CipherPowers

Comprehensive development toolkit for Claude Code that enforces consistent workflows across your team. CipherPowers provides reusable skills, specialized agents, and project standards through a modular plugin architecture, ensuring everyone follows the same practices for code review, testing, documentation, and planning.

Prerequisites

Before installing CipherPowers, you need:

1. Claude Code CLI - Install from claude.ai/code
2. Superpowers Plugin - CipherPowers builds on the superpowers plugin for universal skills

Installing Superpowers Dependency

CipherPowers requires the superpowers plugin. Install it first:

# Add superpowers plugin to your Claude Code configuration
# Follow instructions at: https://github.com/clavcode/superpowers

Installation

1. Clone CipherPowers repository:

   git clone https://github.com/cipherstash/cipherpowers.git ~/.config/claude/plugins/cipherpowers

2. Verify superpowers is installed:

   # In a Claude Code session, check that superpowers commands work:
   # /execute-plan or /superpowers:brainstorm should be available

3. Verify CipherPowers installation:

   # Start Claude Code in any project
   # Type /brainstorm or /code-review to verify CipherPowers commands are available

Getting Started

Once installed, CipherPowers provides specialized slash commands in Claude Code:

Try the planning workflow:

# Start with an idea
/brainstorm

# Create an implementation plan
/plan

# Execute the plan with automatic agent selection
/execute [plan-file-path]

Or trigger code quality checks directly:

# In any Claude Code session
/code-review

Recommended Workflow

For best results when implementing new features or tackling complex tasks, follow this three-step workflow:

1. Brainstorm (/brainstorm)

When: You have an idea but need to refine requirements and explore design options.

What it does:

• Interactive Socratic dialogue to clarify your thinking
• Explores edge cases, constraints, and trade-offs
• Refines vague ideas into concrete designs
• Results in a clear understanding ready for planning

Skip if: You already have a fully-detailed design spec.

2. Plan (/plan)

When: After brainstorming, when you're ready to break down the implementation.

What it does:

• Creates structured implementation plan with bite-sized tasks
• Each task sized for 3-task execution batches
• Includes step-by-step instructions and expected outcomes
• Saves plan to docs/plans/ or plans/ directory

Skip if: The task is trivial (single file, < 10 lines of code).

3. Execute (/execute [plan-file])

When: You have a plan file and are ready to implement.

What it does:

• Automatically selects specialized agents for each task type
• Executes in 3-task batches with code review checkpoints
• Ensures all feedback addressed before proceeding
• Prompts for retrospective when complete

Why this matters:

• Prevents scope creep and forgotten requirements
• Catches issues early through batch-level code review
• Maintains consistency across large implementations
• Captures learning for future reference

Alternative: For simple tasks without a plan, work directly in the session and use /code-review and /commit manually.

Available Commands

CipherPowers Commands

Planning Workflow:

• /brainstorm - Refine ideas using Socratic method (invokes superpowers brainstorming)
• /plan - Create detailed implementation plans (invokes superpowers plan writing)
• /execute [plan-file] - Execute implementation plans with automatic agent selection, batch-level code review, and retrospective completion

Code Quality:

• /code-review - Manual code review trigger
• /commit - Commit with conventional format

Documentation:

• /doc-review - Sync documentation with code changes
• /summarise - Capture learning and create retrospectives

Superpowers Commands (Required Dependency)

CipherPowers provides wrapper commands for superpowers workflows. The following superpowers command is also available:

Direct Superpowers Access:

• /execute-plan - Execute plans in batches with review checkpoints (superpowers base workflow, use /execute for enhanced CipherPowers version)

Skills and Practices

Skills: Automatically discovered by Claude Code. All skills in plugin/skills/ are available via the Skill tool.

Practices: Use the find-practices tool to discover available practices:

./plugin/tools/find-practices "pattern"
./plugin/tools/find-practices --local "pattern"    # cipherpowers only
./plugin/tools/find-practices --upstream "pattern" # marketplace only

Direct references in agents/commands:

• @${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}plugin/practices/practice-name.md - Direct practice reference
• @${SUPERPOWERS_SKILLS_ROOT}/skills/category/skill-name/SKILL.md - Upstream skill reference

Key Features

Algorithmic Workflow Enforcement (Oct 2025)

• Converted TDD, code review trigger, and git commit workflows to algorithmic format
• Each includes: decision algorithm, recovery algorithm, invalid conditions, self-test
• Pressure test scenarios validate resistance to common rationalizations
• Skills: tdd-enforcement-algorithm/, conducting-code-review (trigger section)
• Practice: git-commit-algorithm.md
• Pattern: 0% → 100% compliance improvement under pressure (time, sunk cost, authority)

Troubleshooting

Commands not appearing in Claude Code:

• Verify CipherPowers is cloned to ~/.config/claude/plugins/cipherpowers
• Restart Claude Code session
• Check ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} environment variable is set

Superpowers commands not working:

• Verify superpowers plugin is installed first
• Check ${SUPERPOWERS_SKILLS_ROOT} environment variable is set
• Superpowers must be installed before CipherPowers

Skills not available:

• Skills are auto-discovered - no manual discovery needed
• Check ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} environment variable is set
• Verify both cipherpowers and superpowers plugins are installed correctly

Documentation

Quick Start: This README covers installation and basic usage.

Deep Dive: See CLAUDE.md for complete architecture details, plugin development guide, and team usage patterns. Read CLAUDE.md when you want to:

• Understand the three-layer architecture (skills, automation, documentation)
• Create custom agents, commands, or practices
• Learn about algorithmic workflow enforcement
• Contribute to CipherPowers development

License

[Add your license here]