What Does `display: true` vs `display: false` Do in i-have-adhd Custom Messages?

In the i-have-adhd repository, display: true makes a custom message visible to the user, while display: false keeps it internal for agent logic and never renders it in chat.

The i-have-adhd project, as implemented in ayghri/i-have-adhd, lets agents emit custom messages during conversations using structured objects defined in extensions/i-have-adhd.ts. Each message carries a boolean display property that the runtime evaluates to decide whether the text reaches the end-user. Understanding this flag is critical for separating user-facing dialogue from silent internal bookkeeping.

How the display Property Controls Visibility

According to the source code in extensions/i-have-adhd.ts, the agent evaluates the display field before pushing content to the outbound message queue.

display: true Sends Text to the User

When a custom message has display: true, the runtime includes it in the visible conversation. The source logic checks the flag with a simple conditional:

if (msg.display) {
  // push the text onto the outbound message queue
  output.push(msg.text);
}

Because the value is truthy, msg.text is appended to output and eventually delivered to the user interface.

display: false Suppresses Output for Internal Use

When display is set to false, the condition fails and the text is withheld from the outbound queue. The message object remains in the agent’s internal state, so it can still influence branching, logging, or later decisions, but it never appears in the chat window.

Practical Examples of Custom Message Configuration

Below are concrete configurations showing how the flag affects behavior in i-have-adhd custom messages.

Silent Internal Message

Use display: false when the text is meant only for agent tracking. In extensions/i-have-adhd.ts, a hidden reminder is defined as:

{
  id: "reminder-break",
  text: "Take a short break now 🧘‍♀️",
  display: false,   // ← will not appear unless you set this to true
}

Another internal-only tracker uses the same flag:

{
  id: "track-focus",
  text: "User has been focused for 45 minutes.",
  display: false,   // Not sent to the user
}

In both cases, the record exists internally but the user never sees it.

Visible User-Facing Message

Use display: true when the agent should explicitly communicate with the user:

{
  id: "encourage-break",
  text: "You’ve been working hard—how about a 5-minute stretch break?",
  display: true,    // Shown to the user
}

This message is pushed to output and rendered in the chat.

Runtime Toggle

You can also flip the flag dynamically based on conversation state:

// Suppose we decide to make a reminder visible after a certain condition
const reminder = customMessages.find(m => m.id === "track-focus");
if (reminder) {
  reminder.display = true;           // Now it will be shown
}

After this change, subsequent evaluations pass the if (msg.display) check and expose the text.

Key Source Files in the Repository

The custom-message behavior is defined in the following files within ayghri/i-have-adhd:

• extensions/i-have-adhd.ts — Defines the custom-message objects and implements the if (msg.display) evaluation that controls the outbound queue.
• skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md — Documents the ADHD-friendly response rules and how custom messages factor into agent behavior.
• README.md — Describes repository setup and explains how custom messages integrate with the agent’s conversation loop.

Summary

• display: true in i-have-adhd custom messages adds the message text to the outbound queue, making it visible to the user in chat.
• display: false keeps the message object internal, preventing it from reaching the user while still allowing agent-side logic to reference it.
• The runtime filter lives in extensions/i-have-adhd.ts and uses a truthy check on msg.display before calling output.push(msg.text).
• You can toggle this flag at runtime to change a message from silent tracking to visible feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a message with display: false ever become visible later?

Yes. If you update the property to true at runtime—such as by finding the message object and setting reminder.display = true—the next evaluation will pass the if (msg.display) check. Once the flag is truthy, the agent pushes the text into the outbound queue. The user then sees the message in the conversation.

Does display: false delete the message from the agent's memory?

No. Setting display: false only blocks the text from being added to the output array. The full message object remains in the agent's state and can still be queried, logged, or modified by other logic in extensions/i-have-adhd.ts. It simply never reaches the chat window.

What happens if I omit the display property entirely?

Because the runtime checks if (msg.display), omitting the property produces an undefined value. In TypeScript, undefined is falsy, so the behavior matches display: false. The message stays internal unless you explicitly set the flag to true.

Where is the display logic implemented in the source code?

The flag evaluation lives in extensions/i-have-adhd.ts. Inside that file, the code iterates over custom messages and conditionally runs output.push(msg.text) only when msg.display is truthy. This single check determines whether a message reaches the user.

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