NIH Syndrome
Noun · Hacker Culture
Definitions
Not Invented Here syndrome — the tendency to reject or rewrite external solutions in favor of building custom ones, even when mature alternatives exist. Driven by ego, distrust of external code, or desire for control. The opposite extreme of cargo culting. Sometimes justified for core competitive advantages.
In plain English: The urge to build everything yourself instead of using existing tools, usually wasting time reinventing the wheel.
Example: "They built their own ORM, their own auth system, and their own message queue. NIH syndrome — now they maintain three buggy clones of solved problems."