Verify Installation: Ensure Superpowers Loads Correctly

What You'll Learn

• Verify Superpowers installation status across three platforms
• Check if skills and commands are loaded correctly
• Quickly diagnose installation issues

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Your Current Situation

After installing Superpowers, you might be wondering:

• Did the plugin actually install successfully?
• Why don't the commands appear?
• Are the skills really working?
• How do I verify on different platforms?

Don't worry—each platform has a different verification method, but they're all simple. This lesson teaches you how to confirm your installation status in minutes.

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When to Use This Approach

• ✅ Immediately after installation
• ✅ After updating Superpowers
• ✅ When installation failure is suspected
• ✅ Before starting a new project

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🎒 Prerequisites

Ensure you have already:

• [ ] Completed the installation steps for your platform
• [ ] Restarted your AI coding tool (Claude Code / OpenCode / Codex)
• [ ] Basic terminal operation skills

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Core Concept

The core of Superpowers verification is checking if skills and commands are available:

Platform	Verification Method	Check Content
Claude Code	/help command	Check if three core commands appear
OpenCode	Symlink check	Confirm plugin and skill links are correct
Codex	CLI tool	View available skills list

Key point: Different platforms use different verification methods, but the goal is the same—confirm the skill system is working properly.

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Follow Along

Claude Code Platform Verification

Step 1: Check if Commands Appear

In Claude Code, enter:

/help

Why

The /help command lists all available slash commands, verifying whether Superpowers commands are loaded correctly.

You should see the following three core commands:

Command	Function
/superpowers:brainstorm	Interactive design refinement
/superpowers:write-plan	Create implementation plan
/superpowers:execute-plan	Execute plan in batches

✅ If you see these three commands, installation was successful!

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Step 2: Test Core Command

Enter:

/superpowers:brainstorm

Why

Verify that the command not only exists but can trigger skills correctly.

You should see:

• AI doesn't start writing code directly
• AI asks about your needs or task
• AI enters the brainstorming workflow

✅ If AI starts asking questions, the skill system is working properly!

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OpenCode Platform Verification

Step 1: Check Symbolic Links

Open a terminal and run:

ls -l ~/.config/opencode/plugins/superpowers.js
ls -l ~/.config/opencode/skills/superpowers

Why

OpenCode loads plugins and skills through symbolic links, so we need to confirm the links point to the correct locations.

You should see:

~/.config/opencode/plugins/superpowers.js -> ~/.config/opencode/superpowers/.opencode/plugins/superpowers.js
~/.config/opencode/skills/superpowers -> ~/.config/opencode/superpowers/skills

✅ If you see symbolic links (arrow ->), links were created successfully!

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Step 2: Restart and Verify

Restart OpenCode, then try using skills.

Why

OpenCode needs to load plugins at startup, so restarting is necessary.

You should see:

• No error messages when OpenCode starts
• Superpowers skills can be accessed using the Skill tool

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Codex Platform Verification

Step 1: Run CLI Tool

Open a terminal and run:

~/.codex/superpowers/.codex/superpowers-codex find-skills

Why

Codex's CLI tool lists all available skills, verifying whether skill files are loaded correctly.

You should see:

A list of skills, each containing a name and description, for example:

Available Superpowers Skills:

- brainstorming: Use when designing features - Activates before writing code...
- writing-plans: Use when implementing features with a spec - Breaks work into...
- test-driven-development: Use when implementing any feature - Enforces RED...
...

Total: X skills available

✅ If you see a skills list, installation was successful!

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Step 2: Test Skill Loading

Tell Codex:

Run ~/.codex/superpowers/.codex/superpowers-codex bootstrap

Why

The bootstrap command loads complete skill context, verifying whether skill content is correct.

You should see:

• Codex loads complete skill information
• Displays skill count and status

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Checkpoint ✅

Based on your platform, confirm the corresponding checkpoints pass:

Claude Code Users

• [ ] /help shows /superpowers:brainstorm and the other two commands
• [ ] /superpowers:brainstorm triggers correctly
• [ ] AI enters skill workflow, doesn't write code directly

OpenCode Users

• [ ] ~/.config/opencode/plugins/superpowers.js is a symbolic link
• [ ] ~/.config/opencode/skills/superpowers is a symbolic link
• [ ] OpenCode starts without errors
• [ ] Superpowers skills can be accessed using the Skill tool

Codex Users

• [ ] find-skills command displays a skills list
• [ ] bootstrap command loads complete context
• [ ] Skill count is correct (should be 14 core skills)

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Common Pitfalls

Claude Code: Commands Don't Appear

Symptom: Superpowers commands not visible in /help

Possible causes and solutions:

1. Plugin not installed correctly

   • Re-run: /plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

2. Restart required

   • Fully quit Claude Code and reopen

3. Marketplace not registered

   • Check if marketplace was registered first: /plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace

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OpenCode: Symbolic Links Don't Exist

Symptom: ls -l shows file or directory doesn't exist

Possible causes and solutions:

1. Superpowers not cloned

   • Check directory: ls -l ~/.config/opencode/superpowers
   • Re-run installation steps

2. Link creation failed

   • Ensure you have permission to create symbolic links (Windows requires Developer Mode or admin privileges)
   • Re-run link creation commands

3. OpenCode not restarted

   • Fully quit OpenCode and reopen

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Codex: CLI Tool Cannot Execute

Symptom: Permission error or command not found when running superpowers-codex

Possible causes and solutions:

1. File permission issues

   chmod +x ~/.codex/superpowers/.codex/superpowers-codex

2. Node.js not installed

   • Ensure Node.js 14 or higher is installed
   • Run: node --version

3. Superpowers not cloned

   • Check directory: ls -l ~/.codex/superpowers
   • Re-run installation steps

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Common Issue: Incorrect Skill Count

Symptom: Displayed skill count is less than 14

Solutions:

1. Confirm using latest version

   • Claude Code: /plugin update superpowers
   • OpenCode/Codex: cd ~/.config/opencode/superpowers && git pull

2. Check skills directory

   ls ~/.config/opencode/superpowers/skills

   You should see 14 skill directories

3. Check for old version remnants

   • If ~/.config/superpowers/skills exists, it indicates an old version
   • Migrate or delete the old version

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Lesson Summary

Through this lesson, you've learned:

1. ✅ Claude Code verification: Use /help to check command availability
2. ✅ OpenCode verification: Check symbolic links and restart to verify
3. ✅ Codex verification: Use CLI tool to list skills
4. ✅ Common issue troubleshooting: Provided solutions for common issues on each platform

Core principles:

• Different platforms use different verification methods, but the goal is always to confirm the skill system works properly
• When encountering issues, check symbolic links, file permissions, and version updates first
• Restarting is a critical step for successful verification

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Coming Up Next

In the next lesson, we'll learn Skill Invocation Rules and Priority.

You'll learn:

• Core rules of the skill system (1% rule)
• Skill priority and invocation flow
• The difference between rigid skills and flexible skills

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Appendix: Source Code Reference

Click to expand source code locations

Last updated: 2026-02-01

Function	File Path	Line Numbers
Command definition	commands/brainstorm.md	Entire file
Command definition	commands/write-plan.md	Entire file
Command definition	commands/execute-plan.md	Entire file
SessionStart hook	hooks/session-start.sh	1-53
Codex CLI	.codex/superpowers-codex	Entire file
OpenCode plugin	.opencode/plugins/superpowers.js	Entire file

Key constants:

• Plugin version: 4.1.1 (from .claude-plugin/plugin.json:4)

Key functions:

• escape_for_json(): JSON escaping function in SessionStart hook (hooks/session-start.sh:21-37)