using-superpowers
This skill should be used whenever any superpowers skill might apply. Trigger phrases — "brainstorm"/"design"/a new feature idea route to brainstorming; "write a plan"/"decompose into tasks" route to writing-plans; "execute the plan"/"implement" route to executing-plans; a bug/error/test failure/"why does X happen" routes to systematic-debugging; "run a retrospective"/"evolve checklists" routes to retrospective. The 1% Rule — if there is even a 1% chance one of these user-invocable superpowers skills is the right tool for the current request, invoke it explicitly via the Skill tool rather than improvising. Surfaced via these description trigger phrases; the full routing table loads with the skill body.
What this skill does
# Using Superpowers (the 1% Rule dispatcher) This is the keystone that makes the superpowers skill library actually fire. Without it, you tend to improvise — re-deriving methodology that the dedicated skills already encode. With it, the cost of trying the right skill is low and the cost of skipping it is high. ## The 1% Rule **If there is even a 1% chance one of the user-invocable superpowers skills is the right tool for what the user just asked, invoke it explicitly via the Skill tool — don't improvise.** The cost of trying the right skill and finding it's a poor fit is one extra Skill invocation. The cost of improvising past the right skill is re-deriving structure the skill already encodes, missing the BDD discipline / per-batch evaluator / checklist evolution that the skill ships, and producing a worse outcome. When in doubt, invoke. The `## CRITICAL: Bail-Out Check` section in each skill (brainstorming, writing-plans, executing-plans, systematic-debugging) will exit cheaply if the work is genuinely trivial — you have not been over-invoking, you have been letting the skill self-select scope. ## When to invoke which skill | Trigger signal | Invoke | |---|---| | "brainstorm", "design", "I have an idea", new feature with ambiguous shape, multi-component design | `superpowers:brainstorming` | | "write a plan", "decompose into tasks", "implementation plan" — a completed design folder under `docs/plans/*-design/` exists | `superpowers:writing-plans` | | "execute the plan", "run the plan", "implement", a completed plan folder under `docs/plans/*-plan/` exists | `superpowers:executing-plans` | | Bug report, "fix this error", test failure, unexpected behavior, "why does X happen" | `superpowers:systematic-debugging` | | After a completed plan: "let's retro", "what should we learn", "update checklists" | `superpowers:retrospective` | ## Lineage and rationale The 1% Rule comes from the original `obra/superpowers` plugin's `using-superpowers` skill — see <https://blog.fsck.com/2025/10/05/how-im-using-coding-agents-in-october-2025/> for the full reasoning. The short version: skills are only valuable if they fire. A library of well-written skills that the dispatcher routinely improvises past is worth zero. This dispatcher is the keystone that makes the rest of the library actually load-bearing. This skill was reintroduced in v3.0.0 after the maintainer's fork inadvertently dropped it during an earlier refactor. ## What this skill is NOT - Not a permission gate. You don't need to ask the user before invoking a superpowers skill — the skill's own bail-out check handles "this is too small" deterministically. - Not a dispatcher that requires reading both this skill's body and the target skill's body before invoking. The triggers above are sufficient — invoke first, let the skill decide its own scope. - Not a meta-skill that should be invoked itself. `user-invocable: false` hides it from the `/` menu; its concrete trigger phrases ride in the always-resident description, and this full routing table loads with the body when the skill is pulled in. You never type `/superpowers:using-superpowers`.
Related in Design
contribute
IncludedLocal-only OSS contribution command center. Auto-refreshes the user's in-flight PR and issue state on invoke so conversations start with full context — no need to brief Claude on what's in flight. Helps the user find issues to contribute to on GitHub, builds per-repo dossiers of what each upstream expects (CLA, DCO, branch convention, AI policy, draft-first, review bots, issue templates), runs deterministic gates before any external action so AI-assisted contributions don't reach maintainers as slop. State is markdown-only: candidate files at ~/.contribute-system/candidates/, repo dossiers at ~/.contribute-system/research/, append-only event log at ~/.contribute-system/log.jsonl. No database, no cloud calls. Use when the user asks about their PRs / issues / contributions, wants to find new work to take on, claim an issue, build/refresh a repo's dossier, or draft a Design Issue or PR. Trigger with "/contribute", "what's my PR status", "find a contribution", "claim issue X", "draft a Design Issue for Y", "refresh dossier for Z".
architectural-analysis
IncludedUser-triggered deep architectural analysis of a codebase or scoped subtree across eight modes — information architecture, data flow, integration points, UI surfaces, interaction patterns, data model, control flow, and failure modes. This skill should be used when the user asks to "diagram this codebase," "map the architecture," "show the data flow," "give me an ERD," "trace control flow," "find the integration points," "verify the layout pattern," "audit the UX architecture," or any similar request whose primary deliverable is mermaid diagrams plus cited reports under docs/architecture/. Dispatches haiku/sonnet sub-agents in parallel for per-mode exploration, then verifies every citation mechanically before any node lands in a diagram. Not for one-off prose explanations of code (use code-explanation) or for high-level system design from scratch (use system-design).
mcp
IncludedModel Context Protocol (MCP) server development and tool management. Languages: Python, TypeScript. Capabilities: build MCP servers, integrate external APIs, discover/execute MCP tools, manage multi-server configs, design agent-centric tools. Actions: create, build, integrate, discover, execute, configure MCP servers/tools. Keywords: MCP, Model Context Protocol, MCP server, MCP tool, stdio transport, SSE transport, tool discovery, resource provider, prompt template, external API integration, Gemini CLI MCP, Claude MCP, agent tools, tool execution, server config. Use when: building MCP servers, integrating external APIs as MCP tools, discovering available MCP tools, executing MCP capabilities, configuring multi-server setups, designing tools for AI agents.
react-native-skia
IncludedDesign, build, debug, and optimise high-polish animated graphics in React Native or Expo using @shopify/react-native-skia, Reanimated, and Gesture Handler. Use when the user wants canvas-driven UI, shaders, paths, rich text, image filters, sprite fields, Skottie, video frames, snapshots, web CanvasKit setup, or performance tuning for custom motion-heavy elements such as loaders, hero art, cards, charts, progress indicators, particle systems, or gesture-driven surfaces. Also use when the user asks for fluid, glow, glass, blob, parallax, 60fps/120fps, or GPU-friendly animated effects in React Native, even if they do not explicitly say "Skia". Do not use for ordinary form/layout work with standard views.
plaid
IncludedProduct Led AI Development — guides founders from idea to launched product. Six capabilities: Idea (discover a product idea), Validate (pressure-test the idea against fatal flaws, problem reality, competition, and 2-week MVP feasibility), Plan (vision intake + document generation), Design (translate image references into a design.md spec), Launch (go-to-market strategy), and Build (roadmap execution). Use when someone says "PLAID", "plaid idea", "help me find an idea", "product idea", "idea from my business", "idea from my expertise", "plaid validate", "validate my idea", "pressure-test", "is this idea good", "find fatal flaws", "validate the problem", "plan a product", "define my vision", "generate a PRD", "product strategy", "plaid design", "design from image", "translate image to design", "create design.md", "extract design tokens", "plaid launch", "go-to-market", "launch plan", "GTM strategy", "launch playbook", "plaid build", "build the app", "start building", or "execute the roadmap".
nextjs-framer-motion-animations
IncludedAdds production-safe Motion for React or Framer Motion animations to Next.js apps, including reveal, hover and tap micro-interactions, whileInView, stagger, AnimatePresence, layout and layoutId transitions, reorder, scroll-linked UI, and lightweight route-content transitions. Use when the user asks to add, refactor, or debug Motion or Framer Motion in App Router or Pages Router codebases, especially around server/client boundaries, reduced motion, LazyMotion, bundle size, hydration, or route transitions. Avoid for GSAP-style timelines, WebGL or 3D scenes, heavy scroll storytelling, or CSS-only effects unless Motion is explicitly requested.