# I-Have-ADHD List Item Count Limit: Why Responses Max Out at 5 Items

> Discover why the I Have ADHD skill limits list responses to 5 items. Learn how this design enhances clarity and accessibility for users with ADHD.

- Repository: [Ayoub Ghriss/i-have-adhd](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-27

---

**The i-have-adhd skill enforces a strict maximum of five items per list** to keep responses concise and accessible for readers with ADHD.

The `ayghri/i-have-adhd` repository implements a specialized set of prompting rules designed to optimize AI outputs for cognitive accessibility. At the core of this system lies a non-negotiable constraint on list length that directly shapes how information is structured and delivered.

## The 5-Item Hard Cap Rule

The limitation is explicitly codified in [`skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md) at lines 103-106, under the directive **"Cap lists at 5 items"**. This is not a suggestion—it is a mandatory architectural boundary that all generated content must respect.

According to the source code, this constraint serves a specific cognitive purpose. Long, unbroken lists create **cognitive overload** for readers with ADHD, making it difficult to prioritize, retain, or act on presented information. The five-item threshold represents a calculated balance between completeness and digestibility.

## How the Limit Is Enforced in Practice

When a response naturally requires more than five points, the skill mandates **list splitting** rather than truncation. This preserves all information while respecting the structural boundary. Common partitioning strategies include:

- **Temporal splits**: "Do now" versus "Do later"
- **Priority splits**: "Must have" versus "Nice to have"
- **Complexity splits**: "Basic steps" versus "Advanced options"

### Example: Single List Within Limit

When five or fewer items suffice, the list renders unchanged:

```markdown
1. Open `src/auth.ts`
2. Replace `verifyToken` (lines 42-58) with the new snippet
3. Run `npm test -- auth.spec.ts`
4. Verify that the login flow works locally
5. Commit the changes

```

### Example: Split List Exceeding Limit

When the content demands more than five items, the model must restructure:

```markdown
**Do now (first 5 items)**
1. Open `src/auth.ts`
2. Replace `verifyToken` (lines 42-58)
3. Update the token validation logic
4. Run `npm test -- auth.spec.ts`
5. Verify that the login flow works locally

**Do later**
1. Add unit tests for edge-case tokens
2. Document the new auth flow in `README.md`
3. Update CI pipeline to include auth tests

```

## Where the Rule Is Defined

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| [`skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md) | Canonical skill definition containing the "Cap lists at 5 items" rule at lines 103-106 |
| [`.cursor/skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/.cursor/skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md) | Cursor IDE-compatible mirror of the canonical skill file |

Both files remain synchronized, ensuring consistent behavior across deployment contexts. The rule appears in no other configuration files—[`README.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/README.md) and [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/AGENTS.md) describe system behavior without restating specific numeric constraints.

## Summary

- **Hard limit**: Five items maximum per list, as defined in [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/SKILL.md)
- **Enforcement mechanism**: Mandatory list splitting when content exceeds the threshold
- **Rationale**: Prevents cognitive overload and supports ADHD accessibility needs
- **Implementation**: Partition strategies like "now/later" or "must/nice to have"

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What happens if a response needs more than five items?

The skill requires the model to split the list into multiple categorized sections rather than presenting a single long list. Each resulting section must independently respect the five-item cap.

### Is the five-item limit configurable?

No. The limit is hardcoded in the canonical skill file at [`skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/ayghri/i-have-adhd/blob/main/skills/i-have-adhd/SKILL.md) and appears to be a fixed architectural constraint rather than a user-tunable parameter.

### Does this limit apply to numbered and bulleted lists equally?

Yes. The "Cap lists at 5 items" rule applies to all list formats regardless of marker style. The constraint concerns item count, not presentation format.

### Why five items specifically?

The repository does not explicitly document the psychological research behind this threshold, but the implementation suggests it represents an empirically-derived boundary for working memory capacity in readers with ADHD—balancing information density with cognitive load management.