# Ig Hook Extractor

Reverse-engineer the hook from a viral Instagram Reel or carousel, given a URL or a...

- Repository: https://github.com/sergebulaev/instagram-skills (696 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-28
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-hook-extractor -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-hook-extractor -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-hook-extractor -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-hook-extractor -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add sergebulaev/instagram-skills`

## 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).

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 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-writer` or `ig-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

The rest: https://github.com/sergebulaev/instagram-skills/blob/HEAD/.codex-marketplace/instagram-skills/skills/ig-hook-extractor/SKILL.md