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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix effortLevel setting in settings.json not applied on startup [1 comments, 1 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#45453•Fetched 2026-04-09 08:05:04
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khoiadokhoiado
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The effortLevel setting in the global ~/.claude/settings.json is not being applied when Claude Code starts. The effort level defaults to "medium" despite the config explicitly setting it to "max".

Root Cause

The effortLevel setting in the global ~/.claude/settings.json is not being applied when Claude Code starts. The effort level defaults to "medium" despite the config explicitly setting it to "max".

Code Example

{
  "permissions": {
    "defaultMode": "bypassPermissions"
  },
  "effortLevel": "max",
  "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true
}

---

>> bypass permissions on (shift+tab to cycle)              ● medium · /effort
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Description

The effortLevel setting in the global ~/.claude/settings.json is not being applied when Claude Code starts. The effort level defaults to "medium" despite the config explicitly setting it to "max".

Configuration

~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "permissions": {
    "defaultMode": "bypassPermissions"
  },
  "effortLevel": "max",
  "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true
}

Expected Behavior

Claude Code should start with effort level set to max as configured.

Actual Behavior

  • defaultMode: "bypassPermissions" works — status bar shows "bypass permissions on" ✅
  • effortLevel: "max" does not work — status bar shows "medium · /effort" ❌

The user has to manually cycle the effort level via /effort each session.

Environment

  • Claude Code version: 2.1.97 (latest as of 2026-04-08)
  • OS: macOS (Darwin 24.3.0)
  • Shell: zsh
  • Model: Opus 4.6 (1M context) — Claude Max

Screenshot

The status bar on startup shows "medium · /effort" instead of the configured "max":

>> bypass permissions on (shift+tab to cycle)              ● medium · /effort

Notes

No project-level settings override effortLevel — the project .claude/settings.local.json only contains permission allow-lists.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue can be resolved by verifying the configuration file path and ensuring that the effortLevel setting is correctly applied.

Guidance

  • Check if the ~/.claude/settings.json file is being read correctly by Claude Code, and verify that the file path is correct.
  • Ensure that there are no other configuration files (e.g., settings.local.json) that may be overriding the effortLevel setting, although the issue states that no project-level settings override effortLevel.
  • Try setting the effortLevel to a different value (e.g., "low") to see if the change is reflected in the status bar.
  • Verify that the Claude Code version (2.1.97) is compatible with the configuration file format and settings.

Example

No code snippet is provided as it is not necessary for this issue.

Notes

The issue may be related to a configuration file parsing issue or a bug in the Claude Code application. Further investigation is needed to determine the root cause.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by manually setting the effort level via the /effort command each session until the issue is resolved, as the root cause is currently unknown.

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