# Effort

> Dynamic effort level management. Use when: - User mentions "think harder", "be thorough", "quick fix", "max effort" - Task complexity changes mid-session - Need to optimize for speed vs depth - User says "slow down", "speed up", "think more"

- Skill: `majiayu000/effort` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add majiayu000/effort`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/effort/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/effort

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# Effort Level Management

Adjust Claude's adaptive thinking depth based on task complexity.

## Effort Levels

| Level | When to Use | Thinking Behavior |
|-------|-------------|-------------------|
| `low` | Simple edits, formatting, renaming | Minimal -- fast responses |
| `medium` | Standard implementation, exploration | Balanced depth |
| `high` | Complex logic, multi-file changes (DEFAULT) | Deep analysis |
| `max` | Architecture decisions, security reviews, hard bugs | Maximum depth, no constraints |

## Auto-Scaling Recommendations

| Task Type | Recommended Effort |
|-----------|-------------------|
| Security-sensitive code | `max` |
| Architecture decisions | `max` |
| Complex debugging | `max` |
| Standard implementation | `high` |
| File exploration | `medium` |
| Boilerplate generation | `low` |
| Simple renaming/formatting | `low` |

## Setting Effort

Environment variable: `CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`
Interactive: `/model` then use arrow keys to adjust

Current effort level: Check `$CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`

If the user provided an argument, acknowledge the level change and explain what it means for the current session.