Upload your MP4 for hook analysis and reference matching (coming soon)

The problem with every short-form video tool right now is that they need a public URL. Which is the opposite of what you want when you're reviewing a video before it goes live.

If you're an agency reviewing a client's draft, the video isn't posted. If you're a solo creator doing a final check, it's sitting in your drafts folder as an MP4. If you're a team member giving feedback before publish day, you don't want a link — you want the file.

Lomero's upload flow is what closes that gap. This is a preview of what's coming, not a live feature yet. If it's the thing you've been waiting for, the waitlist is at the bottom.

What's coming

Drop a local MP4 (or MOV, or the standard short-form export formats) into the analyzer. You get back the same output the URL flow produces today — transcript, segment breakdown, hook score — plus a reference list of similar high-performing videos from the public side of the platforms you're targeting.

No link required. The video doesn't have to be published anywhere. The file goes up, the analysis comes back, nothing gets indexed or shared.

How it will work

1. Open the analyzer at lomero.app/analyze.
2. Toggle from "paste URL" to "upload file" (new option once the feature ships).
3. Drop in your MP4. Select the target platform (Reels, TikTok, or Shorts) so the scoring calibrates correctly.
4. Wait 30 to 60 seconds depending on file size.

The output panel is identical to what you get from a URL paste, with one addition: the reference list pulls matching videos from the public web based on the hook pattern, structure, and topic of what you uploaded.

What you'll get back

Timestamped transcript. Every line has a start time. You can scrub the video against the text and see exactly where the words land.

Segment breakdown. Hook, context, problem, reveal, CTA — Lomero labels where each beat starts and ends. You see at a glance whether the reveal is landing at 0:08 or at 0:22, which is the difference between a video that converts and one that loses 80% of viewers before the payoff.

Hook score. A 0-100 number rating the opening against patterns that hold attention on the platform you picked. The full methodology is in how hook scoring works if you want the weights.

Reference list. Three to ten published videos with similar structure and hook pattern, sorted by performance. You see what's working right now for the same idea space, which gives you something to compare your draft against instead of guessing.

Specific fixes. If the hook scores low or the reveal lands too late, you get concrete advice — not "your hook is weak" but "the payoff is at 0:14, cut to 0:07 by dropping the first two setup lines."

Why this exists

Agency use case. You're managing content for five clients. Each one sends you 10-20 drafts a week. You can't paste URLs because the drafts aren't posted yet. Right now the review process is: watch the video, make a judgment call, write feedback from memory. Upload flow replaces that with a structured analysis you can attach to your delivery.

Solo creator draft review. You're about to post. You think the hook works but you're not sure. You have a gut feeling the middle sags but you can't articulate why. Upload gives you the read before you commit the post slot.

Team review inside a company brand. Marketing lead, social lead, and a video editor are all looking at the same draft in Slack. Upload gives them a shared, structured frame for the feedback instead of three different opinions.

The URL flow works great for studying what's already out there. The upload flow is for the video you haven't published yet.

How upload differs from the URL flow

The analysis itself is the same. Transcript, segments, hook score, fixes — all of it runs identically whether the input is a URL or an MP4.

The reference layer is what changes. On a URL, Lomero already knows what platform the video came from and can score it directly. On an upload, you pick the target platform so the scoring calibrates to the right retention curve. Reels, TikTok, and Shorts each reward slightly different opening patterns, and the wrong calibration produces a useless number.

The reference list is new on upload flow because URL paste typically means you already have the comparison set (the creator you just pasted). Upload flow starts cold, so Lomero does the reference pull for you.

What upload won't do

It won't post the video for you. Lomero is analysis, not a scheduler.

It won't generate captions, subtitle overlays, or B-roll. Submagic and CapCut do that job.

It won't accept files over a reasonable size limit. The current spec has a ~200MB cap per upload, which covers any short-form video at reasonable bitrate. Raw 4K footage from a phone will bounce. Export to 1080p first, which is what you'd upload anyway.

It won't store your video long-term. Uploaded files are processed, returned as analysis, and purged from Lomero's storage on a short window. Same privacy model as the URL flow.

If you need pre-publish review right now

The upload feature isn't live yet. If you have a draft to analyze today, the fastest workaround:

1. Upload the MP4 as an unlisted YouTube video. Unlisted means it's not public and it's not indexed, but it has a URL that Lomero can fetch.
2. Copy the unlisted URL and paste it into lomero.app/analyze.
3. After the analysis runs, delete the unlisted upload if you want to keep it private.

Clunky, but it works today. Most of Lomero's agency users already do this for client drafts. Once upload flow ships, the YouTube step goes away.

Waitlist

If "upload your MP4 and get the full breakdown plus references" is the thing that would make you pay for this, add your email on the Lomero homepage. I ship the waitlist first, paid flow second. Early waitlist signups get early access when the feature goes live.

Frequently asked questions

When will upload flow ship?

I'm not giving a public date because I hate the pattern of missed deadlines on marketing pages. It's the next major feature after the MCP integration. Waitlist signups get notified first.

What file formats will be supported?

MP4 and MOV at minimum. Most creators export in one of those two from CapCut, Premiere, or the phone's native app. If your editor exports to something unusual, let me know what it is.

Is there a file size limit?

Current spec is ~200MB per upload, which covers essentially every short-form video at 1080p. Upload is for the final export, not the raw footage.

Will my uploaded video be visible to anyone else?

No. Upload is processed server-side, analysis is returned to you, the file is purged on a short window. Same privacy as the URL flow.

Can I upload and get a reference list on the free tier?

Transcription and the basic structure breakdown stay free, same as today. Reference matching and deeper audits are paid-tier features on the roadmap. Pricing is being finalized — the current public page has tiers on the roadmap, not live subscriptions.

Does upload support non-English audio?

Yes. The transcription layer handles 40-plus languages on upload the same way it does on URL.

Can I upload long-form video and get analysis?

The hook score and segment breakdown are calibrated for short-form pacing. A 30-minute podcast upload returns a transcript, but the scoring layer won't be meaningful. Use it for the transcript; ignore the hook number on anything over 90 seconds.

Why not support upload right now?

The URL flow was the faster ship because the infrastructure was already there. Upload needs a secure file handler, a size cap, a virus scan, and a purge schedule. It's not complicated engineering, but it's a different ship than the URL pipeline, and I'm prioritizing ruthlessly while the product is still solo-built.

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Related: the anatomy of a viral short-form video is the framework the upload flow uses to label segments, and why your short-form video isn't converting walks through the diagnostic questions the upload output is designed to answer.