Guide for using Superpowers with OpenAI Codex via native skill discovery.
Tell Codex:
Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/superpowers/refs/heads/main/.codex/INSTALL.md
- OpenAI Codex CLI
- Git
-
Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/obra/superpowers.git ~/.codex/superpowers -
Create the skills symlink:
mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills ln -s ~/.codex/superpowers/skills ~/.agents/skills/superpowers
-
Restart Codex.
-
For subagent skills (optional): Skills like
dispatching-parallel-agentsandsubagent-driven-developmentrequire Codex's collab feature. Add to your Codex config:[features] collab = true
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" "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\superpowers\skills"Codex has native skill discovery — it scans ~/.agents/skills/ at startup, parses SKILL.md frontmatter, and loads skills on demand. Superpowers skills are made visible through a single symlink:
~/.agents/skills/superpowers/ → ~/.codex/superpowers/skills/
The using-superpowers skill is discovered automatically and enforces skill usage discipline — no additional configuration needed.
Skills are discovered automatically. Codex activates them when:
- You mention a skill by name (e.g., "use brainstorming")
- The task matches a skill's description
- The
using-superpowersskill directs Codex to use one
Create your own skills in ~/.agents/skills/:
mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills/my-skillCreate ~/.agents/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md:
---
name: my-skill
description: Use when [condition] - [what it does]
---
# My Skill
[Your skill content here]The description field is how Codex decides when to activate a skill automatically — write it as a clear trigger condition.
cd ~/.codex/superpowers && git pullSkills update instantly through the symlink.
rm ~/.agents/skills/superpowersWindows (PowerShell):
Remove-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.agents\skills\superpowers"Optionally delete the clone: rm -rf ~/.codex/superpowers (Windows: Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\superpowers").
- Verify the symlink:
ls -la ~/.agents/skills/superpowers - Check skills exist:
ls ~/.codex/superpowers/skills - Restart Codex — skills are discovered at startup
Junctions normally work without special permissions. If creation fails, try running PowerShell as administrator.
- Report issues: https://github.com/obra/superpowers/issues
- Main documentation: https://github.com/obra/superpowers