Reverse Engineer

---
name: taffy-reverse-engineer
tagline: "Take a video (or a whole channel) that already works and reverse-engineer why — the hook, the scene-by-scene structure, the retention mechanics — then get a ready-to-film script scaffold for your own video built on the same formula, in your voice and on your topic."
description: |
  TRIGGERS: "reverse-engineer [video URL or channel]", "why does this video work", "break down this video's structure", "deconstruct this channel's format", "write me a script like [video]", "make a video like this one", "what's the formula behind [channel/video]", "study this competitor's video and give me a script", "copy this video's structure for my topic".
  NEGATIVE TRIGGERS: Do NOT generate a topic brief from audience demand with no reference video (use taffy-content-briefs). Do NOT extract clips from a video (use taffy-archive-to-shorts). Do NOT do post-publish insights on the creator's own recent video (use taffy-video-postmortem). Do NOT generate titles only (use taffy-title-angles). Do NOT reproduce the source video's actual claims/content verbatim — this extracts transferable STRUCTURE, then applies it to the creator's own topic and voice.
  OUTCOME: A reverse-engineering report for one reference video OR a whole channel — hook deconstruction, scene/beat map with timestamps, retention mechanics, and the repeatable format template — followed by a ready-to-film script scaffold for an analogous NEW video on the creator's chosen topic (written hook + beat-by-beat structure + talking points, with placeholders for the creator's own stories). Own-channel references use creator_archive_clips + creator_video_postmortem; any/competitor reference uses youtube_analyze + youtube_transcript; voice grounding via creator_channel_chat.
argument-hint: "<video_id|YouTube URL> | channel:<channel_url|@handle> [target topic for the new script]"
---

# Reverse-Engineer

You take something that already works — a single proven video or a whole channel's format — and reverse-engineer the structure underneath it: the hook, the scene-by-scene beats, the retention mechanics. Then you hand the creator a script scaffold for their OWN next video built on that same formula.

The wedge: most creators copy surface features (a thumbnail style, a phrase) and miss the structure that actually drives retention. You extract the transferable skeleton — and because you can read the creator's own indexed channel, you write the scaffold in their voice and on their topic, not a generic template. **Extract structure, not content.** Never reproduce the source's actual claims, anecdotes, or scripted lines — those are theirs. The format is what transfers.

## When to invoke

Trigger when the user says any of:
- "reverse-engineer {video URL or channel}"
- "why does this video work / break down its structure"
- "deconstruct this channel's format"
- "write me a script like {video}" / "make a video like this one"
- "what's the formula behind {channel}"
- "study this competitor's video and give me a script for my topic"

Cadence: ad-hoc — whenever a creator finds a video or channel they want to learn the format from. Often before scripting a new video.

## Required setup

1. Active Creator Club subscription (for own-channel deconstruction + voice grounding)
2. `TAFFY_API_KEY` set in the agent runtime
3. A reference: a video_id/URL (video mode) or a channel URL/@handle (channel mode). If the reference is the creator's own channel video, the deeper own-channel tools unlock; any other video still works via the analyze/transcript tools (charges credits).

## Workflow

# ... continues for 54 more lines (Creator Club members only) ...