Source: references/bracket-patterns.md
Claude.ai-safe .txt copy of the Viralz skill (Claude rejects .md uploads).

# Bracket patterns — steal gold, avoid bronze

## Gold (best practices)

Steal mechanisms, not copy-paste posts:

- **Hooks** — tension, stake, specificity, proof-first, number contrast
- **Rehooks** — line two keeps the open loop
- **Formats** — text vs document/carousel vs image that actually travel in the niche
- **Angles** — how gold creators frame the same topic for one clear buyer
- **Why it travels** — use `whyItWorks` / viralPatterns from gold analysis

MCP: `get_bracket_analyses` (gold), `get_bracket_synthesis`, gold fields on ideas (`goldPatternStolen`).

## Silver

Adequate patterns. Borrow lightly. Do not treat silver as the ceiling.

## Bronze (negative patterns)

Never reproduce:

- Vague claims without receipts
- Generic engagement bait
- Throat-clearing openers / wasted line two
- Self-promo without teaching
- Habits listed in `badPractices` and `bronzeOverlap` from `get_user_comparison`

## User comparison mapping

From `get_user_comparison`:

| Field | Meaning | Action |
|-------|---------|--------|
| `goodPractices` | Gold structures they are not using yet | **Start doing** |
| `badPractices` | Habits shared with bronze | **Stop doing** |
| `goldGaps` | Missing gold moves | **Fix next** |
| `bronzeOverlap` | Where they still look bronze | Remove from drafts |

## How to apply in a draft

1. Name the gold hook mechanism you are stealing (one sentence).
2. Name the bronze habit you are deliberately avoiding (one sentence).
3. Confirm the post is for one ICP only.
4. If the draft drifts toward a `badPractices` item — rewrite before delivery.