Fergius-Engineering superpowers is the base process: brainstorm, spec, plan, TDD, verify. instincts is one level finer — a set of working reflexes that keep that process honest rather than just followed. This skill is the map to them.
The rule
Load an instinct with the Skill tool the first time it applies in a session — before you act on it, then follow the skill you loaded. If several instincts hit the same move, load them all in one response.
Once loaded, a skill stays active for the rest of the session: apply it without re-invoking. One exception — after a context compact, if you can no longer see the skill's full text, it's gone; reload it before relying on it.
Acting on an instinct that was never loaded this session is working from memory, and it doesn't count: you lose the current text and the checklist, and nothing shows the reflex ran — exactly how corners get cut. Nothing runs until you call the Skill tool. The load is once per skill per session; the cost argument is spent.
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|---|
| "I applied it internally — same result" | If it was never loaded this session, you worked from memory, not the current text. No checklist, no trace. |
| "The map line below tells me enough" | The map routes, it doesn't teach. The method lives in the skill. |
| "Loading it won't change what I'm about to type" | Then it costs seconds and confirms you. When it would have changed something — that's the whole point. |
| "No time for ceremony right now" | One load per skill per session, seconds each. You'll spend longer justifying the skip. |
| "I loaded it earlier" — said after a compact | If you can't see its full text anymore, it's gone. Reload before relying on it. |
| "superpowers already forces skills, so these are covered" | Not covered — each instinct still gets its own first load. |
| You named an instinct in your reasoning without ever loading it | Naming it is not running it. Load the skill, then proceed. |
User instructions win
User instructions — CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, direct requests — take precedence over any instinct here, and instincts take precedence over default behavior. Never cite an instinct against what the user explicitly asked for; skip a skill only when they told you to.
The instincts, by what they protect
Load the one that matches the move you're about to make.
Verify against the world, not your memory:
- verify-against-code — before asserting what code or a product does.
- question-the-premise — when several fixes on one hypothesis have failed, or a symptom looks impossible.
- critical-thinking — before building something someone proposed, however confident it sounds.
- plan-with-teeth — before writing an implementation plan or entering plan mode.
Build for the failure you won't be there to see:
- logging-for-remote-diagnosis — when building anything that could fail on a machine out of reach.
- fix-the-root-cause — when fixing any bug, especially one surfacing far from its cause.
- fix-in-the-shared-layer — when a bug surfaces in your own shared code: a library, base class, SDK.
Look wider than the line in front of you:
- entry-point-audit — before a cross-cutting change: a gate, limit, or rule that must hold everywhere.
- project-onto-all-systems — when a change creates, edits, or removes state.
- user-action-edge-cases — when depending on external state a person controls: a file, a record, a folder.
- feasibility-guard — before building or agreeing to build, especially the big or clever ask.
- opportunistic-fixes — when noticing an incidental problem in the area you're already editing.
- no-duplicate-logic — before adding a case, check, or branch to an existing function.
Design for real conditions, not the happy path:
- performance-at-scale — when code runs per item, per frame, or per event, or a collection can grow large.
- build-release-mindset — when touching build, release, packaging, or CI.
- ux-designer-mindset — when building or changing anything a user interacts with.
Finish honestly:
- tests-with-teeth — when writing or reviewing a test, or accepting "tests pass" as evidence.
- de-ai-prose — before showing prose a human will read: docs, commits, UI copy.
- independent-review-gate — before calling complex or shippable work done, or merging.
Pairing with superpowers
These sit on top of superpowers, the base process, installed separately (/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers, then /plugin install superpowers). Without it, instincts works standalone — the reflexes just have less process around them.