using-superpowers

Skill invocation before a response is enforced by checking applicable skills at the very start of a conversation. This ensures deterministic behavior by requiring skill-based guidance or tool usage before any answer or clarifying question is produced.

A conversation guidance checklist is a predefined operational workflow that ensures an AI announces skill usage and follows specific instructions. You need it when your automation requires deterministic, skill-based guidance before generating replies.

To set up conversation guidance, create a SKILL.md frontmatter at the root directory containing the skill name and description. The body holds operational instructions, with optional scripts, references, and assets directories for extended resources.

Yes, the skill invocation approach provides platform-specific access guidance for Claude Code and other environments. It announces usage and follows a predefined checklist to ensure consistent skill-based behavior across platforms.

AI skips skill invocation when a deterministic skill check is not enforced at the conversation start. Applying a skill-based guidance checklist ensures applicable skills are loaded before any response, including clarifications, preventing direct replies.

The main limitation is the strict requirement for a root SKILL.md frontmatter with name and description. Without this structure, the operational workflow cannot load instructions or enforce the predefined checklist before generating responses.