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.

1. 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_short decides the surface.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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.
5. Strip the intro. Cut any "welcome back", logo sting, or channel-trailer reflex. The hook is the first thing the viewer hears.
6. 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.
7. Approval card. Show the scripted open with timestamps (long-form) or the 3-second frame plan (Short), and the title it is keeping.
8. 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 rules
• references/retention-beats.md - the beat-by-beat opening structure for long-form and Shorts

Related skills

• yt-title-optimizer - the promise the hook keeps
• yt-thumbnail-brief - the emotion the open should match
• yt-description-writer - the written hook (different surface from the spoken one)