Hooked Model
- 303 installs
- 43 repo stars
- Updated March 7, 2026
- pmprompt/claude-plugin-product-management
hooked-model is a Claude Code skill that applies Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment to design habit-forming loops for developers and PMs who need sticky product behavior without dark-pattern manipulation.
About
hooked-model is a product management skill from pmprompt/claude-plugin-product-management based on Nir Eyal's Hooked Model. It guides agents through designing habit-forming product loops using four elements: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. The skill helps translate product context, research, and constraints into concrete loop designs that increase unprompted return visits while avoiding manipulative dark patterns. Developers and PMs reach for hooked-model when scoping features, onboarding flows, or engagement mechanics and need a structured framework instead of ad hoc retention ideas.
- Trigger identification
- Variable reward design
- User investment steps
- Habit loop auditing
- Ethical retention framing
Hooked Model by the numbers
- 303 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +11 installs in the week ending Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #828 of 1,880 Design & UI/UX skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Data as of Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
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| Installs | 303 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 43 |
| Last updated | March 7, 2026 |
| Repository | pmprompt/claude-plugin-product-management ↗ |
How do you design habit-forming product loops ethically?
Apply Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment to design habit-forming loops that increase return visits without dark-pattern manipulation.
Who is it for?
Product managers and developers defining engagement mechanics, onboarding, or retention features who want the Hooked Model applied with explicit anti-dark-pattern guardrails.
Skip if: Pure engineering implementation tasks, backend architecture, or teams seeking growth-hacking tactics without a structured behavioral framework.
When should I use this skill?
User asks to build habit-forming products, apply the Hooked model, design trigger-action-reward-investment loops, or create sticky behavior without manipulation.
What you get
Documented habit loop with Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment stages and feature recommendations
- Habit loop diagram or write-up
- Feature engagement recommendations
By the numbers
- Implements 4 Hooked Model elements: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, Investment
Files
Domain Context
This skill implements a proven product management framework. The approach combines best practices from industry leaders and is designed for practical application in day-to-day PM work.
Input Requirements
- Context about your product, feature, or problem
- Relevant data, research, or constraints (recommended but optional)
- Clear articulation of what you're trying to achieve
The Hooked Model
What It Is
The Hooked Model is a framework for building products that create unprompted user engagement. The core insight: habit-forming products connect to internal triggers through a repeating cycle of trigger, action, reward, and investment.
When a product becomes a habit, users engage without external prompts. They don't need ads, emails, or notifications to come back. They return because the product has become their automatic response to an internal trigger like boredom, loneliness, uncertainty, or FOMO.
The key shift: Move from asking "How do we get users to open the app?" to asking "What internal trigger do we want to own, and how do we become the automatic response to it?"
When to Use It
Use the Hooked Model when you need to:
- Design features that drive repeat engagement (not just one-time use)
- Reduce dependency on external marketing to bring users back
- Improve retention and decrease churn through habit formation
- Understand why competitor products are so sticky (reverse-engineer their hooks)
- Create ethical engagement that genuinely improves users' lives
- Prioritize which features to build based on habit potential
- Increase customer lifetime value through deeper product integration
When Not to Use It
- The product is inherently infrequent (e.g., buying a house, annual insurance)
- Users should consciously evaluate each decision (e.g., financial trading, medical diagnosis)
- Habit formation would harm users rather than help them
Resources
Books:
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
Further Reading
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Choose hooked-model for behavioral loop design; choose roadmap-strategist for quarterly initiative prioritization and sequencing.
FAQ
What are the four steps of the Hooked Model skill?
hooked-model implements Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment from Nir Eyal's Hooked Model. Each step maps how users move from external or internal cues through actions and rewards into invested return behavior.
Does hooked-model encourage dark patterns?
hooked-model explicitly designs habit-forming loops to increase return visits without dark-pattern manipulation, framing engagement mechanics around ethical sticky behavior rather than deceptive UX tactics.