Executing Plans

SkillDev tools

Lets your agent carry out step-by-step development plans and write the code for them.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Executing Plans skill

About this capability

Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by obra/superpowers in skills/executing-plans/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Overview

Load plan, review critically, execute all tasks, report when complete.

Announce at start: "I'm using the executing-plans skill to implement this plan."

Note: Tell your human partner that Superpowers works much better with access to subagents (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Codex App, Copilot CLI, and Gemini CLI all qualify; see the per-platform tool refs in ../using-superpowers/references/). If subagents are available, use superpowers:subagent-driven-development instead of this skill.

The Process

Step 1: Load and Review Plan

  1. Ensure an isolated workspace: use superpowers:using-git-worktrees to create one or verify the existing one
  2. Read plan file
  3. Review critically - identify any questions or concerns about the plan
  4. If concerns: Raise them with your human partner before starting
  5. If no concerns: Create todos for the plan items and proceed

Step 2: Execute Tasks

For each task:

  1. Mark as in_progress
  2. Follow each step exactly (plan has bite-sized steps)
  3. Run verifications as specified
  4. Mark as completed

Step 3: Complete Development

After all tasks complete and verified:

  • Announce: "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."
  • REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch
  • Follow that skill to verify tests, present options, execute choice

When to Stop and Ask for Help

STOP executing immediately when:

  • Hit a blocker (missing dependency, test fails, instruction unclear)
  • Plan has critical gaps preventing starting
  • You don't understand an instruction
  • Verification fails repeatedly

Ask for clarification rather than guessing.

When to Revisit Earlier Steps

Return to Review (Step 1) when:

  • Partner updates the plan based on your feedback
  • Fundamental approach needs rethinking

Don't force through blockers - stop and ask.

Remember

  • Review plan critically first
  • Follow plan steps exactly
  • Don't skip verifications
  • Reference skills when plan says to
  • Stop when blocked, don't guess
  • Never start implementation on main/master branch without explicit user consent

Signals

GitHub stars
285k
Forks
25k
Last commit
Sep 2026
Installs
210k installs
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
executing-plans-obra
Source
github.com/obra/superpowers