superpowers/docs

Superpowers for Codex

Guide for using Superpowers with OpenAI Codex via native skill discovery.

Quick Install

Tell Codex:

Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/superpowers/refs/heads/main/.codex/INSTALL.md

Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• OpenAI Codex CLI
• Git

Steps

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone https://github.com/obra/superpowers.git ~/.codex/superpowers
   

2. Create the skills symlink:

   mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills
   ln -s ~/.codex/superpowers/skills ~/.agents/skills/superpowers
   

3. Restart Codex.

4. For subagent skills (optional): Skills like dispatching-parallel-agents and subagent-driven-development require Codex's collab feature. Add to your Codex config:

   [features]
   collab = true
   

Windows

Use a junction instead of a symlink (works without Developer Mode):

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.agents\skills"
cmd /c mklink /J "$env:USERPROFILE\.agents\skills\superpowers" "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\superpowers\skills"

How It Works

Codex has native skill discovery — it scans ~/.agents/skills/ at startup, parses SKILL.md frontmatter, and loads skills on demand. Superpowers skills are made visible through a single symlink:

~/.agents/skills/superpowers/ → ~/.codex/superpowers/skills/

The using-superpowers skill is discovered automatically and enforces skill usage discipline — no additional configuration needed.

Usage

Skills are discovered automatically. Codex activates them when:

• You mention a skill by name (e.g., "use brainstorming")
• The task matches a skill's description
• The using-superpowers skill directs Codex to use one

Personal Skills

Create your own skills in ~/.agents/skills/:

mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills/my-skill

Create ~/.agents/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md:

---
name: my-skill
description: Use when [condition] - [what it does]
---

# My Skill

[Your skill content here]

The description field is how Codex decides when to activate a skill automatically — write it as a clear trigger condition.

Updating

cd ~/.codex/superpowers && git pull

Skills update instantly through the symlink.

Uninstalling

rm ~/.agents/skills/superpowers

Windows (PowerShell):

Remove-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.agents\skills\superpowers"

Optionally delete the clone: rm -rf ~/.codex/superpowers (Windows: Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\superpowers").

Troubleshooting

Skills not showing up

1. Verify the symlink: ls -la ~/.agents/skills/superpowers
2. Check skills exist: ls ~/.codex/superpowers/skills
3. Restart Codex — skills are discovered at startup

Windows junction issues

Junctions normally work without special permissions. If creation fails, try running PowerShell as administrator.

Getting Help

• Report issues: https://github.com/obra/superpowers/issues
• Main documentation: https://github.com/obra/superpowers