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EdouardRichardEdouardRichard/dsh-superpowers-preset/skills/using-superpowers/SKILL.md

using-superpowers

Skill2 starsChanged 38 days agoMITView on GitHub

Use when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring skill invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions

167 other projects use a version of this, 149 of them edited.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

Used with

Projects with it also use chinese-code-review, chinese-commit-conventions and 9 more.

Other files people use alongside this one.

Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
  • Leodorareluctant259Skill

    chinese-code-review

    中文代码审查规范——在保持专业严谨的同时，用符合国内团队文化的方式给出有效反馈

    Also in 8 projects that use this

  • Leodorareluctant259Skill

    chinese-commit-conventions

    中文 Git 提交规范 — 适配国内团队的 commit message 规范和 changelog 自动化

    Also in 8 projects that use this

  • kntismSkill

    condition-based-waiting

    Use when tests have race conditions, timing dependencies, or inconsistent pass/fail behavior - replaces arbitrary timeouts with condition polling to wait for actual state changes, eliminating flaky tests from timing guesses

    Also in 3 projects that use this

  • frankxaiSkill

    defense-in-depth

    Use when invalid data causes failures deep in execution, requiring validation at multiple system layers - validates at every layer data passes through to make bugs structurally impossible

    Also in 3 projects that use this

  • MicrosoftSkill

    root-cause-tracing

    Use when errors occur deep in execution and you need to trace back to find the original trigger - systematically traces bugs backward through call stack, adding instrumentation when needed, to identify source of invalid data or incorrect behavior

    Also in 3 projects that use this

  • xenitV1Skill

    python-patterns

    Python development principles and decision-making. Framework selection, async patterns, type hints, project structure. Teaches thinking, not copying.

    Also in 5 projects that use this

  • +3 more from Leodorareluctant259

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

6 rules. 3 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 3

    Common

    Most of the 153 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 3

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Common:

    If you were dispatched as a subagent to execute a specific task: follow the skills that apply to the task you were given — an implementer …

    line 7
  2. Common:

    If you think there is even a 1% chance a skill might apply to what you are doing, you ABSOLUTELY MUST invoke the skill.

    line 16
  3. Common:

    IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE.

    line 18
  4. Distinctive:

    Before entering plan mode: if you haven't already brainstormed, invoke the brainstorming skill first.

    line 27
  5. Distinctive:

    When multiple skills apply, process skills come first — they set the approach, then implementation skills (frontend-design, etc.) carry it …

    line 33
  6. Distinctive:

    Do not assume they apply in Standard, PTC, Minimal, or Creator mode.

    line 67

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 153 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md
<IF-YOU-ARE-A-SUBAGENT> If you were dispatched as a subagent to execute a specific task: follow the skills that apply to the task you were given — an implementer uses test-driven-development, a reviewer uses the review template it was handed. Skip the conversation-level parts of this skill: do not re-open brainstorming, do not dispatch your own subagents, and do not ask the user clarifying questions unless your task explicitly says to. Report evidence, not conclusions. </IF-YOU-ARE-A-SUBAGENT><EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT> If you think there is even a 1% chance a skill might apply to what you are doing, you ABSOLUTELY MUST invoke the skill.

IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT.

This is not negotiable. You cannot rationalize your way out of this. </EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>

The Rule

Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action — including clarifying questions, exploring the codebase, or checking files. If it turns out wrong for the situation, you don't have to use it.

Before entering plan mode: if you haven't already brainstormed, invoke the brainstorming skill first.

Then announce "Using [skill] to [purpose]" and follow the skill exactly. If it has a checklist, create a todo per item.

Skill Priority

When multiple skills apply, process skills come first — they set the approach, then implementation skills (frontend-design, etc.) carry it out. Brainstorming and systematic-debugging are Superpowers' most common process skills, but the rule holds for any of them.

  • "Let's build X" → brainstorming first, then implementation skills.
  • "Fix this bug" → systematic-debugging first, then domain skills.

Red Flags

These thoughts mean STOP—you're rationalizing:

ThoughtReality
"This is just a simple question"Questions are tasks. Check for skills.
"I need more context first"Skill check comes BEFORE clarifying questions.
"Let me explore the codebase first"Skills tell you HOW to explore. Check first.
"I can check git/files quickly"Files lack conversation context. Check for skills.
"Let me gather information first"Skills tell you HOW to gather information.
"This doesn't need a formal skill"If a skill exists, use it.
"I remember this skill"Skills evolve. Read current version.
"This doesn't count as a task"Action = task. Check for skills.
"The skill is overkill"Simple things become complex. Use it.
"I'll just do this one thing first"Check BEFORE doing anything.
"This feels productive"Undisciplined action wastes time. Skills prevent this.
"I know what that means"Knowing the concept ≠ using the skill. Invoke it.

Platform Adaptation

This is the DeepSeek Harness (DSH) port, mounted by the superpowers agent preset. The platform reference is references/dsh-tools.md: the Claude Code → DSH tool mapping, the DSH capabilities these skills use (skill, subagent / subagent_fork, workflow, goal, todo_write), the bundled-script rules, and the Windows pwsh notes. Read it before acting on any instruction below that names a tool this harness does not have.

These rules are active only in a task started with the superpowers preset. Do not assume they apply in Standard, PTC, Minimal, or Creator mode.

User Instructions

User instructions (AGENTS.md — user level at $DSH_HOME/AGENTS.md, project level at <project>/AGENTS.md — and direct requests) take precedence over skills, which in turn override default behavior. Only skip skill workflows or instructions when your human partner has explicitly told you to.

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Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.

Your trail

Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.

Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.

Now do this for your own.

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