Skills are editable Markdown files that give Harvey foundational sales knowledge. Each agent loads the skills it needs before making decisions.
When an agent runs, it calls brain.load_skills_for_agent("agent_name") which concatenates the relevant skill files and injects them into the prompt. This means you can change Harvey's behavior by editing these files — no code changes needed.
| Skill | Scout | Writer | Handler | Sender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
prospecting_tactics.md |
x | x | |||
lead_qualification.md |
x | ||||
account_navigation.md |
x | 469D | |||
signal_playbook.md |
x | x | |||
email_frameworks.md |
x | x | |||
sales_methodology.md |
x | x | |||
offer_strategy.md |
x | x | |||
objection_handling.md |
x | ||||
linkedin_outreach.md |
x | ||||
product_knowledge.md |
x | x | x | x | x |
competitive_intel.md |
x | x | |||
selling_to_startups.md |
x* | x* |
* Only for prospects whose company is a startup by its own site's account (the YC_BACKED or ACCELERATOR signal, or a FUNDING_ROUND from the last 18 months), not loaded for everyone.
prospecting_tactics.md— Google dorking queries, company website scraping, trigger events, referral mininglead_qualification.md— BANT screening, ICP scoring, MEDDIC framework, disqualification criteriaaccount_navigation.md— Multi-contact handling, entry point strategy, multi-threading rulesselling_to_startups.md— Writing to early-stage founders: who reads, timing around a YC or accelerator batch and Demo Day, writing to companies that just raised (and when a raise is too old to mention), what not to do, handling their replies. Used automatically for YC-backed, accelerator-backed and recently funded prospects.signal_playbook.md— Turning buying signals (hiring, tech stack, funding) into the email's first line; which signal wins when there are several; using a job posting as the hook without guessing or implying inside knowledgeemail_frameworks.md— Cold email copywriting rules, banned AI patterns, 2026 reply-rate data (length, offer CTAs, cadence, no tracking), 5 frameworks (AIDA, PAS, BAB, QVC, 3Ps)sales_methodology.md— ABC Loop, conversation flow, tone calibration, ethical guidelinesoffer_strategy.md— Offer ladder by engagement level, closing mechanics, timing rulesobjection_handling.md— LAARC framework, 4 objection categories with responseslinkedin_outreach.md— Connection sequences, messaging templates, rate limits
These are created by harvey train <url> and are specific to your product:
product_knowledge.md— Features, benefits, pricing, use cases, pain points, buying triggerscompetitive_intel.md— Battle cards for each competitor, differentiation angles, migration paths
- Edit any
.mdfile in this directory - Changes take effect on the next heartbeat cycle (no restart needed)
- To add a new skill, create the file and add it to the
skill_mapinharvey/brain.py