i-have-adhd vs Default AI Coding Assistant Behavior
The core difference is structural, not cosmetic. AI coding assistants like Cursor and GitHub Copilot deliver thorough responses by default: context first, answer in the middle, polite closer at the end. i-have-adhd changes that order for Claude Code users by enforcing ten rules at the prompt level.
| Feature | i-have-adhd | Default AI assistant behavior |
|---|
| Response structure | Action first, then steps | Context first, answer later |
| Preamble | None | Common |
| List length | Capped at 5 items | Unlimited |
| Closers | None | Common |
| State restatement | Every turn | Inconsistent |
| Customizable rules | Yes, via fork | No |
| Works across AI tools | Claude Code only | Depends on the tool |
i-have-adhd is the better choice when you use Claude Code and find that default AI responses require too much scanning before you can act. The rule set is particularly effective for longer sessions where verbose responses accumulate and force you to re-read context on every turn.
The default AI assistant style is still the better fit for exploratory work: onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase, architectural discussions, or documentation writing. The rules suppress tangents by design, which strips out genuinely useful context in those scenarios. The fork path lets you tune specific rules rather than running the full set when that tradeoff matters.
