Localized reading guide
diagnosing-superpowersPurpose, usage and source
Use when a superpowers session went wrong and your human partner wants to know why — repeated work, ignored plans, stumbles, poor results, a skill that didn't fire, "it took too long", "why is it so expensive", "what is it doing" — or wants to build a bug report for the superpowers maintainers, for the current session or a past one identified by id or path, on any harness.
Source retrieved:
- Source repository
- obra/superpowers
- SKILL.md
skills/diagnosing-superpowers/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
Use when a superpowers session went wrong and your human partner wants to know why — repeated work, ignored plans, stumbles, poor results, a skill that didn't fire, "it took too long", "why is it so expensive", "what is it doing" — or wants to build a bug report for the superpowers maintainers, for the current session or a past one identified by id or path, on any harness.
How the upstream workflow works
Workflow
Create a todo per step. Steps 5–7 run only on their stated condition. Problem intake. Ask one question at a time until you can write a statement naming the session(s), the turn range if known, what your partner expected, what happened, and the observable they care about (wall-clock, tokens, repeated actions, one specific action). "It took too long" is a complaint, not a problem statement. Note whether the goal is a superpowers bug report. Locate. Resolve each session to verified absolute filesystem paths using references/session-discovery.md. Confirm a past session by quoting its first prompt and timestamp, and list every candidate you rejected with the reason, or "none". Enumerate subagent transcripts. Create ~/.superpowers/diagnosing-superpowers//, tell your partner the path, and fill templates/case.md there, following its provenance rules for environment and skill observations.
Overview
Pin down with your human partner what went wrong in a session, read the transcripts on disk, and report what happened with evidence. You report; you do not diagnose superpowers. Whoever triages the bundle or the issue decides whether superpowers changes. Core principle: Every finding cites path:line. No citation, no finding. Every number comes from the transcript or from a command you ran, never from memory.
Quick reference
All seven analysts always run. This table says which region to read yourself in step 3 and which findings to lead with in the verdict.
Upstream passage · L72 ↗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
3143de8695c5a2d63e8b1675f33837578076f464deb127c2ebdd0b46fceef886