using-instinctslisted

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 s