How to Make i-have-adhd Always-On Across Sessions

Create an empty sentinel file named .i-have-adhd-always in your Claude configuration directory (default ~/.claude) to automatically activate ADHD mode at the start of every session.

The i-have-adhd project (ayghri/i-have-adhd) provides ADHD-optimized output for Claude by injecting a specific ruleset at session startup. To make this behavior persistent across sessions, the repository implements a file-based sentinel mechanism that works consistently across Bash, Node.js, and PowerShell environments.

How the Always-On Mechanism Works

The always-on feature relies on Claude's SessionStart hook infrastructure. According to the source code, the hook registration is declared in hooks/hooks.json, where the SessionStart event points to the Node-based script always-on.mjs (exec form) at lines 1-4.

The hook scripts check for a sentinel file named .i-have-adhd-always inside the Claude configuration directory. The implementation varies by shell:

• always-on.sh: Checks "$CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.i-have-adhd-always" (falling back to ~/.claude/.i-have-adhd-always) on line 13, exiting silently with status 0 if the file is missing.
• always-on.mjs: Uses fs.existsSync on line 20 to check for the sentinel file, then resolves the skill file at skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md (lines 22-25) and prints its body after stripping YAML front-matter (lines 27-34).
• always-on.ps1: Uses Test-Path on line 14 for the same check on Windows systems.

If the sentinel file exists, the hook prints a banner indicating that ADHD MODE is active, applying the ruleset to every response until the user issues "stop adhd mode" or deletes the sentinel file.

Enabling Always-On Mode

To persist ADHD mode across sessions, create the zero-byte sentinel file in your Claude configuration directory.

Linux and macOS (Bash)

Run the following commands in your terminal:

mkdir -p ~/.claude
touch ~/.claude/.i-have-adhd-always

Windows (PowerShell)

Execute these commands in PowerShell:

$claudeDir = "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $claudeDir
New-Item -ItemType File -Force -Path "$claudeDir\.i-have-adhd-always"

Using a Custom Configuration Directory

If you use a custom Claude configuration directory via the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable, create the sentinel file in that location instead. The hooks read this environment variable first (see lines 9-10 of always-on.sh).

export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.my-claude
mkdir -p "$CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR"
touch "$CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.i-have-adhd-always"

Disabling Always-On Mode

To deactivate the persistent behavior, simply delete the sentinel file. On the next session start, the hook will exit silently without loading the ADHD ruleset.

Linux/macOS:

rm ~/.claude/.i-have-adhd-always

Windows:

Remove-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\.i-have-adhd-always"

Verifying the Hook is Active

Start a new Claude session or run the hook manually. You should see a banner similar to:

ADHD MODE ACTIVE (always-on). The ruleset below applies to every response. "stop adhd mode" turns it off for this session; delete /home/you/.claude/.i-have-adhd-always to turn always-on off for good.

# i-have-adhd

… (skill body) …

This confirms that always-on.mjs successfully loaded skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md and injected the ADHD ruleset into your session.

Summary

• Create .i-have-adhd-always in your Claude config directory (default ~/.claude) to enable persistent ADHD mode across all sessions.
• The sentinel file is checked by hooks/always-on.sh, hooks/always-on.mjs, and hooks/always-on.ps1 at the start of each session.
• Registration occurs through hooks/hooks.json, which binds the SessionStart event to always-on.mjs.
• Disable by deleting the sentinel file; the hook exits silently when the file is absent.
• Custom paths are supported via the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does i-have-adhd store its configuration?

The project looks for the .i-have-adhd-always sentinel file in the Claude configuration directory, defaulting to ~/.claude on Unix systems and %USERPROFILE%\.claude on Windows. You can override this location by setting the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable, which the hooks check before falling back to the default path as shown in lines 9-10 of always-on.sh.

Why does the hook use a sentinel file instead of environment variables?

The sentinel file approach provides a persistent, cross-platform state that survives system reboots and new shell sessions. As implemented in always-on.mjs (line 20) and always-on.sh (line 13), the file existence check is non-blocking and exits with status 0 if the file is missing, ensuring no performance impact when the feature is disabled.

Can I temporarily disable ADHD mode for a single session?

Yes. While the sentinel file makes the mode active by default for every session, you can issue the command "stop adhd mode" during a conversation to disable it for that specific session only. The next new session will re-activate the mode as long as the sentinel file remains in place.

Which hook script actually runs when I start Claude?

According to hooks/hooks.json, Claude executes always-on.mjs via the Node.js executable (exec form) on SessionStart. However, the repository includes always-on.sh and always-on.ps1 as fallback implementations for POSIX and Windows environments respectively, all implementing identical sentinel file logic.

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