Why "I Have ADHD" Is the GitHub Repo Every Developer Actually Needs

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Let's be honest: you've asked an AI coding assistant a simple question, waited through three paragraphs of preamble, watched it restate your question back to you, admired its detailed explanation of concepts you already knew, and then—finally—got the three-line code snippet you actually needed.

Sound familiar?

That's exactly the problem the i-have-adhd project aims to solve. This clever GitHub repository provides a "skill" (likely designed for integration with AI coding agents and assistants) that re-trains the output behavior to cut straight to the chase.

The Verbosity Problem

Modern AI assistants have a tendency toward excessive explanation. While context and thoroughness are valuable, there's a fine line between helpful detail and what developers jokingly (but genuinely) call "AI waffling."

For developers with ADHD, this isn't just an annoyance—it's a real barrier to productivity. The cognitive load of filtering through irrelevant information to find the actionable bit can derail focus entirely. What should be a thirty-second interaction becomes a five-minute excavation project.

But this isn't just about ADHD. Every developer has experienced context-switching fatigue. When you're deep in a debugging session and need a quick answer, you don't need a dissertation. You need the answer.

How It Works

The i-have-adhd skill essentially creates a "mode" for AI interactions that prioritizes:

• Direct answers first — Put the solution at the top, not the bottom
• Minimal preamble — Skip the "Certainly!" and "Here's how" paragraphs
• Concise explanations — Only explain why when what isn't self-evident
• Actionable output — Code and commands front and center

Think of it as a "get to the point" switch for your AI assistant.

Why This Matters for the Future of AI Development Tools

As AI becomes increasingly central to development workflows, the tools we use need to adapt to us—not the other way around. Verbose AI output became normalized because early models needed to demonstrate their capabilities. But as these tools mature, user preference and efficiency should take precedence.

Projects like i-have-adhd represent an important shift: AI should accommodate human cognition, not demand humans adapt to AI communication styles.

This trend will likely grow. Expect to see more "productivity modes," "focus modes," and context-aware output styles that adjust based on what the developer needs in that moment—quick answers versus detailed explanations.

The Bigger Picture

There's something refreshingly honest about naming a tool "I Have ADHD." It takes what could be framed as a disability or limitation and turns it into a feature requirement. "My brain works differently, so my tools should too."

That's actually the right approach.

Developers don't need to be "fixed" to work better with AI. The tools need to be flexible enough to meet us where we are—whether that's needing quick, direct answers or wanting deep dives into concepts.

The next time you're waiting for an AI to finish its preamble, remember: there might just be a skill for that now. And if there isn't? Someone's probably already building it.

Check out the project on GitHub and see how a simple prompt adjustment can transform your AI coding experience from frustrating to frictionless.