Instagram Hook Extractor
Reverse-engineer the hook from a viral Instagram Reel or carousel, given a URL or a pasted caption.
How to use it
- Hit Copy the whole skill.
- Claude: ⋯ → Download .md, then Customize → Skills → Add → Upload skill.
ChatGPT: make a Project and paste it into Instructions.
Neither? Paste it at the top of a new chat — it works for that chat. - Describe your job in plain words. The AI follows the skill from there.
Claude Code — installs the whole folder, not just SKILL.md
npx degit sergebulaev/instagram-skills/.codex-marketplace/instagram-skills/skills/ig-hook-extractor#main ~/.claude/skills/ig-hook-extractorFor one project only, change the path to .claude/skills/ig-hook-extractor.
Not working?
- Check which app you pasted it into — the steps above name the right one.
- Some skills need the paid tier of Claude or ChatGPT.
Paste into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.
Show the full text86 lines
Instagram Hook Extractor
Paste a viral Reel or carousel URL (or the caption text). Get back: which hook formula it uses, the exact structure, why it worked, the primary goal it chased, and a blank template you can fill with your own voice.
When to use
- User finds a viral Reel or carousel they want to study
- User wants to replicate a specific creator's pattern
- Before
ig-caption-writerorig-carousel-planner, to seed a draft with a proven shape
Input
An Instagram URL (/p/, /reel/, or a profile) or pasted caption + slide text.
This bundle has no built-in Instagram reader, so for a URL the skill asks the
user to paste the caption (and the on-image slide text for a carousel, or a quick
description of the Reel's first 3 seconds).
Output
- Formula identified (IG1-IG10 from
../../references/hook-formulas.md) with a confidence score - Surface: single image, carousel, or Reel, and why that surface fit the idea
- Structural breakdown:
- The hook (caption first 125 chars / carousel slide 1 / Reel first 3 seconds)
- Body architecture (per-slide roles for a carousel; beat order for a Reel)
- The close (what earns the save, send, or follow)
- Reaction-triggering devices (numbers, named entities, the open loop)
- Primary goal the original chased (saves / shares / comments / follows)
- Why it worked psychologically and algorithmically
- Blank template with
{slot}markers matched to the original, ready for the user's topic - Cautions: anything in the original that would fail a 2026 audit (em dashes over the cap, an AI-vocab cluster, 30 hashtags, mixed media)
Steps
- Parse the URL.
lib.url_parser.parse_instagram_url(url)returnsusername,shortcode,url_type. - Get the content. Ask the user to paste the caption, and for a carousel the slide text, or for a Reel the first 3 seconds (on-screen text + opening line). (If they later wire an Apify Instagram actor, read it automatically.)
- Detect the surface. Single image, carousel, or Reel.
- Classify against the 10 formulas using features:
- Caption: an odd-precision result (IG1)? a contrarian claim (IG2)? a relatable moment (IG3)? a first-person confession (IG4)?
- Carousel: a numbered teaching list (IG5)? a before/after (IG6)? a myth/truth structure (IG7)? a named framework (IG8)?
- Reel: a pattern interrupt in the first seconds (IG9)? a "how I" teardown (IG10)?
- Score confidence. If two formulas fit, return the top 2 with fit scores.
- Extract structure. Label each part by its role. For a carousel, map slide 1 (the loop), the front-loaded value, and the payoff slide.
- Name the primary goal the original optimized for.
- Generate a blank template with
{slot}markers matched to the original shape and the user's topic. - Audit the source. Flag any AI tells so the user does not copy them.
Example
See references/examples.md for worked teardowns.
Formulas reference
See ../../references/hook-formulas.md for the 10 canonical Instagram formulas
with full skeletons and goal tags.
Files
SKILL.md- this filereferences/classification-rules.md- feature extraction + scoring heuristicsreferences/examples.md- worked teardowns (caption, carousel, Reel)
Related skills
ig-caption-writer- use the extracted caption template to draft your ownig-carousel-planner- use the extracted carousel templateig-humanizer --mode audit- audit your draft before shipping
| 1 | |
| 2 | name ig-hook-extractor |
| 3 | description "Reverse-engineer the hook from a viral Instagram Reel or carousel, given a URL or a pasted caption. Identifies which of the 10 canonical 2026 formulas it uses (number-first, contrarian, relatable, confession, listicle, before/after, myth-buster, framework, pattern-interrupt Reel, how-I Reel), explains why it worked, names the primary goal, and returns a blank template mapped to your topic. Use to learn from a post you admire. Not for writing your own (use ig-caption-writer or ig-carousel-planner)." |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | # Instagram Hook Extractor |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Paste a viral Reel or carousel URL (or the caption text). Get back: which hook |
| 9 | formula it uses, the exact structure, why it worked, the primary goal it chased, |
| 10 | and a blank template you can fill with your own voice. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ## When to use |
| 13 | |
| 14 | User finds a viral Reel or carousel they want to study |
| 15 | User wants to replicate a specific creator's pattern |
| 16 | Before `ig-caption-writer` or `ig-carousel-planner`, to seed a draft with a |
| 17 | proven shape |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ## Input |
| 20 | |
| 21 | An Instagram URL (`/p/`, `/reel/`, or a profile) or pasted caption + slide text. |
| 22 | This bundle has no built-in Instagram reader, so for a URL the skill asks the |
| 23 | user to paste the caption (and the on-image slide text for a carousel, or a quick |
| 24 | description of the Reel's first 3 seconds). |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ## Output |
| 27 | |
| 28 | **Formula identified** (IG1-IG10 from `../../references/hook-formulas.md`) with a |
| 29 | confidence score |
| 30 | **Surface:** single image, carousel, or Reel, and why that surface fit the idea |
| 31 | **Structural breakdown:** |
| 32 | The hook (caption first 125 chars / carousel slide 1 / Reel first 3 seconds) |
| 33 | Body architecture (per-slide roles for a carousel; beat order for a Reel) |
| 34 | The close (what earns the save, send, or follow) |
| 35 | Reaction-triggering devices (numbers, named entities, the open loop) |
| 36 | **Primary goal** the original chased (saves / shares / comments / follows) |
| 37 | **Why it worked** psychologically and algorithmically |
| 38 | **Blank template** with `{slot}` markers matched to the original, ready for the |
| 39 | user's topic |
| 40 | **Cautions:** anything in the original that would fail a 2026 audit (em |
| 41 | dashes over the cap, an AI-vocab cluster, 30 hashtags, mixed media) |
| 42 | |
| 43 | ## Steps |
| 44 | |
| 45 | **Parse the URL.** `lib.url_parser.parse_instagram_url(url)` returns |
| 46 | `username`, `shortcode`, `url_type`. |
| 47 | **Get the content.** Ask the user to paste the caption, and for a carousel the |
| 48 | slide text, or for a Reel the first 3 seconds (on-screen text + opening line). |
| 49 | (If they later wire an Apify Instagram actor, read it automatically.) |
| 50 | **Detect the surface.** Single image, carousel, or Reel. |
| 51 | **Classify against the 10 formulas** using features: |
| 52 | Caption: an odd-precision result (IG1)? a contrarian claim (IG2)? a |
| 53 | relatable moment (IG3)? a first-person confession (IG4)? |
| 54 | Carousel: a numbered teaching list (IG5)? a before/after (IG6)? a |
| 55 | myth/truth structure (IG7)? a named framework (IG8)? |
| 56 | Reel: a pattern interrupt in the first seconds (IG9)? a "how I" teardown |
| 57 | (IG10)? |
| 58 | **Score confidence.** If two formulas fit, return the top 2 with fit scores. |
| 59 | **Extract structure.** Label each part by its role. For a carousel, map slide |
| 60 | 1 (the loop), the front-loaded value, and the payoff slide. |
| 61 | **Name the primary goal** the original optimized for. |
| 62 | **Generate a blank template** with `{slot}` markers matched to the original |
| 63 | shape and the user's topic. |
| 64 | **Audit the source.** Flag any AI tells so the user does not copy them. |
| 65 | |
| 66 | ## Example |
| 67 | |
| 68 | See `references/examples.md` for worked teardowns. |
| 69 | |
| 70 | ## Formulas reference |
| 71 | |
| 72 | See `../../references/hook-formulas.md` for the 10 canonical Instagram formulas |
| 73 | with full skeletons and goal tags. |
| 74 | |
| 75 | ## Files |
| 76 | |
| 77 | `SKILL.md` - this file |
| 78 | `references/classification-rules.md` - feature extraction + scoring heuristics |
| 79 | `references/examples.md` - worked teardowns (caption, carousel, Reel) |
| 80 | |
| 81 | ## Related skills |
| 82 | |
| 83 | `ig-caption-writer` - use the extracted caption template to draft your own |
| 84 | `ig-carousel-planner` - use the extracted carousel template |
| 85 | `ig-humanizer --mode audit` - audit your draft before shipping |
| 86 |
Discussion
Alternatives
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