ViralLab

Engineer your influence. Turn noise into viral.

Try it live →

ViralLab scores content using Jonah Berger's STEPPS framework — behavioral science, not guesswork. Design content that spreads.

English and Chinese channels use different sources. The English channel pulls from DuckDuckGo, YouTube, Hacker News, Reddit. The Chinese channel uses Weibo, Zhihu, Douyin, Baidu, Bilibili, 少数派, IT之家, 36氪, 今日头条, 掘金, and PTT (Taiwan). Bilingual users can switch between channels to digest content from each ecosystem based on their preference.

英文与中文频道使用不同来源。 英文频道来自 DuckDuckGo、YouTube、Hacker News、Reddit；中文频道来自微博、知乎、抖音、百度、B站、少数派、IT之家、36氪、今日头条、掘金、PTT（台湾）。双语用户可按偏好切换频道，获取不同生态的内容。

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Who is this for?

Content creators — YouTubers, course builders, newsletter writers, social media managers. Anyone who wants to:

• Catch what's trending in their niche
• Know why content goes viral (science, not guesswork)
• Turn video into text for scripts, blogs, or repurposing
• Build their channel around topics that actually spread

If you create content and want to be ahead of the curve, ViralLab is for you.

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What does it do?

1. Gather trends — Search news and videos by topic. No API keys. DuckDuckGo (global) + Bilibili (China).
2. Score with Berger — Every piece gets a 0–100 score based on Jonah Berger's STEPPS (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical, Stories) and magic words. Science-backed.
3. Video to text — Paste a YouTube URL. Get the transcript as markdown. See how viral the script is.
4. One dashboard — News, videos, transcripts. All in one place. Simple.

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How to use it

Quick start (3 steps)

git clone https://github.com/Funghi88/ViralLab.git
cd ViralLab
./scripts/install.sh
python3 server.py

Open http://127.0.0.1:5001 in your browser.

Commands

What you want	Command
Daily news (top 3 today)	python3 main.py --daily-news
News on a topic	python3 main.py --search-only "AI agents"
Viral videos (ranked by spread rate)	python3 main.py --videos "trending viral"
Videos + full transcript (markdown)	python3 main.py --videos "AI explainer" --transcript
Single video → text	python3 main.py --video-to-text <youtube_url>
Web dashboard	python3 server.py

In the app

• Daily News — Top 3 most talked about or key focus topics. Each section has its own page.
• Your field — Choose your field (fashion, tech, food, beauty, content) for curated trends, color forecasting, and reliable resources.
• Viral Videos — Search by topic (YouTube or Bilibili). Berger score, content angles, trend lifecycle.
• STEPPS & Magic Words — Learn how we score. Jonah Berger's framework, explained.
• Video to Text — Paste URL → markdown transcript + Berger score.

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Why Berger?

We use Jonah Berger's research from Contagious and Magic Words. Not random. Not algorithmic engagement hacks. Behavioral science — what actually makes people share.

High score = content that taps into social currency, emotion, practical value, stories. The stuff that spreads.

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Install

./scripts/install.sh

Python 3.9+. No API keys for news/videos.

China users: DuckDuckGo and YouTube require VPN. Use our China sources (Bilibili, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Shipinhao) for content without VPN. See CHINA_ACCESS.md.

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Deploy

1. Click the button above (or go to render.com → New → Web Service).
2. Connect your GitHub and select the ViralLab repo. Render detects render.yaml.
3. Add env vars if needed: OPENAI_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY for AI features.
4. Deploy. Live at virallab.onrender.com.

Keep content fresh: cron-job.org → Create job → URL: https://virallab.onrender.com/api/refresh-daily?key=YOUR_CRON_SECRET → Daily at 8:00.

See DEPLOY.md for full instructions.

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For developers

• China Access — VPN requirements, China sources (Bilibili, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Shipinhao). See CHINA_ACCESS.md.
• API — GET /api/digests (list), GET /api/digests/<filename>, GET /api/export/<filename>?format=markdown|notion|obsidian, GET /api/viral-videos?q=<query>&source=global|china, POST /api/video-to-text.