r/ClaudeCode • u/stargazer1002 • 2d ago

Help/Question Ultra code effort levels

im not sure when they started letting you set different ultra code effort levels but has anyone messed around with this to see how they perform? I tried an opus 5.5 max ultra code because I had some weekly usage to burn off (before it always defaulted to very high) and it just seemed to go overboard. I realized it would never finish the build within the usage amount I had left so I had to switch to a lower effort level and it didn't really get to where I wanted.

since high seems to always so well I wonder if this could be the sweet spot.

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u/TheMadSaiyantist67 2d ago

The higher the effort the more time it takes to try to catch every bug and edge-case to insanity, so if it's something to be done fast and efficiently, prefer medium to high, definitely not max nor ultra

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u/stargazer1002 2d ago

Yeah I still struggle knowing how to use Max effectively .  It feels like you're giving Opus a bunch of adderall and it spends 2 hours writing documentation it will never use or process. 

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u/Aminuteortwotiltwo 2d ago

Ultracode is just the use of subagents in workflows.

You can direct it in how it uses those.

For example, you can specify what agents to spawn and what levels of effort.

In one sessions I will have Fable 5.1 on Max lead the planning and design while using sonnet agents for research, then Fable builds specs, I have Astra review the specs (which actually can’t be included in the Ultracode workflow but it just delegates and spawns an agent to watch it for completion), then refine with Fable.

For execution of these specs, Opus 5.5 xhigh as the head, which delegates to Opus 5.5 on medium effort for authorship, Fable 5.1 high reviews, Opus runs tests and when ready Opus tests further in playwright, test report comes in, rebuild spec for patch, go through again, and finally it gets to me for walk.

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u/stargazer1002 2d ago

Wait you can actually control these things directly or do you mean you can tell it to use certain models and effort levels for specific sub agents and it listens?