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Skills are instruction files that AI coding tools read to execute structured workflows. When you type /comet-build in your AI editor, your tool looks up the comet-build Skill file and follows the instructions inside it. Comet installs three groups of Skills — its own orchestration layer, the OpenSpec spec-lifecycle skills, and the Superpowers development-methodology skills — so that one comet init command gives your AI tool everything it needs to run the full five-phase workflow.

Three Groups of Skills

Running comet init deploys all three groups to your selected platform’s skills directory.

Comet Skills

The orchestration layer. These Skills implement phase detection, state transitions, guard validation, and handoff between OpenSpec and Superpowers. They are the primary entry points you interact with during a development session.

OpenSpec Skills

Spec lifecycle management. These Skills handle the formal change record: creating proposals, exploring requirements, syncing delta specs to the main spec tree, verifying spec consistency, and archiving closed changes. Comet’s Skills invoke OpenSpec Skills internally rather than requiring you to call them directly.

Superpowers Skills

Development methodology. These Skills implement the technical side of the workflow: structured brainstorming, test-driven development, subagent-driven implementation, code review, and plan writing. Comet’s Skills invoke Superpowers Skills internally during the design and build phases.

Comet Skills Reference

SkillDescription
/cometMain entry point — reads .comet.yaml and openspec list --json to auto-detect the current phase, then dispatches to the appropriate sub-command
/comet-openPhase 1: Opens a new change by invoking OpenSpec to create proposal.md, design.md, and tasks.md, and initializes .comet.yaml
/comet-designPhase 2: Runs Superpowers brainstorming to produce a Design Doc and writes or updates the delta capability spec
/comet-buildPhase 3: Generates an implementation plan, configures workspace isolation and execution mode, then executes tasks one commit at a time
/comet-verifyPhase 4: Runs project tests, writes a verification report, and handles branch operations before advancing to archive
/comet-archivePhase 5: Syncs delta specs to the main spec tree, annotates the Design Doc and plan, and moves the change to the archive directory
/comet-hotfixPreset: Quick bug-fix path — skips deep design brainstorming; triggers upgrade to full workflow if complexity conditions are met
/comet-tweakPreset: Small-change path — skips brainstorming and the full implementation plan; triggers upgrade if scope grows

OpenSpec Skills

OpenSpec Skills manage the formal lifecycle of a change from first proposal through final archiving. Key capabilities include:
  • Propose — scaffold a new change with a structured proposal document
  • Explore — deepen requirements through guided Q&A before committing to a design
  • Sync — apply delta spec changes back to the main capability spec tree
  • Verify — check spec consistency and task completion before advancing phases
  • Archive — close a finished change and move it to the archive directory
Comet invokes these Skills programmatically during /comet-open and /comet-archive. You can also invoke them independently for spec-only operations outside the Comet workflow.

Superpowers Skills

Superpowers Skills implement the technical methodology that turns a proposal into working, reviewed code. Key capabilities include:
  • Brainstorming — structured deep-design session that explores tradeoffs and produces a Design Doc (technical RFC)
  • TDD — test-driven development flow where tests are written before implementation
  • Subagent-driven development — parallel task execution using multiple AI subagents for large implementation plans
  • Code review — automated review of completed work against the Design Doc and spec
  • Plan writing — structured implementation plan generation tied to a specific change and Design Doc
Comet invokes Superpowers Skills during /comet-design and /comet-build. The build_mode field in .comet.yaml records which Superpowers execution method was chosen for a given change.

Skill Installation Locations

When comet init runs, it writes Skill files to the skills/ subdirectory of each selected platform’s configuration folder. For Chinese-language installs, files go to skills-zh/ instead.
<platform-dir>/
├── skills/          # English skills (default)
│   ├── comet/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-open/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-design/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-build/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-verify/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-archive/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-hotfix/SKILL.md
│   ├── comet-tweak/SKILL.md
│   ├── openspec-*/SKILL.md   # OpenSpec skills
│   └── brainstorming/SKILL.md  # Superpowers skills
└── skills-zh/       # Chinese skills (if zh selected at init)
    └── ...
Example — Claude Code (project-level install):
your-project/
└── .claude/
    └── skills/
        ├── comet/SKILL.md
        │   └── scripts/
        │       ├── comet-guard.sh
        │       ├── comet-state.sh
        │       ├── comet-handoff.sh
        │       ├── comet-archive.sh
        │       ├── comet-yaml-validate.sh
        │       └── comet-env.sh
        ├── comet-open/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-design/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-build/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-verify/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-archive/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-hotfix/SKILL.md
        ├── comet-tweak/SKILL.md
        └── brainstorming/SKILL.md
The automation scripts (comet-guard.sh, comet-state.sh, etc.) are distributed inside the comet/scripts/ folder alongside the main Skill file. Other Skill files reference these scripts at runtime via comet-env.sh, which exports their resolved paths as environment variables.

Platform Skills Directories

comet init supports 28 AI coding platforms. Each platform has its own configuration root:
PlatformSkills DirPlatformSkills Dir
Claude Code.claude/Cursor.cursor/
Codex.codex/OpenCode.opencode/
Windsurf.windsurf/Cline.cline/
RooCode.roo/Continue.continue/
GitHub Copilot.github/Gemini CLI.gemini/
Amazon Q Developer.amazonq/Qwen Code.qwen/
Kilo Code.kilocode/Auggie.augment/
Kiro.kiro/Lingma.lingma/
Junie.junie/CodeBuddy.codebuddy/
CoStrict.cospec/Crush.crush/
Factory Droid.factory/iFlow.iflow/
Pi.pi/Qoder.qoder/
Antigravity.agents/Bob Shell.bob/
ForgeCode.forge/Trae.trae/
Some platforms use different directories for project-level versus global installs. For example, OpenCode global installs use .config/opencode, and Antigravity global installs use .gemini/antigravity.

Language Support

comet init offers two language choices for Comet Skills:
LanguageSkill directoryTrigger
English (default)<platform-dir>/skills/Selected at comet init prompt
Chinese (中文)<platform-dir>/skills-zh/Selected at comet init prompt
The language choice applies only to Comet’s own Skills. OpenSpec and Superpowers Skills are installed in their default language as distributed by their respective projects. To update or change the language of installed Skills after the initial install:
comet update --language en   # switch to English
comet update --language zh   # switch to Chinese