# Reasoning effort setting and its defaults (`models.effort_control`)

Feedback Bench, coding agents, built 2026-10-19, window 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-18. Web page: https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/#/criterion/models.effort_control

Area: [Choosing models](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/criteria/models.md)

**Definition.** How the reasoning or effort level can be set, whether it stays set, and how outcomes differ by level, such as overthinking at high effort or failing at low effort.

**Boundary.** Not this: see [Single prompt, model or effort level consumes disproportionate quota](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/criteria/limits.burn_rate.md) when the point is the quota share an effort level consumed. Not this: see [Does unrequested work or over-engineers](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/criteria/work.scope_overreach.md) for over-engineered output.

Rated user-weeks, all agents: 1314. Complaint share: 52%.

## The brief

Written by large language models from this page's numbers and the posts it quotes, then checked: every number in the text is in the build. Interpretation, not measurement.

Claude Code handles effort settings best. Its users describe giving each kind of work its own level, medium for everyday coding and higher levels for detailed or creative tasks, and they say the levels give different results they can rely on. This criterion makes up 1.5% of what users of AI coding agents rate, and 52.4% of rated user-weeks complain. OpenAI Codex sits 2nd of 4 and draws 47% of the category's complaints here. OpenCode and Google Antigravity rank low.

### What separates the best from the rest

Users of Claude Code talk about the levels as tools. They compare medium, high and xhigh, keep one level for coding and another for generating ideas, and say switching levels no longer forces the model to reprocess. Users of OpenCode and Google Antigravity describe a control that does not work as expected. Reasoning modes appear and then vanish, or show as switched off in the desktop app. Users say low and high give the same result, high seems bugged, and max overthinks until the work slows down.

- **Ranks high**: [Claude Code](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/claude-code.md)
  - Claude Code, 2026-10-13, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “small finding that changed my workflow: opus 5.5 on medium effort handles coding really well. but when i need ideas rather than code, i switch to xhigh, and the output is on another level. for me this was a real discovery. so no need to run even fable.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x4s2i9/medium_to_build_xhigh_to_think/)
  - Claude Code, 2026-10-12, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “opus 5.5 no longer reprocess when switching effort level. i believe models before that all required it.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x3y098/changing_effort_causing_input_processing/pff2qat/)
- **Ranks low**: [OpenCode](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/opencode.md), [Google Antigravity](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/antigravity.md)
  - Google Antigravity, 2026-10-15, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “it doesn't matter if you have it on low or high, it does the same for me.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x6rvbu/please_bring_back_gemini_37_at_least/pgzxomu/)
  - OpenCode, 2026-10-16, r/opencode (Reddit): “in the desktop app they're all listed as reasoning off, which really kills the usefulness.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x7dbzz/opencode_is_at_its_peak/ph3o08f/)

## How it breaks

Rule: A separate pass sorts complaints into failure modes. For each criterion with at least 30 complaining user-weeks, a large language model reads 150 complaint posts drawn at random and names 4 to 8 failure modes; a second large language model then puts every complaint post on that criterion in one mode, or in Other when it fits none. Modes are fixed once named, and new posts are sorted into them each week. A mode counts distinct user-weeks with a complaint in it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Modes do not change the labels or the Feedback Score. Examples: up to 3 posts per mode from different users, chosen and checked as receipts are.

The largest failure mode is high effort that overthinks without better results. It accounts for 39% of complaining user-weeks, and OpenAI Codex users write 51% of it. OpenAI Codex also leads most other modes. Claude Code leads one: effort settings silently overridden, such as subagents inheriting the parent's level, where its users write 45%. OpenCode comes second on missing effort levels, and its users make 17 of the 28 requests for a max level.

717 complaining user-weeks.

| Failure mode | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High effort overthinks without better results | 277 | 294 | OpenAI Codex 140, Claude Code 83, OpenCode 27, Google Antigravity 12, GitHub Copilot 4, Cursor 3, Cline 2, Devin 2, Kiro 2, Pi 1, Warp 1 | At high, xhigh or max effort the agent thinks for a very long time, loops on itself ('hmm, wait'), over-engineers, writes too many tests, chases unlikely edge cases or never delivers, and this costs much more time and tokens than lower levels for the same or worse output; complaints about lower levels being too weak are out. |
| Low effort produces sloppy work needing rework | 108 | 112 | OpenAI Codex 64, Claude Code 22, Google Antigravity 9, Cursor 6, OpenCode 4, GitHub Copilot 2, Devin 1 | At low or medium effort the agent cuts corners, misses consequences, follows instructions poorly or makes basic mistakes, so users must redo the work or keep the effort high anyway; complaints about high effort being wasteful are out. |
| Effort level does not behave as labelled | 81 | 85 | OpenAI Codex 45, Claude Code 15, OpenCode 10, Google Antigravity 8, Cursor 1, Devin 1, Pi 1 | The chosen level has little or no visible effect: low or medium still overthinks simple prompts, low or medium shows no reasoning at all, or switching levels changes nothing, which suggests hidden routing or a broken control; cases where the setting is visibly replaced by a different value are out. |
| Manual effort-to-task matching burden | 81 | 84 | OpenAI Codex 38, Claude Code 34, Amp 5, Pi 2, Devin 1, OpenCode 1 | Users must guess and keep re-picking the right model and effort for each task, which is tiring and gets worse because switching busts the prompt cache, levels reset each new chat, effort does not map sensibly when switching models, and agent or skill definition files lack effort fields, so many fall back to one fixed level or build their own routers; failures of a level that was correctly applied are out. |
| Desired effort levels missing or unselectable | 74 | 78 | OpenAI Codex 26, OpenCode 17, Claude Code 7, Amp 5, Google Antigravity 5, GitHub Copilot 4, Cline 2, Cursor 2, Zed 2, Conductor 1, Factory 1, Kiro 1, Pi 1 | A needed effort level or effort control is not available in a given model, endpoint, plan tier, custom-model integration or interface (such as max being removed, levels being skipped, the selector greyed out mid-conversation, or the control doing nothing when clicked); settings that exist but are overridden are out. |
| Chosen effort setting silently overridden or ignored | 62 | 67 | Claude Code 28, OpenAI Codex 16, Cline 6, GitHub Copilot 5, Cursor 3, Amp 1, Google Antigravity 1, OpenCode 1, Pi 1 | The harness ignores or replaces the effort the user or orchestrator chose, for example subagents inheriting the parent's level, agents dispatched at max despite per-task settings, auto mode or the app snapping back to a default, an unrequested value like 'minimal' being injected, or no way to see the effort actually used; levels that are simply not offered are out. |
| Other | 53 | 54 | OpenAI Codex 22, Claude Code 21, Google Antigravity 3, OpenCode 3, Cursor 2, Amp 1, Devin 1 | Complaints that fit none of the modes above. |

#### High effort overthinks without better results

- Claude Code, 2026-10-17, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “i put max on a regex and it came back with a philosophy degree” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/phefk08/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-16, r/codex (Reddit): “luna max takes five times as long as luna xhigh for what seems to be no real gain.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x7exnu/do_you_guys_actually_run_max_reasoning_or_is/ph3m9w0/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-12, r/codex (Reddit): “i find anything above high is shit. same with sol 6.1. stick with high or lower and it's much better. tibo has been a lot less sarcastic lately.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wyhcvo/speed_got_better_report_yours/pfj58jo/)

#### Low effort produces sloppy work needing rework

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-09, r/codex (Reddit): “medium has always been like that. low is almost unusable. high is the reasoning to go or switch to smaller model.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x1pgkx/astra_decline/pewoa6w/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-09, r/codex (Reddit): “low usually heavily underperforms on openai models for me. in my experience lowest good setting is probably high which is still cheaper than sonnet” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x1ilzd/after_years_on_the_200_tier_even_haiku_is/peux8g9/)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-07, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “we’ve spent so much time praising opus, fable on low mode is kind of an absolute dog” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x042oi/55_family_is_complete/pehotcc/)

#### Effort level does not behave as labelled

- Claude Code, 2026-10-17, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “medium or high are the best default, xhigh forces a minimum of reasoning tokens and slows things down even for simple things” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/phef1zf/)
- OpenCode, 2026-10-16, r/opencode (Reddit): “in the desktop app they're all listed as reasoning off, which really kills the usefulness.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x7dbzz/opencode_is_at_its_peak/ph3o08f/)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-15, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “it doesn't matter if you have it on low or high, it does the same for me.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x6rvbu/please_bring_back_gemini_37_at_least/pgzxomu/)

#### Manual effort-to-task matching burden

- Claude Code, 2026-10-16, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “it now takes three clicks to change effort level instead of two. for zero benefit. clear functional downgrade” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x6is2o/claude_code_ui_update/ph0w8mx/)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-01, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@richkuo7 @claudedevs still hunting for a native effort/model shortcut while the plugins get hackier...... yeah” [source](https://twitter.com/1903115956643397633/status/2105480749671669917)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-29, r/codex (Reddit): “hate these unlabled dots. so low medium high xhigh max? looks like high is the sweet spot for 6.1?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wtgemz/gpt61_sol_launched/pcu0bhx/)

#### Desired effort levels missing or unselectable

- OpenCode, 2026-10-12, r/opencode (Reddit): “i updated oc v2 and saw a dropdown next to my model dropdown > i clicked it and saw different reasoning modes and then it disappeared ... just bugged right now i'm guessing.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x44luk/how_do_i_choose_a_variant_or_reasoning_model_in/pfhym0i/)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-10, r/ClaudeAI (Reddit): “what happened to the ultracode mode (xhigh+workflows)? it’s been missing from claude code since yesterday. the highest effort level available now is "max". that was a really useful option.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1x2rhg6/what_happened_to_the_ultracode_mode_xhighworkflows/)
- Kiro, 2026-10-01, @kirodotdev (X): “@kirodotdev you dont allow level of thinking mode for each model, all kiro's code leaves unlimited bugs since it uses zero thinking.” [source](https://twitter.com/2002397531226148864/status/2105762386871505150)

#### Chosen effort setting silently overridden or ignored

- GitHub Copilot, 2026-10-01, r/GithubCopilot (Reddit): “subagents are spawning with the correct models but there is no way to know the effort level. i am using vscode copilot is inbuilt.local chat.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GithubCopilot/comments/1wuq7dc/issues_with_github_copilot/pd5s1hm/)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-01, @ClaudeDevs (X): “why can't background agents have different effort levels in the claude harness than the foreground agent? seems weird @claudedevs [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/7079062/status/2105644792243732531)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-01, X search: OpenAI Codex, Codex CLI, Codex app (X): “codex app seems to be broken i cant change the model or thinking effort it keep defaulting to sol 6 medium.” [source](https://twitter.com/941082553787744257/status/2105488682270535819)

#### Other

- Claude Code, 2026-10-16, @ClaudeDevs (X): “i pray for the day that @claudedevs realizes that every time they limit effort and proactiveness of claude, that makes people angry. they should talk to the moral philosophers in their company to discuss how this falls onto the models.” [source](https://twitter.com/1004375045026836480/status/2111128272813674947)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-14, r/codex (Reddit): “having issues with astra high, no issues with astra extra high” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x5kwl9/codex_down/pgnbj6z/)

## Top requests

What users ask to add or change, most asked first. 256 user-weeks ask for something. Requests do not change the Feedback Score. Rule: A separate pass by a large language model reads every counted post and extracts what the user asks the agent or its vendor to add or change, with the criteria it maps to and a short normalised wording; it does not touch the labels or the Feedback Score. A large language model groups the wordings within each criterion (the first criterion the request maps to) into themes, and a second pass merges themes that ask for the same change under different criteria; a merged theme sits under the criterion most of its requests map to, and code counts it once. A theme counts distinct user-weeks that ask for it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Themes asked in fewer than 2 user-weeks, and requests that share no theme, are not shown. Examples: up to 3 posts per theme from different users, without slurs: whole posts of 60 to 450 characters with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, posts of at most 280 characters first, then the newest.

| Rank | Request | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max or higher reasoning effort level | 28 | 30 | OpenCode 17, OpenAI Codex 5, Google Antigravity 3, Claude Code 2, GitHub Copilot 1 |
| 2 | Per-subagent effort settings | 23 | 25 | Claude Code 11, OpenAI Codex 3, Cursor 3, Google Antigravity 2, GitHub Copilot 2, Devin 1, Pi 1 |
| 3 | Automatic effort selection based on task | 23 | 23 | OpenAI Codex 14, Claude Code 5, Amp 1, GitHub Copilot 1, Cursor 1, OpenCode 1 |
| 4 | Less overthinking | 22 | 22 | OpenAI Codex 9, Claude Code 7, Google Antigravity 3, OpenCode 3 |
| 5 | Adjustable effort slider in interface | 17 | 17 | Claude Code 6, OpenAI Codex 3, Amp 2, Zed 2, Google Antigravity 1, GitHub Copilot 1, Kiro 1, Pi 1 |
| 6 | Effort control for specific and custom models | 16 | 16 | OpenAI Codex 4, Amp 2, Cursor 2, OpenCode 2, Pi 2, Cline 1, Conductor 1, Factory 1, Kiro 1 |
| 7 | Effort selection in cloud, web, mobile apps | 8 | 9 | Claude Code 4, OpenAI Codex 2, Amp 1, Devin 1 |
| 8 | Speed versus cost tradeoff slider | 8 | 9 | OpenAI Codex 7, Google Antigravity 1 |
| 9 | Option to disable thinking or adaptive thinking | 8 | 8 | Claude Code 5, Google Antigravity 1, OpenAI Codex 1, OpenCode 1 |
| 10 | Deep thinking reasoning mode | 7 | 8 | Google Antigravity 4, OpenAI Codex 2, Claude Code 1 |
| 11 | Keyboard shortcuts for switching effort | 7 | 8 | Claude Code 4, Google Antigravity 1, OpenAI Codex 1, OpenCode 1 |
| 12 | Clearer guidance on effort level tradeoffs | 7 | 7 | OpenAI Codex 6, Claude Code 1 |

### 1. Max or higher reasoning effort level

- Claude Code, 2026-10-10, r/ClaudeAI (Reddit): “what happened to the ultracode mode (xhigh+workflows)? it’s been missing from claude code since yesterday. the highest effort level available now is "max". that was a really useful option.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1x2rhg6/what_happened_to_the_ultracode_mode_xhighworkflows/)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-03, @antigravity (X): “thanks @antigravity ! :d suggestion : an explicit 1m context option would be cool, and extra high and max reasoning would be cool if added ! ✨ cc: @rodydavis, @_anshulr, @_mohansolo [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1612939196561235970/status/2106341561059381632)
- OpenCode, 2026-10-02, @opencode (X): “@opencode can we get "max" efforts option under muse spark 1.3 contributor in opencode go please? @opencode” [source](https://twitter.com/271972675/status/2106028230058942728)

### 2. Per-subagent effort settings

- Cursor, 2026-10-08, @cursor_ai (X): “@cursor_ai pls give a setting to choose whether subagents prefer fast mode or not. i usually do not reach for fast by default and this costs me. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1126623407607619585/status/2108228755730931967)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-01, @ClaudeDevs (X): “why can't background agents have different effort levels in the claude harness than the foreground agent? seems weird @claudedevs [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/7079062/status/2105644792243732531)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-25, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “yeah this is a harness failure i think. it should adhere to the reasoning level you ask for, instead it seems to always mirror the same reasoning level as the orchestrator. perhaps /feedback” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wpz5mr/your_subagents_probably_arent_running_at_the/pc1vm1m/)

### 3. Automatic effort selection based on task

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-04, r/codex (Reddit): “there should be a default "auto" reasoning mode, with an advanced option for manually setting it for edge cases.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wx7v9j/we_are_locking_in/pduqi5y/)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-25, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@trq212 @claudedevs it would be nice if hooks could change the effort level. so if an agent is failing at the completion tests the hook could automatically increase its effort.” [source](https://twitter.com/23765035/status/2103591274104447342)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-25, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@trq212 @claudedevs great content, based on this could we have an ‘auto-effort’ mode where based on the context it decides the effort?” [source](https://twitter.com/2200731333/status/2103591103480160661)

### 4. Less overthinking

- OpenCode, 2026-10-05, r/opencode (Reddit): “never encountered that with deepseek but i've noticed that qwen 3.8 is especially prone to overthinking and testing each of its own steps twice. both flash and pro seem affected and especially pro eats tokens like crazy and can hit the 5-hour go window in minutes.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1wyc7n2/models_too_slow_and_excessive_tests/pe1oyxh/)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-09-26, @antigravity (X): “@antigravity antigravity token consumption and model thinking process is very bad” [source](https://twitter.com/985535924434976769/status/2103934368171561251)
- OpenCode, 2026-09-20, r/opencode (Reddit): “yeah that's exactly it, it burns a ton of tokens thinking about stuff that doesn't need thinking lol. for a quick edit i'd rather it just do the thing. flash isn't perfect either but at least it moves fast” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1wl91no/now_that_deepseek_v41_flash4x_usage_has_ended_is/pax1aeq/)

### 5. Adjustable effort slider in interface

- Claude Code, 2026-10-15, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs feature request: instead of 2 clicks to change the efforts it would be good to have a slider besides model selector. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1287108358294528002/status/2110660301603643543)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-14, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs okay but please put the thinking modes back in the same place as before.” [source](https://twitter.com/1673062808110485504/status/2110501748830003518)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-14, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@trq212 @claudedevs oh i see the context appears at the sidebar. yeah that's better. still need the slider for effort tho [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/4844352312/status/2110472285400305691)

### 6. Effort control for specific and custom models

- Amp, 2026-10-18, @AmpCode (X): “@ampcode any chance we might get an option to tune a model’s thinking level? i am bummed that in raw model mode i can’t use sonnet medium. :/ unless y’all have just found it’s not worth the complexity or something?” [source](https://twitter.com/19434237/status/2111659214892659019)
- Kiro, 2026-10-01, @kirodotdev (X): “@kirodotdev you dont allow level of thinking mode for each model, all kiro's code leaves unlimited bugs since it uses zero thinking.” [source](https://twitter.com/2002397531226148864/status/2105762386871505150)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-30, r/codex (Reddit): “you cannot use high or lower with astra based models. gotta use x high minimum or max. it literally uses less usage at higher effort, it’s wild.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wtvwvl/are_you_guys_seeing_this/pd03sn8/)

### 7. Effort selection in cloud, web, mobile apps

- Claude Code, 2026-10-15, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “i wanted to be able to set effort to medium and ultracode on like we can do on cli” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x6pap4/who_asked_for_this_the_old_effort_slider_and/pgz6xs5/)
- Amp, 2026-10-12, @AmpCode (X): “@justine_chang39 @ampcode i know puck can choose a specific model/reasoning effort combo. the other threads should be able to do it as well - if you specify exactly what you require. sonnet just seems to be the default” [source](https://twitter.com/2067222195064143872/status/2109574682609623510)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-11, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “is it just me or can’t you no longer select the modus in the ios app? also, very often the effort doesn’t get saved. so i need to switch to browser session or desktop to change. it’s like that since… 2 weeks?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wdbei7/cant_select_modus_in_ios_app_anymore/)

### 8. Speed versus cost tradeoff slider

- OpenAI Codex, 2026-10-01, r/codex (Reddit): “sol 6.1 sol is so fucking goddamn slow it took 3 fucking hrs to edit a mesh today. it would have taken astra 5 minutes and used 88% of my weekly quota… 6.1 sol used 5%. can we get a happy medium please? jesus christ” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wua35p/opus_55_medium_vs_sol_61_xhigh_same_aaii_but_70/pd4am4q/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-30, r/codex (Reddit): “you don't have to use it but i was always asking for an opposite of fast mode, cheaper but slower.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wuatzt/gpt61_sol_feels_unlimited_because_it_runs_at_20/pd2wbeo/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-26, r/codex (Reddit): “didn’t notice that. i’ve never touched speed and if i had the option i would make mine slower if it meant saving usage!” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wqhikf/wtf_is_going_on_with_usage_drainage/pc46egw/)

### 9. Option to disable thinking or adaptive thinking

- Claude Code, 2026-09-28, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “adaptive thinking can really cause problems and to make it compulsory is hurting some use cases.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wojkw1/opus_55_is_good_but_still_ignores_protocols_and/pcirspc/)
- Claude Code, 2026-09-16, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs can we please, in claude dot ai, get the option to turn off thinking in opus 5 like in claude code when effort is below high?” [source](https://twitter.com/1932087056437800960/status/2100320608198516933)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-04, r/codex (Reddit): “looking at what astra (none) got on frontiermath t4 (higher than 5.6 sol pro max)... they should give us a no thinking option in codex xd” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1w6nf7d/confirmed_bank_reset/p7oobnq/)

### 10. Deep thinking reasoning mode

- Google Antigravity, 2026-10-14, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “1. why 3.1 had deep think and argon has not 2. will u add deep think for argon 3. why no link here though 4. will u add toggle for spend usage in agy, alternatively to credits” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x61dlq/we_are_going_to_be_going_live_on_the_antigravity/pgrerjn/)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-09-27, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “for me as ultra 20 user it is needed, it will be nothing for the quota, also wont harm you to have additional option, at least it will be more useful with the next good enough models” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1wrn9q5/codex_has_ultra_thinking_level_claude_code_has/pcecsq1/)
- Google Antigravity, 2026-09-27, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “yea that's why i said a fraction of it. i am not against of it being added to antigravity, it's a must at this point.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1wrn9q5/codex_has_ultra_thinking_level_claude_code_has/pce1l2h/)

### 11. Keyboard shortcuts for switching effort

- Claude Code, 2026-10-14, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@claudedevs it would be amazing if i could change the effort with a shortcut without having to delete the prompt. sometimes i've already started writing it, and i need to delete it, change it via /effort, and paste it again. shift+up and shift+down, like in codex, for example.” [source](https://twitter.com/166086230/status/2110336934178587125)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-01, @ClaudeDevs (X): “@richkuo7 @claudedevs +1, typing /model every time i want to swap gets old fast lol” [source](https://twitter.com/1926651969898246144/status/2105499702280233190)
- Claude Code, 2026-10-01, @ClaudeDevs (X): “keyboard shortcut for changing effort levels and models for claude code please there are 3rd party plugins attempting this and its going to get kind of hacky @claudedevs” [source](https://twitter.com/1884639582211506176/status/2105473038414454811)

### 12. Clearer guidance on effort level tradeoffs

- Claude Code, 2026-09-27, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “would be sick to know what we lose or gain going up or down like more details ideally.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1wrvhg1/for_those_running_large_mostly_autonomous/pcg6n7z/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-26, r/codex (Reddit): “intersect this w/ the constant mental overhead of deciding the model x reasoning effort and now we're cooking. they're just trying to keep our little brains engaged” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wr3yev/ive_been_seeing_a_lot_of_comments_circling_around/pc9hxdf/)
- OpenAI Codex, 2026-09-17, r/ChatGPTPro (Reddit): “i think by chatgpt pro he means the pro reasoning level in normal chat mode. it would be nice to know how it compares to the different astra reasoning levels in work/codex” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPTPro/comments/1wi25h8/chatgpt_pro_vs_astra_vs_work_vs_computer_control/pacd4jp/)

## Every agent

| Agent | Overall rank | Reading | Customer love | 95% interval | n | Praise | Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Claude Code](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/claude-code.md) | 1 | 1st of 4 | 0.580 | 0.547–0.613 | 436 | 238 | 198 |
| [OpenAI Codex](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/codex.md) | 10 | 2nd of 4 | 0.492 | 0.458–0.529 | 624 | 302 | 322 |
| [Google Antigravity](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/antigravity.md) | 14 | 3rd of 4 | 0.485 | 0.465–0.507 | 65 | 28 | 37 |
| [OpenCode](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/opencode.md) | 3 | 4th of 4 | 0.452 | 0.431–0.473 | 80 | 19 | 61 |
| [Cursor](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/cursor.md) | 7 | Too few posts | – | – | 29 | 14 | 15 |
| [GitHub Copilot](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/copilot.md) | 9 | Too few posts | – | – | 21 | 7 | 14 |
| [Amp](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/amp.md) | 5 | Too few posts | – | – | 16 | 4 | 12 |
| [Pi](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/pi.md) | 4 | Too few posts | – | – | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| [Devin](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/devin.md) | 2 | Too few posts | – | – | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| [Cline](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/cline.md) | 11 | Too few posts | – | – | 11 | 1 | 10 |
| [Kiro](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/kiro.md) | 13 | Too few posts | – | – | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| [Factory](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/factory.md) | 6 | Too few posts | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| [Zed](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/zed.md) | 8 | Too few posts | – | – | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| [Conductor](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/conductor.md) | 12 | Too few posts | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| [Warp](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/warp.md) | 15 | Too few posts | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| [Grok Build](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/grok-build.md) | 16 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| [Augment Code](https://feedbackbench.com/coding-agents/agents/augment.md) | 17 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Posts

Receipts rule: Up to 5 praise and 5 complaint posts per area and 3 per criterion. Each is a whole post of 60 to 450 characters (700 for areas) with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, that judges the criterion, whose labels are all praise or all complaint, and that contains no slur. Posts that touch the fewest criteria come first, then posts of at most 280 characters, then the newest. A second large language model reads the first 3 candidates per slot and keeps a post only if it clearly praises, or clearly complains about, the agent on that criterion. Links and personal details removed by the source show as marks such as [link].

### Claude Code

- Praise, 2026-10-18, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “yeah i used to do xhigh on opus 5, i get slightly better results on high on 5.5” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/pher5pv/)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “opus at medium exclusively off late. the more clarity you have in your context, prompts and md, the better is opus medium. for me its better than opus high and fable medium both.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8qpr2/opus_55_vs_fable_51_for_ui_and_design/phgup7h/)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “i would say correct, max hasn’t disappointed, but xhigh is where it’s at on all” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/phe8g0d/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “medium or high are the best default, xhigh forces a minimum of reasoning tokens and slows things down even for simple things” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/phef1zf/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “i put max on a regex and it came back with a philosophy degree” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x8no04/do_you_agree/phefk08/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, r/ClaudeCode (Reddit): “it now takes three clicks to change effort level instead of two. for zero benefit. clear functional downgrade” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1x6is2o/claude_code_ui_update/ph0w8mx/)

### OpenAI Codex

- Praise, 2026-10-17, r/codex (Reddit): “drop to high. it's good. xhigh is really for planning only and review.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x8o0ig/how_is_sol_61_xhigh_doing_for_coding/phedq3x/)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, r/codex (Reddit): “plus here too, and i think low is the right setting, gets the work done without thinking too much” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x3z3rb/new_context_is_working_so_well/pffzwyq/)
- Praise, 2026-10-11, r/codex (Reddit): “max is a waste, medium and high are all you need. people vastly overestimate the reasoning level they need for their projects with 5.5” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x2rqfh/thank_you_for_all_who_suggested_to_try_claude/pf5hnsq/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, r/codex (Reddit): “luna max takes five times as long as luna xhigh for what seems to be no real gain.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x7exnu/do_you_guys_actually_run_max_reasoning_or_is/ph3m9w0/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, r/codex (Reddit): “having issues with astra high, no issues with astra extra high” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1x5kwl9/codex_down/pgnbj6z/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-12, r/codex (Reddit): “i find anything above high is shit. same with sol 6.1. stick with high or lower and it's much better. tibo has been a lot less sarcastic lately.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wyhcvo/speed_got_better_report_yours/pfj58jo/)

### Google Antigravity

- Praise, 2026-10-16, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “why do we need more is probably a better question honestly, 3 levels are straightforward already. high is also adaptive, matches xhigh-max from other models depending on the task you give it which is great.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x7qrg8/why_only_3_effort_levels_in_gemini_models/ph79wb5/)
- Praise, 2026-10-15, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “i found that if you switch from hight to low, you'll get the super fast responses we are used to. and high can complete really complex tasks, while it does take much longer, i find it super effective.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x6n42b/how_to_use_38_flash_for_great_results/pgwveil/)
- Praise, 2026-09-28, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “gemini 3.8 flash with high effort can be placed in c tier, it did well” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1ws8p4o/can_someone_explain_this_to_me_please/pcjbt86/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-15, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “it doesn't matter if you have it on low or high, it does the same for me.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1x6rvbu/please_bring_back_gemini_37_at_least/pgzxomu/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, r/google_antigravity (Reddit): “don't go above medium unless you are doing something seriously complex. overthinking is a big problem for it, and it'll get distracted with its own noise.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1w5kjli/frustrated_with_gemini_flash_38_it_literally/pedqmbg/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-05, r/GoogleAntigravityIDE (Reddit): “how can i trust work done by 3.8 low? its already a flash model and now i want it not to reason at all? 3.8 high already makes many mistakes and errors.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleAntigravityIDE/comments/1wy4cgu/are_google_ai_pro_rate_limits_enough_for/pdzlc3f/)

### OpenCode

- Praise, 2026-10-13, r/opencode (Reddit): “how are you sure that they rewrite the reasoning at the gateway because atleast to my understanding the model at highx on opencode zen seems to work close to the same level on fable 5.1 on some of my hardest tasks and its considerably better than 1.3 on lower reasoning levels” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x0mfyc/whats_your_favorite_free_model/pggn6f1/)
- Praise, 2026-10-02, r/opencode (Reddit): “i still think opus 5.5 medium is the absolute sweet spot, cheapest and best result.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1ww5o7y/animated_horse_space_bunny/pdigi8k/)
- Praise, 2026-09-18, @opencode (X): “does no one using grok ever want to increase/decrease effort after having typed a paragraph? it's all these little things that make @opencode so much more pleasant to use.” [source](https://twitter.com/15773993/status/2101039803001421851)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, r/opencode (Reddit): “in the desktop app they're all listed as reasoning off, which really kills the usefulness.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x7dbzz/opencode_is_at_its_peak/ph3o08f/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-12, r/opencode (Reddit): “i updated oc v2 and saw a dropdown next to my model dropdown > i clicked it and saw different reasoning modes and then it disappeared ... just bugged right now i'm guessing.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencode/comments/1x44luk/how_do_i_choose_a_variant_or_reasoning_model_in/pfhym0i/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-06, r/opencodeCLI (Reddit): “could you give some tips to make it good? i tried "max" but it overthinks everything and give an extremely amount of output tokens” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/opencodeCLI/comments/1wz259q/mistral_just_released_large_4_le_chonk/pe883nr/)

### Cursor

- Praise, 2026-10-11, r/cursor (Reddit): “fair point, especially regarding token usage. in hindsight it reads like a troll post. but if you have the tokens, then 4.7 extra high punches far above 4.6 and 4.7 high” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1x358ou/actually_positively_surprised_by_grok_47_extra/pf7yp27/)
- Praise, 2026-09-23, r/cursor (Reddit): “update: i’m having better luck with grok 4.7 on medium thinking. so maybe try that if you’re also getting frustrated with 4.7.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1woad6b/grok_47_performance_in_cursor/pbmwdyv/)
- Praise, 2026-09-23, @cursor_ai (X): “@lotusdecoder @cognition @cursor_ai actually, medium is enough, the official default is this, it's fast and easy to use.” [source](https://twitter.com/933950123096227840/status/2102787686696452517)
- Complaint, 2026-09-17, r/cursor (Reddit): “it definitely seems like the bumped it down a reasoning level. text writing looks like low/medium when i have it on high” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1wi9whb/grok_45_preforming_better_than_grok_46/pab3qwl/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-06, r/cursor (Reddit): “agree. at medium threshold, it's ridiculous. i had to halt and intervene many times to prevent it from ruining my work. instructions following is better at high. i think the sweet spot is at high, not xhigh (overthinking could ruin it more)” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1w36xbw/setting_grok_46_to_extra_high/p82uuih/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-01, r/cursor (Reddit): “i wouldn't touch grok at anything less than high though. it's already making a lot of mistakes at this effort level” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1w36xbw/setting_grok_46_to_extra_high/p752p0q/)

### GitHub Copilot

- Praise, 2026-09-19, r/GithubCopilot (Reddit): “i just set it to luna medium for price, speed and not over-thinking things like max does.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GithubCopilot/comments/1wglp9b/model_selection_best_practices/pat8org/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-01, r/GithubCopilot (Reddit): “subagents are spawning with the correct models but there is no way to know the effort level. i am using vscode copilot is inbuilt.local chat.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GithubCopilot/comments/1wuq7dc/issues_with_github_copilot/pd5s1hm/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-25, r/GithubCopilot (Reddit): “interesting, my experience is that luna 6 is better with medium-xhigh, and drops insane in quality on max.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GithubCopilot/comments/1wptkkq/how_does_gpt6_sol_feel_so_far/pc11atx/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-07, r/cursor (Reddit): “ensure the models have not been reset on high for some reason. it happened to me with copilot” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/cursor/comments/1wa2h7b/is_it_just_me_or_has_my_cursor_credits_been/p8f3vq0/)

### Amp

- Praise, 2026-09-04, @AmpCode (X): “low mode on @ampcode is more like "value" mode imo 👏😀 i recently defaulted to it and on most harnesses (vs @zai_org glm-5.3). i route heavy brain juice work to other modes / latter model the flip is inevitable [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/3159431/status/2095870767607013662)
- Complaint, 2026-09-14, @AmpCode (X): “ok i have this @ampcode thing open... how do i change from medium to something else? clicking “medium” does nothing. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/63583842/status/2099516460666085650)
- Complaint, 2026-09-14, @AmpCode (X): “@sqs @ampcode another thing that's confusing to me is i can't change the model level (i.e. "medium") mid-conversation. it's just greyed out. and clicking on the little gauge just pops up a tooltip saying "medium" that quickly disappears which is confusing” [source](https://twitter.com/721234540/status/2099487663384334421)

### Pi

- Praise, 2026-10-18, @pidotdev (X): “@teortaxestex using same prompts, it seems to me this overthinking issue doesn't occur much in @pidotdev.” [source](https://twitter.com/2060858299835424768/status/2111701160453345303)
- Complaint, 2026-08-31, @pidotdev (X): “@pidotdev finally, every time i started a new chat i have to go from no thinking to max is a pain” [source](https://twitter.com/2512335767/status/2094391917299523865)
- Complaint, 2026-09-05, @pidotdev (X): “@fuckyourputs i hit this on @pidotdev 0.85.0 that rewrites the top level 'reasoning.effort` when switching thinking level that bust the cache. i just kept the value fixed and sent changes as 'configureation_update' instead” [source](https://twitter.com/1920146836951797760/status/2096353290845814893)

### Devin

- Praise, 2026-09-23, @cognition (X): “@lotusdecoder @cognition @cursor_ai actually, medium is enough, the official default is this, it's fast and easy to use.” [source](https://twitter.com/933950123096227840/status/2102787686696452517)
- Praise, 2026-09-17, @DevinAI (X): “@hraness @devinai devin using swe-2 high is the hack of the month! cooking” [source](https://twitter.com/1431011607161806850/status/2100490391137001548)
- Praise, 2026-09-04, @cognition (X): “@dabit3 @devinai @cognition @devindesktop love that model effort selection is just a thing of beauty” [source](https://twitter.com/1917637884967792640/status/2095987531565183042)

### Cline

- Praise, 2026-09-24, r/LocalLLaMA (Reddit): “qwen3.8-27b-nvfp4-mtp has been outstanding for me (with cline) when hosted in lm studio with temp set to .1 and the "reasoning budget" to 1024. the latter definitely eliminated the annoying over thinking.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLaMA/comments/1wp0z3i/qwen3827b_is_good_enough_that_i_stopped_using_api/pbrd9b5/)
- Complaint, 2026-09-28, @cline (X): “@cline yo guys, when i try to schedule a task in the cline app, i do not have any option to pick the model's effort level. can you pls fix this?” [source](https://twitter.com/1503370380265857030/status/2104700164397298055)
- Complaint, 2026-09-21, @cline (X): “@cline why does the desktop app always use low reasoning mode for all models as default? even if i change it to high or extra it reverts to low.” [source](https://twitter.com/2065830145114660865/status/2101927357821096407)
- Complaint, 2026-09-18, @cline (X): “@cline is it limited to the low level only? i selected a different level, but after switching to another tab and coming back, it changed back to "low" again. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1475701143162404865/status/2101018312012616135)

### Kiro

- Complaint, 2026-10-01, @kirodotdev (X): “@kirodotdev you dont allow level of thinking mode for each model, all kiro's code leaves unlimited bugs since it uses zero thinking.” [source](https://twitter.com/2002397531226148864/status/2105762386871505150)
- Complaint, 2026-09-29, @kirodotdev (X): “@kirodotdev issue with kiro is, no thinking option lol, none at all” [source](https://twitter.com/2002397531226148864/status/2104761368465535388)

### Factory

- Complaint, 2026-09-19, @droid (X): “@tereza_tizkova @droid i have no way to choose the thinking level when accessing the custom model. is this a problem? but i directly asked the model to modify the settings by itself. hahaha” [source](https://twitter.com/1889310672368095232/status/2101460620063154561)

### Zed

- Complaint, 2026-09-30, @zeddotdev (X): “@zeddotdev still no reasoning setting, are you serious? have you no heard the shot?” [source](https://twitter.com/1955587166626533377/status/2105353686541083095)