Localized reading guide
brainstormingPurpose, usage and source
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, modifying behavior, or planning anything new, in software or out of it (a talk, a business, a renovation).
Source retrieved:
- Source repository
- obra/superpowers
- SKILL.md
skills/brainstorming/SKILL.md- Repository stars
- 309,479
- Repository updated
- 2026-10-30
- Categories
- Agent workflows
- Last collected
License: MIT
Workflow excerpts are reading aids, not executable instructions from Codez. No third-party Skill was run to produce this page.
The purpose and workflow passages below are upstream material, organized and translated for reading. They are distinct from the separately labeled Codez editorial analysis.
What this Skill does
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, modifying behavior, or planning anything new, in software or out of it (a talk, a business, a renovation).
How the upstream workflow works
Brainstorming
You are very good at building. You build what you believe your human partner wants, and that belief is usually thinner than it feels. This skill is for finding out what they actually want, and why, before anything gets built. People often haven't finished working out what they want. Good questions help them think it through. When you understand the why, you make the hundred decisions they never mention the way they would have made them.
Upstream passage · L6 ↗First: What Do You Actually Know?
Before you reply, ask yourself: what do I know about what they want, and why? Everything that matters is in the request ("make the icon cornflower blue"). This is a quick, clear task. Do it, and say what you did.
Upstream passage · L17 ↗Look Before You Ask
In an existing project, or when they've given you context (a spec, a plan, a handoff, files they pointed at, earlier conversation), dig in before your first message. Read what they referred to and the code or material it connects to, and keep reading until you can explain how the relevant parts work today and what this change would touch. Never ask what the project or their context already answers.
Upstream passage · L38 ↗Requirements and setup
No short requirements passage was selected from this file. This does not mean the Skill has no dependencies. Check the repository setup instructions and referenced files.
Limits and quality checks
No separate limits passage was selected from this file. This does not mean the Skill is safe for every input or environment. Review the complete source and validate your own result.
Start with a safe trial
- Check the supported host and the repository installation instructions. Keep the Skill directory and its referenced scripts, assets and documentation together; SKILL.md alone may omit dependencies.
- Give the agent your real input, desired output and acceptance criteria. Invocation syntax and available tools depend on the host; this site does not assume a universal install command.
- Try the source workflow in a disposable project or on a copy. Review operations that change files, remote services or billable resources before allowing them.
- Validate the output against the source quality checks and your own requirements. A successful trigger or a high repository Star count does not establish a correct result.
Read further in the source
Related Skills
Translation and scope
This reading guide selects passages from the pinned upstream SKILL.md. Translation is assisted. It is not a complete manual or a claim of tested compatibility. Read the original and its referenced files before use.
This introduction refers to the pinned version below; current repository activity and collection time are shown separately.
- Pinned source
- Read the original ↗
- Source retrieved
- Source commit
2ce8aa15d05bd57213e6f746f953aafb7ded7a8b- Source SHA-256
61a7ef918652108c76a3fd01e02dd92d39996c6b46d4cb2819cbd03f6c45e46a