TL;DR
Superpowers is a skills framework and software development methodology that helps coding agents systematically perform requirements analysis, design, and TDD-based implementation.
Key features
Auto-trigger: Automatically activates when an agent starts a project to first understand requirements.
Step-by-step process: Requirements analysis → Design documentation → TDD-based implementation plan → Sub-agent-based development.
Sub-agent development: Each engineering task is handled by a sub-agent, with the main agent reviewing and providing feedback.
Principle-based: Emphasizes TDD (red/green), YAGNI, and DRY principles.
Multi-harness support: Works with various coding agent platforms such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and Cursor.
When to use it
When you need a systematic methodology for software development using coding agents.
When you want agents to perform requirements analysis and design before writing code.
When you need an agent workflow capable of long-duration autonomous work (e.g., Claude working for hours without deviating from the plan).
When you want to apply best practices like TDD to agent development.