A Remote Control client, the remote peer driving a Claude Code session over the bridge connection, now sees the session's effort level in the connection handshake and can change it. A new apply_flag_settings request sets the effort level or toggles ultracode, and the CLI pushes the current effort back to the peer whenever it changes, so both ends stay in agreement without the client having to poll.
- The handshake payload carries
effort, the level the session will actually send on its next request once environment overrides, organisation caps and model downgrades are applied; it is one of low, medium, high, xhigh, max, or null. - That handshake
effortis the same valueget_settingsreports asapplied.effort. apply_flag_settingsaccepts exactly two fields,effortLevel(string or null) andultracode(boolean); anything else is refused withapply_flag_settings: nothing to apply — only effortLevel and ultracode can be changed over Remote Control.- Setting the
CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVELenvironment variable pins effort for the whole session and blocks any remote change, refused withapply_flag_settings: CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL overrides effort for this session. - In a build or context where no handler is wired up, the request fails with
apply_flag_settings is not supported in this context (onApplyFlagSettings callback not registered). - Refusals are counted under the
bridge_flag_settingsmetric with distinct reasons:disabled,invalid_effort_level,env_override,ultracode_unavailable,invalid_shape,unsupported_key,invalid_type,nothing_to_apply,not_registered. - Effort is reported back as
effort_levelmetadata on model switch, effort change, session-model change, turn end and state change, and is deduplicated against the last value already sent. - The same schema change also adds
saw_cyber_refusal, an internal flag set on refusal banners, which is not part of the effort or ultracode controls.
apply_flag_settings: CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL overrides effort for this session, apply_flag_settings: nothing to apply — only effortLevel and ultracode can be changed over Remote Control, apply_flag_settings is not supported in this context (onApplyFlagSettings callback not registered), the same value get_settings reports as applied.effort
Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.