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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix effortLevel setting in settings.json not applied on session start

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The effortLevel key in ~/.claude/settings.json is not being picked up when starting a new Claude Code session. The effort level defaults to "high" regardless of the configured value.

Root Cause

The effortLevel key in ~/.claude/settings.json is not being picked up when starting a new Claude Code session. The effort level defaults to "high" regardless of the configured value.

Fix Action

Workaround

Run /effort at the start of each session.

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Description

The effortLevel key in ~/.claude/settings.json is not being picked up when starting a new Claude Code session. The effort level defaults to "high" regardless of the configured value.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Set "effortLevel": "max" in ~/.claude/settings.json
  2. Start a new Claude Code session
  3. Observe the status bar shows "high" instead of "max"
  4. The session header also omits "with max effort"

Expected behavior

A new session should respect the effortLevel value from settings.json and start with max effort, showing "with max effort" in the header and "max" in the status bar.

Actual behavior

  • The status bar shows ● high · /effort
  • The header shows Opus 4.6 (1M context) · Claude Team (no "with max effort")
  • Running /effort manually within the session correctly sets it to max

Workaround

Run /effort at the start of each session.

Environment

  • Claude Code v2.1.142
  • OS: Linux (WSL2) 6.6.114.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
  • Shell: zsh

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FAQ

Expected behavior

A new session should respect the effortLevel value from settings.json and start with max effort, showing "with max effort" in the header and "max" in the status bar.

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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix effortLevel setting in settings.json not applied on session start