A skill is a job the brain knows how to do: pull a person's history together,
work through an inbox, write a briefing, keep its own records tidy.

Skills are what turn a brain from something you query into something that makes
progress while you are elsewhere.

## Launching one

Open the **Skills** tab. The tiles at the top are the skills you can start.

Hit **Start** and the brain opens a fresh conversation and begins. You watch it
work in chat, and you can interrupt, redirect, or ask it to explain what it is
doing, exactly like any other thread.

## What is installed

Below the launchpad is the full inventory of what the brain has: name,
one-line description, and its state.

Some skills are **always on** and run as part of normal operation rather than
being launched. Some show as **disabled** or **missing requirements**, which
usually means a connected account it needs is not connected yet. See
[connect your accounts](/docs/harness/integrations).

The list is read from the brain itself, so it reflects what that brain actually
has, not a catalog of what exists in general. **Refresh** re-reads it.

## Work that runs on its own

Some skills run on a schedule. Overnight the brain reads what came in, files it,
enriches what it already knew, and cleans up after itself. That is why a brain
you have been feeding for a month answers better than one you set up yesterday,
even if you asked both the same question.

The **Schedule** page shows what is scheduled, in plain English: what runs, when
it last fired, and when it fires next.

## Asking for something that is not there

If the job you want is not in the list, ask for it in chat. Describing the
outcome is usually enough. The brain either knows a way to do it or tells you
what it would need.