effortLevel config: 'max' from /effort command not valid in settings.json schema

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Apr 5, 2026 by lashimao Closed Apr 9, 2026

Bug

/effort max works in-session, but the effortLevel field in settings.json only accepts "low", "medium", "high" per the schema:

"effortLevel": {
  "description": "Persisted effort level for supported models.",
  "type": "string",
  "enum": ["low", "medium", "high"]
}

Setting "effortLevel": "max" in ~/.claude/settings.json is silently ignored and falls back to auto (currently medium) on every new session.

Expected behavior

Either:

  1. Add "max" to the schema enum so it matches the /effort command options, OR
  2. /effort should only offer values that are valid in the config (low/medium/high)

Steps to reproduce

  1. Set "effortLevel": "max" in ~/.claude/settings.json
  2. Open a new session
  3. Run /effort → shows auto (currently medium) instead of max

Environment

  • Claude Code 2.1.92
  • macOS (Darwin 25.4.0)
  • Affects both CLI and VS Code extension

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