Plugin hook error on SessionStart:startup when Windows 11 user directory contains space

[z925835]

When I start Claude (v2.0.22) after successfully adding and installing superpowers, I receive the following error message:

  ⎿ SessionStart:startup says: Plugin hook error: 'C:\Users\John' is not recognized as an internal or external
    command,
    operable program or batch file.

Starting Claude in debug mode returns slightly more info:

  Logging to: C:\Users\John Doe\.claude\debug\latest
  ⎿ SessionStart:startup says: Plugin hook error: 'C:\Users\John' is not recognized as an internal or external
    command,
    operable program or batch file.

I'm thinking this might have to do with the space in the user directory and I'm not sure if this a superpowers or Claude bug?

[obra]

We have zero windows support at the moment. If you could, I'd love it if you'd test out #38 to see if that works for you

[wessamfathi]

We have zero windows support at the moment. If you could, I'd love it if you'd test out #38 to see if that works for you

I'd be happy to test #38 if I can find instructions on how to do so. Since I tried overwriting the files in "~.claude\plugins\cache\superpowers" with the updated ones from this PR and still couldn't get Superpowers to load correctly in Claude Code for Windows.

[seanGSISG]

I was able to get it to work by converting the session-start.ps1 to a ps1

1. Go to %userprofile%\.claude\plugins\cache\superpowers\hooks and edit hooks.json to:

{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      {
        "matcher": "startup|resume|clear|compact",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/session-start.ps1\""
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

2. In the same folder create a session-start.ps1 and paste:

# SessionStart hook for superpowers plugin

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

# Determine plugin root directory
$SCRIPT_DIR = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
$PLUGIN_ROOT = Split-Path -Parent $SCRIPT_DIR

# Check if legacy skills directory exists and build warning
$warning_message = ""
$legacy_skills_dir = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ".config\superpowers\skills"
if (Test-Path $legacy_skills_dir) {
    $warning_message = "`n`n<important-reminder>IN YOUR FIRST REPLY AFTER SEEING THIS MESSAGE YOU MUST TELL THE USER:⚠️ **WARNING:** Superpowers now uses Claude Code's skills system. Custom skills in ~/.config/superpowers/skills will not be read. Move custom skills to ~/.claude/skills instead. To make this message go away, remove ~/.config/superpowers/skills</important-reminder>"
}

# Read using-superpowers content
$using_superpowers_file = Join-Path $PLUGIN_ROOT "skills\using-superpowers\SKILL.md"
try {
    $using_superpowers_content = Get-Content $using_superpowers_file -Raw -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
    $using_superpowers_content = "Error reading using-superpowers skill"
}

# Escape for JSON
function Escape-JsonString {
    param([string]$text)
    return $text -replace '\\', '\\' -replace '"', '\"' -replace "`n", '\n' -replace "`r", ''
}

$using_superpowers_escaped = Escape-JsonString $using_superpowers_content
$warning_escaped = Escape-JsonString $warning_message

# Output context injection as JSON
$json = @{
    hookSpecificOutput = @{
        hookEventName = "SessionStart"
        additionalContext = "<EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>`nYou have superpowers.`n`n**Below is the full content of your 'superpowers:using-superpowers' skill - your introduction to using skills. For all other skills, use the 'Skill' tool:**`n`n$using_superpowers_escaped`n`n$warning_escaped`n</EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>"
    }
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 -Compress:$false

Write-Output $json

exit 0

I've also got a .js version that I haven't fully tested you can try out: https://github.com/seanGSISG/superpowers/tree/superpowers-js

https://github.com/seanGSISG/superpowers/blob/superpowers-js/WINDOWS-UPDATE-INSTRUCTIONS.md