Is the Test-Driven Development skill free?

Yes. The skill itself is free from obra/superpowers. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.

What is the Test-Driven Development SkillProof Score?

9.6/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 9/10, docs & honesty 5/5.

How do I install Test-Driven Development?

Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.

Can I use Test-Driven Development with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?

The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.

Test-Driven Development

Forces Claude into strict red-green-refactor discipline.

by Jesse Vincent · obra/superpowers

Tested · Works Featured

Install — copy the command Download source ↗

Test report

Verdict: Tested · Works
Score: 9.6/10
Tested: Jun 25, 2026
Environment: Claude Code 2.x
Upstream re-checked: Aug 10, 2026 · 4320d88

Enforced red-green-refactor across a 3-feature session; Claude wrote failing tests first every time and refused to skip the cycle. Noticeably fewer regressions.

Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works

Installs cleanly 5/5
Triggers reliably 5/5
Output vs. baseline 9/10
Docs & honesty 5/5

What Test-Driven Development does

Part of the Superpowers collection. Makes Claude write the failing test before any implementation, every time. The difference in output quality on non-trivial features is real and repeatable.

How to install Test-Driven Development

/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace
/plugin install superpowers

Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ (per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.

Commands — how to trigger Test-Driven Development

/test-driven-development Forces Claude into strict red-green-refactor discipline.

It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:

Write a failing test before implementing this feature
Follow strict TDD while building this new function
Do red-green-refactor for this bug fix, tests first

Appears in

Skills for Developers

Frequently asked questions

Is the Test-Driven Development skill free?: Yes. The skill itself is free from obra/superpowers. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
Does Test-Driven Development work with Claude Code?: We tested it with Claude Code 2.x on Jun 25, 2026. Verdict: Tested · Works. Enforced red-green-refactor across a 3-feature session; Claude wrote failing tests first every time and refused to skip the cycle. Noticeably fewer regressions.
What is the Test-Driven Development SkillProof Score?: 9.6/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 9/10, docs & honesty 5/5.
How do I install Test-Driven Development?: Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
Can I use Test-Driven Development with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?: The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.