[FEATURE] Let me choose the reasoning effort when ultracode is on, and keep ultracode on after compaction

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

I use ultracode for large tasks in Claude Code. I have two problems.

1. I cannot choose the effort level with ultracode.
Ultracode is a mode, but the /effort menu shows it as an effort level. When I select ultracode, the model always runs at xhigh. I cannot choose max, high, medium or low together with ultracode.

• Some tasks need max reasoning and workflows together.
• Other tasks need workflows at a lower cost, with low, medium or high effort.
• Now the only choice is xhigh.

2. Compaction turns off ultracode.
When I type the keyword ultracode in a prompt, the session starts to use ultracode. After Claude Code compacts the context, the session stops using ultracode. I must type ultracode again after each compaction. In long sessions, I often do not see that ultracode is off.

Proposed Solution

1. Make ultracode a separate switch next to the effort slider. Do not show it as a position on the slider.
2. When ultracode is on, use the effort that I select (low, medium, high, xhigh, or max).
3. Add a setting for the default effort of workflow subagents. It must be separate from the effort of the main session. For example: main session on max, default for subagents on medium.

• Use this default only when the instructions do not set an effort for a subagent.
• If an instruction sets an effort, the subagent must use that effort. Examples of instructions are the effort option in a workflow script and the effort field in an agent definition. An effort in the instructions always has priority over the default.

1. When I type ultracode one time, ultracode stays on for the full session. Compaction must not turn it off. Only I can turn it off.

Alternative Solutions

• I type ultracode again after each compaction. This is easy to forget, and then the next tasks run without workflows.
• I select Max in /effort instead of ultracode. Then I get max reasoning, but no workflows.
• I cannot find a way to get ultracode together with an effort other than xhigh.

Priority

Critical - Blocking my work

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

1. I start a session with Opus 5.5 and type ultracode in my prompt: "ultracode — audit this service for bugs".
2. I want max reasoning for the main session, because the audit plan is difficult.
3. I want the default subagent effort to be medium, because the finder agents do simple, mechanical searches. The verify stage in the workflow script sets effort: 'max', and it must stay at max.
4. Now, all of these run at xhigh. The plan gets less reasoning than I need, and the finders cost more than necessary.
5. After about one hour, Claude Code compacts the context. The next prompt runs without ultracode, and no workflow starts. I see this only when the answer is short.

Additional Context

Environment:

• Claude desktop 2.9939.2 (Windows), Code tab. It includes Claude Code 2.1.281.
• Claude Code CLI
• Claude Code extension for VS Code
• Model: Opus 5.5

The problems occur in all three.

Related issues:

• #69653 — /effort shows ultracode as a top effort level, but it is xhigh plus a workflow flag
• #78691 — people think Ultracode is a level above Max
• #68860 — no way to set ultracode as the default

Other reports where ultracode turns off (none of them is about compaction):

• #84163 — /model turns off ultracode
• #66476 — /clear turns off ultracode
• #66266 — ultracode reverts when I switch chats
• #72435 — ultracode resets in each new session