YouTube Hook Scripter
The packaging earns the click; the first 30 seconds (or 3 on a Short) earns the watch-time. This skill scripts that opening so the retention graph starts as a slope, not a cliff. It writes the words you say on camera, not the metadata.
When to use
- User says "write my intro" or "how should this video open"
- A video's retention drops hard in the first 30 seconds and needs a re-cut
- User has a Short and needs the first 3 seconds to stop the swipe
- User wants the spoken hook to match the title's promise
Formulas this skill uses (opening-hook shapes)
| Code | Formula | Surface | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y7 | Restate-and-Raise | long-form 30s | confirm the promise, raise the stakes |
| Y8 | Cold-Open Payoff Tease | long-form 30s | flash the result, cut to the setup |
| Y9 | Question-and-Contract | long-form 30s | answer fast, reopen a deeper loop |
| Y10 | Shorts 3-Second Hook | Shorts 3s | state payoff/tension on frame one, loop the end |
Full skeletons in ../../references/hook-formulas.md.
Steps
Voice profile first (all drafts). If ../../references/voice-profile.md has filled: yes, load it and match the user's voice fingerprint, hard rules, and CTA/link style throughout. If it is not filled, mention once that yt-community-post-writer --mode profile can learn their voice from a few posts, then proceed with the generic voice rules.
Never invent the specifics. The rules below ask for a concrete number, a date and a named entity, because that is what separates a real post from a generated one. Take them from what the user actually said in this conversation. Do not invent a figure, a date, a client name or a result, and do not soften a vague claim into a plausible-looking number. If the user has nothing concrete for a beat, ask them once, and if they still have nothing, drop the claim rather than decorate it. A published invented number is a retraction; a missing one is only a weaker post.
- Gather inputs. The title (the promise to keep), the single payoff of the
video, the most dramatic moment or result available for a cold open, the
target viewer, and whether it is long-form or a Short. If a URL is given,
parse it with
lib/url_parser.py;is_shortdecides the surface. - Pick the surface.
- Long-form: write the first 30 seconds, beat by beat, with rough timestamps.
- Short: write the first 3 seconds (frame one), then the line that makes the ending loop back to the start.
- Pick the formula. Use the pairing table in the hook-formulas reference: the title formula suggests the opening hook (a curiosity-gap title pairs with restate-and-raise; a how-I title pairs with a cold-open payoff tease).
- Write the script. Spoken voice, one person to one person. For long-form:
- Line 1 lands the title's promise in your own words (no greeting).
- Line 2 raises the stakes or names the obstacle (opens the loop).
- Line 3 makes the watch-contract ("by the end you will..").
- Note where B-roll, a cold-open clip, or on-screen text goes. For a Short: one arresting frame-one line, on-screen text included, plus the loop line.
- Strip the intro. Cut any "welcome back", logo sting, or channel-trailer reflex. The hook is the first thing the viewer hears.
- Humanizer pass. Scrub 2026 AI vocabulary by density (one marker in a
beat is a slip; three is a script, rewrite the beat), break stacked or
hollow rule-of-three, strip reveal bridges ("Here's what nobody tells you")
and sincerity openers ("not gonna lie", "let me be honest"); use
..for a spoken pause instead of a dash on the teleprompter. Make it sayable; never insert a punch line or a "No X. No Y. Just Z." beat for rhythm, and never add a hedge the creator did not write. - Approval card. Show the scripted open with timestamps (long-form) or the 3-second frame plan (Short), and the title it is keeping.
- On approval. This is a script the user performs; it is not published by
itself. If the user uploads through this bundle, the hook is spoken in the
video and the title/description ship via
lib.publish(...).
Hard rules
Global voice rules: see root SKILL.md Voice rules. Additional skill-specific
rules:
- No greeting, no intro animation, no logo sting before the hook. Ever.
- Long-form: the promise from the title is restated in the first 1 to 2 spoken lines, then a loop is opened. Earn the next 30 seconds by the 30-second mark.
- Short: the payoff or tension lands on frame one (second 0 to 1), with on-screen text so it works muted. Design the ending to loop back to the start.
- The opening can never promise more than the video delivers. Honor the click.
- Use
..for a spoken pause. A dash in a script is only a breath mark the reader sees, not a tell, but..reads better on a teleprompter.
Anti-patterns (skill will refuse)
- "Hey guys, welcome back to the channel" or any greeting in the open.
- A 15-second intro animation before the first word of value.
- A cold open that teases a moment not actually in the video.
- "Make sure to like and subscribe" inside the first 30 seconds.
- A "No X. No Y. Just Z." staccato stack or "The result?" reveal inserted for punch.
- Announced candor ("let me be honest", "not gonna lie") with no specific fact behind it.
- A Short that opens with a slow zoom or a logo instead of the payoff.
Resources
../../references/hook-formulas.md- Y7-Y10 opening-hook skeletons and the title pairing../../references/algorithm-heuristics.md- the first-30-seconds and 3-second retention rulesreferences/retention-beats.md- the beat-by-beat opening structure for long-form and Shorts
Related skills
yt-title-optimizer- the promise the hook keepsyt-thumbnail-brief- the emotion the open should matchyt-description-writer- the written hook (different surface from the spoken one)
