Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks. An agent skill from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills.

MITAuto-check: notesSales & Support

Install Clay Playbooks

skills CLI
$ npx skills add growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills --skill clay-playbooks -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills clay-playbooks --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/playbooks/clay-playbooks .claude/skills/clay-playbooks && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
clay-playbooks
GitHub stars
753
Token cost
~2.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,033 words
Files
3
Skills in repo
49
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks. An agent skill from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills.

  • Works in 7 steps: One playbook, one field. If you need two… → Abstain is empty string. Never "N/A",… → The model never establishes a fact.… → …
  • Someone says personalize this list
  • SKILL.md covers The three run modes, Status: recipes, not verified…, The 19 playbooks and Cost tags, plus 2 more sections
  • Needs PROSPEO_API_KEY and OPENAI_API_KEY

What it does

Clay Playbooks is an agent skill from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills. Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks. Each playbook turns one buying signal (new in role, raised a round, hiring surge, pricing page, tech on website, ...) into one copy-ready sentence you can drop into a cold email. Every playbook ships three ways to run it: as a Claude skill, as a Clay table built through a browser harness, and as a Clay workflow built from the clay CLI. Use when someone says "personalize this list", "what signal should I use", "build the Clay column for X", or names any of the…

Its SKILL.md is about 2.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `clay-cli-harness.md` and `clay-table-harness.md`).

It sits in Sales & Support, covering Cold outreach and Landing pages. The repository describes itself as: Open-source Claude Code skills for cold email and outbound sales. Grade campaigns, export Prospeo searches, scrape Google Maps — all from Claude Code. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Someone says personalize this list
  • What signal should I use
  • Build the Clay column for X
  • Names any of the 19 signals

Example prompts

  • “personalize this list”
  • “what signal should I use”
  • “build the Clay column for X”
  • “/clay-playbooks”

Requirements

  • A credential in PROSPEO_API_KEY
  • A credential in OPENAI_API_KEY

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. One playbook, one field. If you need two signals, run two playbooks and let the copy pick.
  2. Abstain is empty string. Never "N/A", never "unknown", never a guess. A blank is cheap; a
  3. The model never establishes a fact. Every fact goes into the prompt already proven by a
  4. Deterministic fields are computed in code, not by the model. Dates, counts, enums, and
  5. Gate the paid column. No paid enrichment runs on a row that failed a free upstream check or
  6. Run 5 rows and read them before you run 5,000. Every playbook has a smoke test. The failure
  7. No em dashes in generated copy. They read as machine-written. Hyphens in number ranges are

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 25c5d85. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • PROSPEO_API_KEY
    • OPENAI_API_KEY
    • SERPER_API_KEY
    • APIFY_API_TOKEN
    • CLAY_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Clay Playbooks loads about 2.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 136 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,033 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~136
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

  • NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:133
    never by value. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills at commit 25c5d85, republished under its MIT licence (© growthenginenowoslawski). 1,033 words, ~2,172 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/clay-playbooks/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
clay-playbooks
description
Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks. Each playbook turns one buying signal (new in role, raised a round, hiring surge, pricing page, tech on website, ...) into one copy-ready sentence you can drop into a cold email. Every playbook ships three ways to run it: as a Claude skill, as a Clay table built through a browser harness, and as a Clay workflow built from the clay CLI. Use when someone says "personalize this list", "what signal should I use", "build the Clay column for X", or names any of the 19 signals.

Clay Playbooks

Nineteen playbooks. Each one answers a single question:

A campaign needs signal X on every row. What is the cheapest reliable way to get X, and what exact prompt turns X into copy-ready text?

One playbook produces one field. new_in_role_line. funding_line. pricing_page_line. That field slots into one sentence of email 1. That is the whole product.

The three run modes

Every playbook directory ships the same three files. They are three delivery mechanisms for the same recipe, not three different recipes.

FileWhat it isUse it when
SKILL.mdThe playbook itself: source chain, output contract, locked prompt, edge casesYou are running the signal from Claude, ad hoc, on a CSV or a one-off list
clay-table.mdThe Clay table build: exact columns, types, formulas, credit gates, AI-column bindingsThe signal needs to run continuously on a client table that other people will look at
clay-workflow.mdThe Clay workflow build via the clay CLI: node graph, real action keys, publish and runYou want the signal version-controlled and buildable from a terminal, no UI clicking

Why tables are browser-driven and workflows are CLI-driven. This is a real constraint, not a style choice. The clay CLI's tables command group is read-only (list, get, columns, rows, query) — it cannot create a table or add a column. Tables must be built in the UI. Workflows are the opposite: clay workflows create / nodes create / publish / runs test all exist, so a workflow can be built end to end from a terminal.

Shared procedures, written once so the 19 playbooks do not repeat them:

  • clay-table-harness.md — the generic browser procedure for building any playbook's table.
  • clay-cli-harness.md — the generic clay CLI procedure for building any playbook's workflow.

Read the relevant harness once, then read the playbook's own clay-table.md / clay-workflow.md for what is specific to that signal.

Status: recipes, not verified builds

⚠️ Read this before you tell anyone a playbook "works".

The SKILL.md in each directory carries a verification line saying what was actually run and on how many rows. Where it says PASS, real rows were graded.

The clay-table.md and clay-workflow.md files in every playbook are documented recipes that have not been built and run in a live Clay workspace. They are written against the real Clay action catalog and the real CLI command surface, so the shapes are right, but nobody has clicked through the table build or published the workflow. Treat them as specifications. Build one, run it on 5 rows, read the output, and fix the file before you run it on a list.

The one thing most likely to be wrong on first build is the AI column's reasoning-effort parameter. See clay-table-harness.md § "The empty-column trap".

The 19 playbooks

Person-level signals (the person did something)
PlaybookOutput fieldWhat it says
playbook-new-in-rolenew_in_role_linethey just took this seat
playbook-linkedin-engagementengagement_linethey engaged with a relevant post
playbook-social-postssocial_post_linethey posted about something you can speak to
playbook-warm-introswarm_intro_lineyou share a real connection
Company-level signals (the company did something)
PlaybookOutput fieldWhat it says
playbook-fundraisingfunding_linethey raised, so they are buying
playbook-hiring-surgehiring_linethey are growing the team you sell to
playbook-job-posting-languagejob_language_linetheir own job post names your problem
playbook-ad-libraryad_linethey are spending on ads right now
Website-derived signals (their site says something)
PlaybookOutput fieldWhat it says
playbook-pricing-pagepricing_page_linehow they price, read off their own page
playbook-case-study-pagecase_study_linewho they brag about serving
playbook-tech-on-websitetech_linewhat they run, detected on the page
playbook-google-site-searchvariesfind any page on their site by keyword
List-shaping playbooks (they make other playbooks work)
PlaybookOutput fieldWhat it says
playbook-company-name-cleaningcompany_name_clean"Irby Utilities, LLC" becomes "Irby"
playbook-first-name-cleaningfirst_name_clean"MARIA-JOSE (MJ)" becomes "MJ"
playbook-social-link-findinglinkedin_url etc.find the profile you are missing
playbook-lookalikescompany listmore companies like these
playbook-name-to-other-prospectscontact listmore buyers at the same company
Show full SKILL.md (395 more words)Show less
Copy-generation playbooks (they turn signals into words)
PlaybookOutput fieldWhat it says
playbook-ai-specificityspecificity_linemake a generic line concrete
playbook-creative-ideascampaign angleswhat campaign to run at all

Cost tags

Every source row in every playbook carries one of these. They are relative to a 1,000-row list.

TagMeans
FREEno per-row cost, or included in a flat plan
CHEAPunder $1 per 1,000 rows
METERED$1 to $20 per 1,000 rows, scales with volume
EXPENSIVEover $20 per 1,000 rows, or per-row LinkedIn reads

Rules that apply to all 19

  1. One playbook, one field. If you need two signals, run two playbooks and let the copy pick.
  2. Abstain is empty string. Never "N/A", never "unknown", never a guess. A blank is cheap; a confident wrong sentence about someone's own job costs you the account.
  3. The model never establishes a fact. Every fact goes into the prompt already proven by a structured source. The model's only job is to turn a fact list into one sentence. If you find yourself asking a model "is this true?", you have skipped a source.
  4. Deterministic fields are computed in code, not by the model. Dates, counts, enums, and anything that branches the copy. Models are for prose.
  5. Gate the paid column. No paid enrichment runs on a row that failed a free upstream check or that has no valid email. This is the single biggest cost lever in Clay.
  6. Run 5 rows and read them before you run 5,000. Every playbook has a smoke test. The failure modes are silent: empty columns, unbound variables, and gates that drop every row look identical to "still processing".
  7. No em dashes in generated copy. They read as machine-written. Hyphens in number ranges are fine.

What you need

Playbooks name credentials by environment variable, never by value. Copy .env.example to .env and fill in only what the playbooks you actually run require. The common ones:

VariableUsed by
PROSPEO_API_KEYnew-in-role, name-to-other-prospects, social-link-finding
OPENAI_API_KEYevery playbook with a locked prompt
SERPER_API_KEY (or another SERP provider)google-site-search, case-study-page, pricing-page
APIFY_API_TOKENad-library, linkedin-engagement, social-posts
CLAY_API_KEYthe clay CLI, if you are not using browser OAuth

Never paste a key into a SKILL.md, a Clay column, or a workflow node body. Clay columns read credentials from the workspace's saved integration auth; the CLI reads them from your shell.

© growthenginenowoslawski, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files in skills/playbooks/clay-playbooks of growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills.

  • SKILL.md
  • clay-cli-harness.md
  • clay-table-harness.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 25c5d85

Compare with similar skills

Clay Playbooks next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Clay Playbooks compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Clay Playbooks this skillgrowthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills753—~2.2kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Sales Automatoraiskillstore/marketplace4337 repos~370Automated safety check: PassNone
Prospect Panel SimulatorOneWave-AI/claude-skills336—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Cold Outbound Optimizerericosiu/ai-marketing-skills3.6k1 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Prospectingcoreyhaines31/marketingskills54k—~5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Sales OsromangojiberryAI/gojiberryai-sales-os139—~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Clay Playbooks

What does Clay Playbooks do?

Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks. An agent skill from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills. Clay Playbooks is an agent skill from growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills. Index and shared harness for the 19 signal playbooks.

When should I use Clay Playbooks?

Clay Playbooks fits situations like: someone says personalize this list; what signal should I use; build the Clay column for X; names any of the 19 signals.

How do I install Clay Playbooks in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills --skill clay-playbooks -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/playbooks/clay-playbooks in growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills) into .claude/skills/clay-playbooks in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Clay Playbooks in Codex?

Run `npx skills add growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills --skill clay-playbooks -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/playbooks/clay-playbooks in growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills) into .agents/skills/clay-playbooks in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Clay Playbooks in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills --skill clay-playbooks -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/clay-playbooks, .gemini/skills/clay-playbooks, .github/skills/clay-playbooks and .opencode/skills/clay-playbooks in your project.

What does Clay Playbooks need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Clay Playbooks needs credentials named PROSPEO_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, SERPER_API_KEY and APIFY_API_TOKEN. Our summary lists: A credential in PROSPEO_API_KEY; A credential in OPENAI_API_KEY.

Does Clay Playbooks access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Clay Playbooks safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (mentions a .env file), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Clay Playbooks use?

Clay Playbooks is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Clay Playbooks use?

About 2.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Clay Playbooks?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Clay Playbooks: Sales Automator (aiskillstore/marketplace, 433 stars), Prospect Panel Simulator (OneWave-AI/claude-skills, 336 stars), Cold Outbound Optimizer (ericosiu/ai-marketing-skills, 3.6k stars) and Prospecting (coreyhaines31/marketingskills, 54k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Clay Playbooks?

growthenginenowoslawski (a GitHub user) maintains it in growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills, which has 753 GitHub stars. The repository holds 49 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.

Source: growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.