code reviewer subagent after implementation
• receiving-code-review - Technical evaluation, not performative agreement

5. Completion (HIGH)

• verification-before-completion - Evidence before claims, always
• finishing-a-development-branch - Merge, PR, keep, or discard options

6. Utilities (MEDIUM)

• using-git-worktrees - Isolated workspaces for parallel development
• dispatching-parallel-agents - One agent per independent problem domain
• using-superpowers - How to find and invoke skills
• writing-skills - TDD applied to process documentation

Core Principles

Each skill enforces key discipline principles:

Principle	Skills	Iron Law
Test First	test-driven-development	No production code without failing test
Root Cause First	systematic-debugging	No fixes without investigation
Evidence First	verification-before-completion	No claims without verification
Plan First	brainstorming, writing-plans	No code without design

How to Use

Read individual skill files for detailed instructions:

brainstorming/SKILL.md
test-driven-development/SKILL.md
systematic-debugging/SKILL.md

Each skill file contains:

• Overview and core principle
• When to use (and when NOT to)
• Step-by-step process
• Common mistakes and red flags
• Integration with other skills

Full Compiled Document

For the complete guide with all skills expanded: AGENTS.md