> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.serval.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Catalyst skills

> Teach Catalyst how to build your workflows and automations

Catalyst skills provide a way to teach Catalyst about how to build your workflows and common automations.

<Frame caption="The Catalyst Skills tab of the Skills page, with publish-status filters">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/serval/IdOQFAuQ_6pZD745/images/serval-docs/catalyst/catalyst-skills-list.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=IdOQFAuQ_6pZD745&q=85&s=0054c7172240850c44221a56d1e16a5a" alt="Skills page with the Catalyst Skills tab selected, showing the skill list and publish-status filters" width="2000" height="474" data-path="images/serval-docs/catalyst/catalyst-skills-list.png" />
</Frame>

To create a skill, do the following:

1. From the team sidebar, open **Skills**.
2. In the top-right corner, click **New skill**.
3. In the **Create a new skill** modal, choose **Catalyst Skill**.

<Frame caption="Choosing between a Help Desk skill and a Catalyst skill">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/serval/IdOQFAuQ_6pZD745/images/serval-docs/catalyst/catalyst-create-skill-modal.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=IdOQFAuQ_6pZD745&q=85&s=aeab5e8d05bb0884a8152c4f4b19a9da" alt="Create a new skill modal with Help Desk skill and Catalyst skill options" width="1850" height="540" data-path="images/serval-docs/catalyst/catalyst-create-skill-modal.png" />
</Frame>

## Catalyst skills vs Help Desk skills

Catalyst skills are distinct from Help Desk skills. The two are compared in the table below.

|                      |                                    Help Desk skills                                   |                                        Catalyst skills                                        |
| :------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: |
| How Serval uses them |                     The help desk agent handling employee requests                    |                               Catalyst when building automations                              |
| Where to manage them |                           **Skills → Help Desk Skills** tab                           |                                **Skills → Catalyst Skills** tab                               |
|        Purpose       | How the agent behaves when handling requests: tone, procedures, when to run workflows | Reusable context and instructions for Catalyst: team conventions, naming, deployment patterns |
| Visible to end users |                          Indirectly, through agent responses                          |                                       No: builders only                                       |

For more information, see [Help Desk skills](/sections/documentation/skills/overview).

## Examples

* **Help Desk skill**: "When someone asks for laptop replacement, gather the reason, run the laptop-request workflow, and set expectations on turnaround time."
* **Catalyst skill**: "Our team prefix is ENG. Always use installable workflows for Okta group changes when one exists."

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Catalyst workspace" icon="window-maximize" href="/sections/documentation/catalyst/catalyst-workspace">
    Build automations in the Catalyst chat
  </Card>

  <Card title="Help Desk skills" icon="book" href="/sections/documentation/skills/overview">
    Instructions for the help desk agent on end-user requests
  </Card>
</CardGroup>