Be Here Now

A local-first ADHD assistant built for the day you're actually having.

Install · Features · How It Works · Configure GrillMe · Design Principles

ADHD productivity fails when a system asks for too much prediction.
Be Here Now asks for almost none. Write one line. It handles the rest.

Features

| | | |---|---| | Living timetable | Check-ins become draggable time blocks — a lightweight calendar for the day you're actually having | | Current thread | The active task stays pinned at the top with one-click Done, Later, and Clear | | GrillMe clarity chat | An AI interview that turns vague tasks into a concrete goal, done-enough condition, and next action | | Interstitial journal | Timestamped notes that appear alongside your timetable | | Calendar view | Browse any previous day and its full session, check-in, and insight history | | Insights | A daily ADHD-coach reflection generated from your tasks, journal, and check-ins | | Local Markdown storage | Everything is saved as readable .md files with embedded JSON — no cloud, no account |

How It Works

You type one line.          →  "Working on that email to the client"
The app interprets it.      →  Thread created, time block started on the timetable
Task feels vague?           →  Hit Clarify → GrillMe interviews you in a chat panel
                               Goal / Done-enough / Next action extracted and saved
Done for now?               →  Done closes it. Later parks it in the Still Open tray.
End of day.                 →  Hit Generate Insight for a non-shaming daily reflection.

The timetable is drag-to-reschedule. The Still Open tray surfaces everything parked so nothing gets lost. GrillMe clarity sessions are saved per task and visible on the timeline.

Install and Run

Once on npm, install globally:

npm install -g beherenow-adhd-assistant
adhd

Or run without installing:

npx beherenow-adhd-assistant

Both commands start the local server, open Be Here Now in your browser, and store your Markdown in ~/.be-here-now/data.

Run From This Repo

npm install
npm run app        # Start the server and open the browser

For development without auto-opening the browser:

npm run dev

Then open http://localhost:5177.

To install the adhd command globally while developing locally:

npm link
adhd

be-here-now is also available as a quieter alias.

Configure GrillMe Chat

Clarity Mode uses the OpenAI API to run GrillMe — an AI interviewer that clarifies vague tasks through a real chat.

When you launch with adhd, go to Settings and paste your OpenAI API key. It is saved to ~/.be-here-now/.env — never sent to the browser, never committed to git.

Or create the file manually:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
CLARITY_MODEL=gpt-4o

Restart after editing. Clarity works with any OpenAI-compatible model name.

Local Markdown Storage

Be Here Now writes everything to ~/.be-here-now/data/ (or the local data/ folder in dev mode).

data/
  objects/
    threads/      — task threads and open loops
    sessions/     — timed timetable blocks
    checkins/     — raw user check-ins
    journal/      — timestamped journal entries
    clarity/      — GrillMe clarity sessions
    insights/     — generated daily reflections
  days/           — daily Markdown summaries

Each file is readable as plain Markdown and includes a fenced JSON block for app state. The folder is created automatically at startup and is ignored by git — your data stays local.

Scripts

npm run app      # Launch the app and open the browser
npm run dev      # Start the Express + Vite dev server
npm test         # Run server tests
npm run build    # Build the frontend for production
npm start        # Start in production mode

Stack

• Frontend — React 19, Vite 7
• Backend — Express 5, Node.js (ESM)
• Storage — Local Markdown files with embedded JSON
• AI — OpenAI API (used only for GrillMe clarity chat; optional)

Project Layout

src/           React app — timetable, tabs, journal, settings, clarity modal, insights
server/        Express API, Markdown storage, task interpreter, GrillMe integration,
               timeline engine, insight generator
skills/        Vendored GrillMe SKILL.md used by Clarity Mode
bin/           CLI launcher (adhd / be-here-now)
data/          Local runtime Markdown store (git-ignored)

Design Principles

• Be warm without being vague.
• Reflect behavior, do not score the person.
• Prefer one clear next move over a complicated plan.
• Let users park tasks without shame.
• Make time visible, movable, and forgiving.
• Store everything in simple local files whenever possible.

MIT License · Built for humans who lose the thread sometimes