The effortLevel setting does not support the "max" value in settings.json, causing it to fall back to default instead of persisting the desired setting.
The effortLevel setting does not support the "max" value in settings.json, causing it to fall back to default instead of persisting the desired setting.
Problem statement normalized from the linked evidence
CANDIDATE VIEW · NOT A PUBLISHED OPPORTUNITY
01
Qualification checklist
Gate decision: Aug 15, 2026
×
At least 3 independent users2 / 3
NOT MET
✓
At least 2 independent discussions2 / 2
MET
✓
At least 1 supporting signal1 Workarounds · Persistence
MET
02
Observed signals
Users2
Discussions2
Mentions2
Active days2
Source coverageGitHub
TrendUNKNOWN
First seenMar 18, 2026
Last seenApr 03, 2026
Why the gate is holding
Fewer than 3 independent users
Competition research, commercial scoring, and Build Gap analysis do not run until this gate passes.
03
Source evidence
2 evidence records
github · MEDIUM · Apr 03, 2026
effortLevel "max" in settings.json does not persist across sessions
## Bug Description Setting `effortLevel` to `"max"` in `~/.claude/settings.json` does not persist across new conversations. The effort level reverts (appears as medium/default) when starting a new session, despite the config file correctly containing `"max"`. Setting `effortLevel` to `"high"` in the same file **does** persist correctly across sessions. ## Steps to Reproduce 1. Set `"effortLevel": "max"` in `~/.claude/settings.json` 2. Start a new Claude Code conversation 3. Observe that the effort level is not set…
## Bug `/effort max` works as a session-only command and sets effort to "Maximum capability with deepest reasoning (Opus 4.6 only)", but this value cannot be persisted in `settings.json`. The `effortLevel` field in the settings schema only allows `"low"`, `"medium"`, `"high"`: ```json "effortLevel": { "description": "Persisted effort level for supported models.", "type": "string", "enum": ["low", "medium", "high"] } ``` Setting `"effortLevel": "max"` in `~/.claude/settings.json` is silently ignored (falls back to d…