How to use the /hooks-global tool (Sandcastles MCP in Claude)

What /hooks-global does

/hooks-global shows you the hook patterns that are working across all of Sandcastles, not just the channels in your watchlist. Claude looks at high-performing videos on your topic that Sandcastles has already analyzed and groups their hooks into patterns, with example videos for each one.

To see hook patterns from only the channels you follow, use How to use the /hooks-watchlist tool (Sandcastles MCP in Claude).

Before you start

• You need a Pro, Visionary or Titan plan to use the Sandcastles MCP.
• Connect Sandcastles to Claude first. See How to set up the Sandcastles MCP in Claude.
• Running /hooks-global is free. It doesn't use any credits.

How to run it

1. Open a new chat in Claude with the Sandcastles connector turned on.
2. Type /hooks-global in the message box and send it.
3. Ask follow-up questions to narrow the results, for example: "Only show TikTok", "Look at the last 14 days instead" or "Only include videos at 5x outlier or higher".

Search by topic

By default, /hooks-global looks at videos about what you make content about, using the Content description on your Persona tab. See How to use the Persona tab.

To see the hooks working for any other topic, name the topic, either as a follow-up or as a question on its own:

• "Do the same for personal finance."
• "What hooks are working for AI tools for marketers across Sandcastles?"

Claude turns your topic into a few search terms and finds the top analyzed videos on that topic from across Sandcastles. If your workspace has no Content description and you don't name a topic, Claude looks across all topics.

What Claude looks at

Unless you ask for something different, Claude looks at analyzed videos on your topic from across Sandcastles that have:

• Been posted in the last 30 days
• At least 25K views
• At least 2% engagement
• An outlier score of 1x or higher

Claude reviews up to 25 videos, highest outlier score first. Ask for a deeper sweep and it can review up to 50.

What you get back

• Hook patterns: a short summary of the hook styles that are working, written by Claude rather than a raw list.
• Hook categories and templates: each pattern is built from the hook's category (for example, curiosity gap or personal story) and its template (for example, "Most people think X but actually Y").
• Example videos: 2–3 videos per pattern, each with a link to the video in Sandcastles.
• Video details: views, outlier score, channel and platform for each example.

Important notes

• /hooks-global only sees videos that have already been analyzed. Matching videos that haven't been analyzed yet won't appear.
• If Claude finds few videos, try a broader topic or ask it to look further back.
• Claude may suggest analyzing more videos to get a fuller picture. Analyzing a new video uses one credit. Videos already in your workspace's library don't use a credit.
• Sandcastles covers short-form video only: YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram.

If you have any questions, please reach out to support@sandcastles.ai.