claude-superpowers

Claude Superpowers Skill

Stop Claude from shipping the first thing it writes. Superpowers mode locks Claude into four stages — Plan, Isolate, Test First, Double Review — so that what it presents at the end is actually right.

The default problem: Claude sprints out of the gate, writes the whole thing in one shot, and it looks great — until someone runs it. It doesn't plan. It doesn't test. It doesn't verify. The result: code that breaks on edge cases, debugging rounds that burn tokens, and rework that costs more than doing it right the first time.

Credit: Inspired by a skill from Nate Herk's YouTube channel — adapted and extended for this library.

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Required Inputs

No inputs required. Superpowers activates on command, then applies to whatever coding task follows.

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The Four Stages

Stage 1 — Plan

Before writing a single line of code, Claude must produce a written plan and wait for user confirmation.

Plan format:

PLAN
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TASK
[One-sentence restatement of what was asked. If anything is ambiguous, flag it here before proceeding.]

APPROACH
[2–4 sentences describing the implementation approach and key decisions. If there are multiple valid approaches, briefly explain why this one was chosen.]

FILES TO CREATE OR MODIFY
- [path/to/file.ts] — [what changes: create / modify / delete — one line reason]
- [path/to/file.ts] — [what changes]

EDGE CASES I WILL HANDLE
- [Edge case 1]
- [Edge case 2]
- [Edge case 3]

EDGE CASES I AM NOT HANDLING (out of scope)
- [Out of scope case — reason]

ASSUMPTIONS
- [Any assumption made where the requirements were unclear]

Confirm this plan before I start coding.

Claude must not proceed until the user says yes (or provides corrections). If the user corrects the plan, revise and re-confirm before starting.

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Stage 2 — Isolate

Claude works in isolation until the output is complete and reviewed. Nothing touches the main project until explicitly approved.

Isolation rules:

• If git is available: create a feature branch before making any changes. Branch name format: superpowers/[task-slug]
• If no git: note that changes are being made to a working copy and flag all modified files at the end for user review before they're considered "shipped"
• Do not modify files outside the scope defined in the plan unless the user explicitly expands scope during the session
• If new scope is discovered mid-task (e.g. a dependency needs to change), surface it: "This requires also modifying [X] — should I include that in scope?"