Quick start

Get super-backlog installed and running in a few commands.

Install

Use the official installer for your platform. Both check Node.js and npm, install super-backlog, and run sbl init without relying on npx.

Windows (PowerShell) — works even when npx is blocked by Execution Policy:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adam-s-k-i/super-backlog/master/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adam-s-k-i/super-backlog/master/scripts/install.sh | bash

If you already have Node and npm and prefer a manual install, run sbl init directly without npx:

# Global install
npm install -g super-backlog
sbl init
sbl init --models

# Local install
npm install super-backlog
node ./node_modules/super-backlog/dist/bin.js init

init is idempotent — run it again any time to upgrade injected files to the latest kit version.

Add --models to also enable the optional model router.

Every initialized project also gets a binding delegation rule in its AGENTS.md block: the agent does the work itself by default and, when it delegates, sends the subtask to the cheapest of four model tiers that solves it reliably. The block's only human checkpoints are the three pipeline gates (design, spec review, plan). After a real init, sbl prints a next step to ask your agent for the summary page's architecture.yml while the file is missing. This rule is independent of the opt-in router.

Daily commands

Command	What it does
sbl init	Wire Backlog.md, Superpowers skills, npm scripts, and hooks into the current project.
sbl init --models	Same as above, plus the optional model router.
npm run board	Open the Backlog.md kanban board.
npm run tasks	List Backlog tasks in the terminal.
npm run browser	Open the Backlog browser UI.
npm run dashboard	Start the live Project Dashboard server on http://localhost:6428.
sbl dashboard --port 8080	Start the dashboard server on a custom port.
sbl phase TASK-1	Show where the task stands in the pipeline (phase/spec → plan → impl → verify).
sbl phase TASK-1 plan	Advance the phase after the gate is passed (done clears the label).
sbl update	First self-updates a globally installed CLI to the latest npm version and re-runs itself (opt out with --no-self or SBL_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK), then refreshes all injected files and prints harness/plugin versions.
sbl doctor	Check Node, PowerShell policy, the backlog CLI, phase-label hygiene, and the summary page's architecture.yml.
sbl summary	Check the summary page's architecture.yml for drift and print the prompt that refreshes it; --check for CI.
sbl uninstall	Remove everything super-backlog owns; keep your backlog/ data.
sbl uninstall --with-backlog	Remove everything, including task data.

Model router (opt-in)

The model router writes one subagent per tier (sbl-light, sbl-standard, sbl-strong, sbl-top) for Claude Code and OpenCode, each with a fixed model from .super-backlog/models.json.

Command	What it does
sbl init --models	Install the router and enable it.
sbl models enable	Turn the router on and install its agents.
sbl models disable	Turn the router off; the agents fall back to the session model.
sbl models show	Print the router configuration.
sbl models set <harness> <tier> <model>	Set one tier (- removes it).
sbl models discover	Rank the available OpenCode models into the four tiers.

sbl update keeps installed router files current and migrates a router v1 configuration. The dashboard's Model Router button shows the tiers and toggles the router. sbl uninstall removes every router file. Full reference: Model router.

Project dashboard

sbl dashboard

sbl dashboard (alias: db) starts a local server on port 6428 that serves a self-contained Project Dashboard rendered from your backlog data: board status, milestones, tasks, dependencies, activity, and decisions. The server watches backlog/ and reloads connected browser tabs automatically. If a hub from an older or otherwise mismatched version of super-backlog is already running, the dashboard automatically stops it and restarts a fresh one.

Use --port to choose a different port and --no-open to prevent the browser from opening automatically:

sbl dashboard --port 8080 --no-open

There is no static dashboard.html written to your project.

Each project also gets a project summary page at /p/<slug>/summary/: architecture diagram, tech stack, commands and open work at a glance. While its backlog/docs/architecture.yml is missing, sbl init ends with a hint to ask your agent for the architecture-summary skill.

Backlog button

The Board & Quick Actions section has a single Backlog button. Clicking it makes the dashboard hub start a backlog browser process for the current project on a free local port (reused while it is alive, stopped when the hub stops) and opens the full Backlog.md UI — board, tasks, documents, decisions — in a near-fullscreen overlay. Under the hub the overlay runs same-origin: the hub proxies the browser UI through /p/<slug>/bb/, and the dashboard theme toggle also switches the embedded UI between light and dark. Use the overlay's "open in new tab" link for a standalone browser tab. If the backlog CLI is not installed, the button reports the failure and nothing is spawned.

Task details

Clicking a task row opens a centered detail dialog: title and status up top (the header stays visible while scrolling), metadata as a labelled grid with priority colouring and the task's pipeline phase, the description in readable paragraphs, acceptance criteria with a progress bar, dependency chips with done-markers, and copyable backlog task edit <id> and sbl phase <id> <next> commands to jump into editing or advance the phase. Descriptions and acceptance criteria are read from the task markdown files, so the dialog stays complete even where backlog task list --json omits them.

Feature Cycle steps

The Feature Cycle section shows the nine workflow phases as a compact stepper — step number and name only, with the human gates highlighted. Steps 5–8 carry a live count of the tasks currently sitting in the matching pipeline phase (phase/spec … phase/verify). Click a step to open its detail panel: the gate description plus, for tool-driven phases, the command that drives the phase (for example /superpowers:brainstorming for Brainstorming) with a one-click copy button. Purely human steps such as Idea and the Design gate carry no command.

Version and update badge

The sidebar shows the installed super-backlog version. When the daily version check has cached a newer release, an update badge appears next to it; clicking the badge copies npm i -g super-backlog to your clipboard. The dashboard never contacts the npm registry itself — the badge is fed entirely by the cache under ~/.super-backlog/version-check.json.

Pipeline phases

Every task carries its pipeline phase as a label, so you and your agents always know where work stands — no more reconstructing context at the start of a session. Tasks created through the spec-to-backlog flow start at phase/spec automatically; you advance phases only after the matching human gate:

sbl phase TASK-1          # where does this task stand?
sbl phase TASK-1 plan     # review gate passed -> advance to plan
sbl phase TASK-1 done     # archived -> clear the label
sbl doctor                # flags missing, duplicate, or unknown phase labels

The dashboard shows the live phase everywhere: counts on the Feature Cycle stepper, chips in the tasks table, and a copyable advance command in the task modal.

Full lifecycle and details: Pipeline phases.

Harness support

• OpenCode — plugin entry + file-based skills under .opencode/skill/.
• Claude Code — file-based skills under .claude/skills/ work immediately. init prints the marketplace plugin command to paste into Claude Code.

See Harness support for the full matrix.

Windows PowerShell

If you prefer npx or a globally installed sbl command, PowerShell's Execution Policy may block .ps1 shims. Use the installer above (irm ... | iex) to avoid this entirely. If you still want to use npx, run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned once, or use sbl doctor for the exact policy and fix.

Next steps

• Architecture deep-dive: Architecture
• Operations and release chain: Operations
• Troubleshooting and exit codes: Troubleshooting