Script Hook & Retention Checker
Paste your opening line to see which retention frameworks it hits, how long it takes to deliver out loud, and how to rewrite it stronger — before you shoot.
Hook Strength Rating
0/100
0/5
Frameworks Hit
0
Words
0.0s
Est. Delivery
Detected Engagement Triggers
Stronger Rewrites
Generated from your topic — edit before you shoot.Framework scoring is a heuristic, not a guarantee. Retention also depends on your first visual frame, on-screen text, audio, pacing, and how well the payoff matches the promise.
What this tool does
This checker reads your opening line against five retention frameworks that short-form editors and creators keep rediscovering independently: curiosity gaps, bold claims, negativity bias, problem framing, and visual or demonstrative cues. Each match adds to a 0–100 hook strength rating. Alongside the score you get an estimated delivery time based on how long the line takes to say out loud — which is the number that actually matters, because a hook that runs nine seconds is not a hook, it is an intro — plus a breakdown of which frameworks fired and a set of rewrites built from the topic it extracted from your line.
Be clear about what this is. It is a heuristic on a single line of text. It cannot see your first visual frame, hear your pacing, or know whether the payoff at the end of the video keeps the promise the hook made — and those decide retention as much as the words do. Use the score to catch the obvious failure mode (a slow, generic, throat-clearing opener) and the rewrites as starting points, not as a script. The framework weighting is tuned for English-language talking-head and voiceover content; heavily visual, silent, or non-English formats will match fewer patterns.
How to check your hook
- Paste the spoken line from your first three seconds into the box — the exact words, not a summary of the idea.
- Watch the word and time counter underneath as you type. Anything past roughly 12 words is usually too slow to hold a scroll.
- Click Analyze Hook, or press Ctrl + Enter.
- Read the rating first, then check Frameworks Hit. Two or more out of five is a workable hook; zero means you have written a topic announcement.
- Work down the Detected Engagement Triggers list — it names every pattern found and every one you missed, with the reason each matters.
- Take the strongest rewrite, drop it back into the box, and re-analyze. Iterate two or three times before you record.
Common use cases
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Batch-scoring a week of content
Run every planned opener through the checker before a shoot day and rewrite the weak ones in one sitting.
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Diagnosing a retention cliff
When a video dies in the first five seconds, the analytics tell you it happened — this tells you why.
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Writing hooks for a client
Show a score next to each option so the client picks on evidence instead of taste.
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Learning the patterns
Score openers you admire from other creators to see which frameworks they are actually using.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as the hook — the spoken line or the on-screen text?
Paste whichever one the viewer meets first, which is usually the spoken line. If your on-screen text differs from what you say, score both separately: they are two different hooks competing for the same three seconds, and a strong spoken line cannot rescue on-screen text that says something else.
Does a high score mean my video will go viral?
No. The score measures whether your opening line uses recognisable retention patterns — curiosity gaps, bold claims, negativity bias, problem framing and visual cues. Retention also depends on your first visual frame, pacing, audio, on-screen text, and whether the payoff at the end actually matches the promise the hook made. A high score removes one common cause of early scroll, it does not create distribution.
Is my script sent to a server or saved anywhere?
No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, logged or stored, so it is safe for client scripts and unreleased campaign copy.