How to Customize the Rules in the i-have-adhd Skill: A Complete Guide

To customize the i-have-adhd skill rules, edit skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md in your forked repository, then reinstall the plugin from your fork so Claude or Codex loads your modified rule set.

The i-have-adhd skill is a lightweight "skill file" — a Markdown document containing 10 output-shaping rules that guide how AI assistants structure responses for ADHD-optimized workflow. These rules are parsed at runtime and applied to every response until disabled. Since the rules live in plain Markdown, customizing them requires no code changes beyond editing a single file.

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Where the Rules Are Defined

The complete rule set resides in skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md (source).

• Rules span lines 33–43 (view)
• Each rule is a plain-text bullet, readable by both humans and the skill loader

Example rules from the source:

- Lead with the next action (the "do this" step) before any context
- Use short, imperative sentences (< 15 words when possible)
- Break multi-step instructions into numbered lists
- Cap lists at 5 items maximum
- Provide time estimates for every task

The YAML frontmatter (lines 1–32) contains metadata like the skill name and description. Leave this block intact — the loader requires it to identify the skill.

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How to Edit the Rule Set

Customizing the i-have-adhd skill rules follows a simple workflow:

1. Fork and clone the repository
2. Edit SKILL.md to add, remove, or rewrite any rule
3. Push to your fork
4. Reinstall the plugin from your fork

Common Customization Patterns

Customization	Example Edit
Adjust list length cap	Change "Cap lists at 5 items" to "Cap lists at 7 items"
Modify tone requirements	Reword "imperative sentences" to "direct, friendly sentences"
Add new constraints	Add bullet: "Prioritize tasks by urgency, not order given"
Remove rules	Delete any bullet that doesn't fit your workflow

Below is the complete workflow from fork to activation:

# 1. Fork the repo on GitHub, then clone your fork

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/i-have-adhd.git
cd i-have-adhd
git checkout -b my-custom-rules

# 2. Edit skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md with your preferred editor

#    Example: change rule 9 to allow 7 list items instead of 5

# 3. Commit and push

git commit -am "Increase list cap from 5 to 7 items"
git push origin my-custom-rules

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Deploying Your Customized Version

The host agent (Claude or Codex) loads skills from the repository it points to. After editing, you must redirect it to your fork:

For Claude Code

claude plugin uninstall i-have-adhd              # remove upstream copy

claude plugin marketplace remove i-have-adhd     # clear original entry

claude plugin marketplace add YOUR_USERNAME/i-have-adhd
claude plugin install i-have-adhd@i-have-adhd

For Codex

codex plugin marketplace add YOUR_USERNAME/i-have-adhd --ref main
codex plugin add i-have-adhd@i-have-adhd

Once reinstalled, invoking /i-have-adhd (Claude) or $i-have-adhd (Codex) applies your custom rule set.

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Making Customizations Persistent

To keep your customized i-have-adhd skill active in every session, create the "always-on" flag as documented in [INSTALL.md](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/INSTALL.md). Without this step, you must manually invoke the skill each time.

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Verifying Your Changes

Run a test command to confirm your customizations work:

/i-have-adhd

Then verify:

• The first line follows your "lead-with-action" rule
• Numbered lists respect your revised item caps
• Any new rules appear in the response structure

If the output doesn't match expectations, check that you're invoking from your fork and that SKILL.md was committed to the branch you specified.

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Key Files in the Skill Structure

File	Purpose
skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md	Core rule definition — the only file you edit for customizations
skills/i-have-adhd/agents/openai.yaml	OpenAI-specific agent configuration
skills/i-have-adhd/agents/gemini.toml	Gemini-specific agent configuration
plugin.json	Plugin descriptor for Claude/Codex loader

Only SKILL.md requires modification. The agent configs and plugin descriptor handle loading and invocation automatically.

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Summary

• i-have-adhd skill rules live in skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md as plain Markdown bullets (lines 33–43)
• Customize by forking, editing the Markdown rules, and reinstalling from your fork
• Preserve the YAML frontmatter — it contains required loader metadata
• Reinstall commands differ for Claude Code vs. Codex
• Verify by testing list caps and lead-action formatting after deployment

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I break the YAML frontmatter in SKILL.md?

The skill loader will fail to parse the file and the plugin won't activate. The frontmatter (lines 1–32) contains required fields like name and description. Edit only the bullet list section below the --- separator.

Can I add completely new rule types, or just edit existing ones?

You can add, remove, or rewrite any rule. The loader treats all bullets in the rules section as instructions. New rules should follow the same imperative format for consistency (e.g., "Start every response with a time estimate").

Do customizations sync across devices?

No — customizations live in your fork. To use them on another device, ensure that device also installs from your fork using the same claude plugin marketplace add or codex plugin marketplace add commands with your username.

Will updating the upstream repository overwrite my fork?

Only if you manually sync or pull from upstream. To preserve your customizations long-term, avoid merging upstream changes into your fork's main branch without reviewing conflicts in SKILL.md.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}