| name | gpt-model-effort-advisor |
| description | Recommend which GPT-5.6 model tier (Luna/Terra/Sol) and reasoning effort (Low..Ultra) fits a task, learn from the user's own successes and failures, diagnose quality problems, and report the live session's model and effort. Advisory โ it proposes a grounded starting point and an escalation rule; the human decides and switches. Load when the user asks which model or effort to use, starts a substantial task without deliberately choosing a tier, reports a poor or unsatisfying result, wants to reduce cost without losing quality, or asks what model the session is running. Triggers โ "which model", "which effort", "reasoning effort", "cut cost", "is a bigger model worth it", "do I need max/ultra", "result is bad", "quality dropped", "what model am I on", "record this combo". |
GPT-5.6 Model & Effort Advisor
Help pick the right model tier and reasoning effort for a task, escalate only when needed, learn from real outcomes, and diagnose failures. It recommends and records; the user decides and switches.
Two independent axes
- Model tier = intelligence ceiling. A larger tier knows more and reasons deeper, at a higher price per token. GPT-5.6 tiers: Luna (economy) โ Terra (balanced) โ Sol (frontier).
- Reasoning effort = deliberation time. More effort spends more thinking on the same problem, at more tokens. Levels: Low โ Medium โ High โ Max โ Ultra.
These are different dials. Turning both to the maximum by default wastes money without improving quality on most tasks. Choose each axis deliberately.
Engine: registry.py
registry.py (same folder, standard library only) powers the three data functions. Always use this CLI โ do not hand-edit the JSON.
python3 registry.py session # read the live session's model + effort
python3 registry.py query "<task>" [--axes ...] # find similar past successes/failures
python3 registry.py record --task "..." --model gpt-5.6-<tier> --effort <e> \
--outcome success|fail|partial [--axes ...] [--reason ...] [--cost N] [--minutes N] [--notes ...]
python3 registry.py stats # summary of the registry
The registry starts empty and fills from the user's real usage. Recorded outcomes take priority over the static heuristics below โ personal history beats generic rules over time.
Workflow for every task
1. Check the session (function: state)
python3 registry.py session โ {"model": "...", "effort": "...", "source": "..."}
If the current setting is heavier than the task needs (expensive dial on an easy job) or lighter than it needs, say so. Codex does not auto-switch per turn โ the user switches with /model or launches the next session with -m/-c.
2. Recommend (registry first, heuristics second)
python3 registry.py query "<the user's task>" --axes "<4-axis tags>"
- If
best_success_combos exist, recommend that combo first ("a similar task succeeded with Terra + High").
- If
avoid_failures exist, warn against those combos.
- If the registry has no similar record, fall back to the heuristics below.
Classify the task on four axes and pass them so matching is precise:
--axes "verifiable=yes|partial|no,failcost=low|mid|high,volume=high|low,depth=shallow|mid|deep"
- verifiable โ can success be checked mechanically (tests, schema, exact numbers, render errors)?
- failcost โ how costly is a wrong answer?
- volume โ how many times will this run (batch โ price-sensitive)?
- depth โ deep world-knowledge / design, or mostly retrieval + assembly?
3. Record the outcome (functions: success + failure)
When the task ends, record it โ this is how the advisor learns.
- Success (user satisfied / checks pass):
record --outcome success โ future similar tasks will get this combo first.
- Failure / dissatisfaction / quality drop:
record --outcome fail --reason "<what went wrong>", then diagnose with the table below.
- Ambiguous:
partial.
Heuristics for cold start (no registry match)
Reason from the task shape, not from fixed prices.
| Task shape | Start with | Why |
|---|
| Formal, verifiable, high-volume (extract, reconcile, convert) | economy tier ยท Medium | Quality holds when the task is formal; only cost differs, so pick the cheapest that passes. |
| Judgment / analysis, mid failure cost | balanced tier ยท High | Effort helps up to a point; the balanced tier is usually enough. |
| Human-reviewed draft (slides, docs) | economy tier ยท High โ human finishes | Cheap first pass, human does the last mile. |
| Complex build, midโhigh failure cost (apps, simulations, media) | balanced tier ยท Max | The balanced tier at high effort often matches the frontier tier's quality for far less; the frontier tier rarely justifies its cost here. |
| Deep knowledge / physics / architecture | frontier tier ยท High | This is where model size genuinely decides the outcome. Stay at High. |
| High failure cost / one correct answer (migration, security) | frontier tier ยท High, escalate to Max on failure | Buy a safety margin. Still not Ultra by default. |
Effort has a ceiling โ a core principle
Reasoning effort shows diminishing returns, and past a point more effort can hurt:
- Over-fitting to the letter of the spec instead of its intent โ optimizing to pass the check rather than to do the work well (reward hacking / benchmark gaming).
- Runaway self-polishing after the result is already acceptable โ cost and wall-clock explode with no quality gain.
- Delegation overhead without added insight.
Consequences for choosing effort:
- High is usually the effective ceiling. Going beyond it is often waste.
- Reserve the maximum effort levels for tasks that genuinely decompose into sub-tasks. Otherwise they burn budget for nothing โ verify before using them.
- If you have hit the effort ceiling and still fail, raise the model tier, not the effort.
Failure diagnosis โ pick the right fix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|
| Wrong or shallow at low effort | not enough deliberation | raise effort one step (same tier first) |
| Still wrong at High effort | intelligence ceiling reached | raise the model tier โ not the effort |
| Games the check / literal-but-wrong (worse the higher the effort) | over-optimization | lower effort and sharpen the spec / strengthen the check |
| Passed but keeps polishing; time and cost balloon (top effort) | no stop condition | drop to a bounded effort and state a clear Definition-of-Done |
| Quality is fine but too slow or expensive | over-provisioned | lower the tier and/or effort |
| Delegates but no added insight | delegation overhead | avoid the top effort; use a focused High run |
After suggesting a fix, record the retry's outcome to close the loop.
Applying it in codex
- Launch:
codex -m gpt-5.6-<tier> -c model_reasoning_effort=<effort> (e.g. -m gpt-5.6-terra -c model_reasoning_effort=high).
- Switch mid-session:
/model.
- Codex does not change the model per turn on its own. This skill recommends and records; the user makes the switch.
Output format
Keep it short (3โ5 lines) and framed as a proposal, not a verdict:
Recommend: <tier> ยท <effort> โ <one-line 4-axis read> (similar past success: <registry hit, or "none โ heuristic">)
Run this first; if fails, escalate to <higher tier or fix>.
Launch: codex -m gpt-5.6-<tier> -c model_reasoning_effort=<effort> ยท current session: <session read>
I'll record the outcome so the next recommendation improves.
