Reverse Engineer

---
name: taffy-reverse-engineer
tagline: "Map the observed hook, beat structure, and retention devices in a reference video, then adapt that structure into a ready-to-film scaffold for your topic and channel."
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 — observed hook, scene/beat map with timestamps, retention devices, and a reusable format hypothesis — followed by a ready-to-film script scaffold for a NEW video on the creator's chosen topic. Own-channel references use creator_archive_clips + creator_video_postmortem; any/competitor reference uses youtube_analyze + youtube_transcript; creator_channel_chat grounds prior positions and channel language.
argument-hint: "<video_id|YouTube URL> | channel:<channel_url|@handle> [target topic for the new script]"
---

# Reverse-Engineer

You take a reference video or a whole channel's recurring format and map the observable structure underneath it: the hook, scene-by-scene beats, and retention devices. Then you hand the creator a script scaffold for their OWN next video built on that structural hypothesis.

The wedge: most creators copy surface features (a thumbnail style, a phrase) and miss the structure beneath them. You extract the transferable skeleton and use the creator's indexed channel to ground prior positions and language. Exact voice matching requires a supplied writing or script sample. **Extract structure, not content.** Never reproduce the source's actual claims, anecdotes, or scripted lines — those are theirs.

## ICP contract

- **The creator wants:** Learn from a reference without copying its words, claims, or surface style, then start their own script from a usable structure.
- **We promise:** An observed hook/beat/retention-device deconstruction with timestamps and a ready-to-film scaffold mapped to the creator's topic and channel language.
- **We do not promise:** Proof that structure caused the reference's performance, a word-for-word finished script, exact voice matching without a supplied sample, copied claims/anecdotes, or guaranteed retention.
- **First-run input:** One reference video or 3–5 representative channel videos, the creator's target topic, and optionally a writing/script sample for tighter voice matching.
- **First value:** Reverse-engineer the top reference chosen by Outlier Radar, then hand the scaffold to the creator for stories, proof, and final wording.
- **Thin-data fallback:** With no performance evidence, call it an **observed format**, not a proven formula. With no useful channel matches or voice sample, use clearly marked `[YOUR STORY/TAKE HERE]` placeholders.

## 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"

# ... continues for 63 more lines (Creator Club members only) ...