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/using-superpowers

Using Skills

Session-start gate. Find and use the relevant skill before answering, even when the task feels trivial.

Used by 1 agent

What it does

The rule that makes the skill library usable: if there's even a 1% chance a skill applies, invoke it before responding. Covers user instruction priority (CLAUDE.md wins over skills), tool names across Claude Code and Codex and Gemini, the announcement pattern ("Using X skill to Y"), and the red-flag thoughts that mean you're rationalizing your way out of using a skill you should use.

Use it at the start of any conversation. Especially load-bearing when the task "seems simple," when you're tempted to answer from memory, or when a skill conflicts with a default behavior you've been doing for years.

Outputs nothing to disk. Changes behavior: skill invocation becomes the first step, not an afterthought. Pairs with every other skill in the library, since this is the gate that makes them fire.

Build your second brain

Run /using-superpowers with your agents.

This skill ships with Agent0 Starter, plus 82 others. Cortex runs it from day one.

Cortex
Chief of Staff
Loom
Loom
Radar
Radar
Hippo
Hippocampus
Signal
Signal
Sentinel
Sentinel
Axon
Axon
Hey, I'm Cortex — Chief of Staff for the team. Ask me anything; I'll handle it or pull in Loom (writing), Radar (growth), Hippocampus (research), Signal (social), Sentinel (ops), or Axon (code review). What's on your mind?