supertools

Supertools

A custom Claude Code skills bundle for methodology discipline: brainstorm before code, plan before implement, test before ship, verify before claiming done.

Credits and origin

Supertools is a refactor of obra/superpowers by Jesse Vincent. I am not the originator. The methodology, skill names, chain (brainstorming → writing-plans → executing-plans), TDD/debugging discipline patterns, and overall structure of this bundle all come from Jesse's original work. Full credit goes to him.

This repository contains rewritten, edited versions of those skills adapted for personal and corporate use within an environment that disallows installing third-party skill bundles from the internet. The prose has been rewritten from scratch using the original as reference; the ideas and architecture are Jesse's. The original superpowers project is MIT-licensed; this adaptation is also MIT.

If you can use the original, please use the original — it's the canonical source and is actively maintained: https://github.com/obra/superpowers.

What's different here

• Markdown-only (the original uses scripts and hooks for some features).
• Bootstrap is a /supertools:design slash command instead of a SessionStart hook.
• Trimmed scope: 10 skills + 6 commands. Some original skills (worktree, parallel agents, subagent-driven dev, finishing-a-development-branch) are deliberately omitted from this v1.
• Renamed namespace and bootstrap (the obra original uses superpowers: and using-superpowers; this fork uses supertools: and using-supertools).

Requirements

• Claude Code v2.1 or later (anything that supports /plugin slash commands)
• A clone of this repo somewhere on your local disk

Install

The repo is its own self-contained Claude Code plugin marketplace. Install is a two-step /plugin invocation inside Claude Code — no symlinks, no editing of ~/.claude/.

In a Claude Code session, run:

/plugin marketplace add /absolute/path/to/this/repo
/plugin install supertools@supertools-local

Replace /absolute/path/to/this/repo with wherever you cloned this repo (e.g., /Users/you/code/supertools or ~/REPOS/superpowers). The marketplace's source: "./" makes the install path-portable — no hard-coded paths in any of the manifests.

After install, fully quit Claude Code (/exit or Ctrl+D) and reopen it. The /supertools:* slash commands and the supertools:* skills will be discoverable in every future session.

Activate

In any Claude Code session:

/supertools:design

Claude responds with a short activation message and the methodology is live for the rest of the session.

Sharing supertools with a teammate

Supertools is local-first: it doesn't need a public marketplace and never calls out to the internet. To share it:

1. Get them the source. Any of these works:
   • Push this repo to a private git host (GitHub private, GitLab, internal Gitea, etc.) and have them clone it.
   • tar czf supertools.tgz -C /path/to repo-folder and send the tarball over Slack/email.
   • Copy the folder over a shared drive or USB.
2. They drop the repo somewhere on their disk. Path doesn't matter — just remember it for the next step.
3. They run the same two install commands above, substituting their local path. That's it.

To pull updates after the original install:

/plugin marketplace update supertools-local
/plugin install supertools@supertools-local

(Or have them git pull and re-run /plugin install to pick up changes.)

Skills

Skill	When it fires
using-supertools	Bootstrap, loaded by /supertools:design.
brainstorming	Any creative or implementation work.
writing-plans	After a spec is approved.
executing-plans	After a plan is written.
test-driven-development	Implementing any feature or bugfix.
systematic-debugging	Any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior.
verification-before-completion	Before claiming work is done.
writing-skills	Adding or editing a supertools skill.
requesting-code-review	Before merging or asking for review.
receiving-code-review	When the user gives feedback.

Slash commands

Command	What it does
/supertools:design	Activate the methodology for this session.
/supertools:brainstorm	Brainstorm an idea into an approved spec.
/supertools:write-plan	Turn the spec into a step-by-step plan.
/supertools:execute-plan	Execute the plan with checkpoints.
/supertools:review	Self-review before merging.
/supertools:security-review	OWASP-class audit of pending changes.

Adding a new skill

Use supertools:writing-skills. Conventions there.