fix(thinking): normalize effort mapping

Route OpenAI reasoning effort through ThinkingEffortToBudget for Claude
translators, preserve "minimal" when translating OpenAI Responses, and
treat blank/unknown efforts as no-ops for Gemini thinking configs.

Also map budget -1 to "auto" and expand cross-protocol thinking tests.

internal/translator/claude/openai/chat-completions/claude_openai_request.go

@@ -67,19 +67,22 @@ func ConvertOpenAIRequestToClaude(modelName string, inputRawJSON []byte, stream
 	root := gjson.ParseBytes(rawJSON)
 
 	if v := root.Get("reasoning_effort"); v.Exists() && util.ModelSupportsThinking(modelName) && !util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(modelName) {
-		out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
+		effort := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(v.String()))
-
+		if effort != "" {
-		switch v.String() {
+			budget, ok := util.ThinkingEffortToBudget(modelName, effort)
-		case "none":
+			if ok {
+				switch budget {
+				case 0:
 					out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "disabled")
-		case "low":
+				case -1:
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 1024)
+					out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
-		case "medium":
+				default:
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 8192)
+					if budget > 0 {
-		case "high":
+						out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 24576)
+						out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", budget)
-		case "xhigh":
+					}
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 32768)
+				}
+			}
 		}
 	}
 

internal/translator/claude/openai/responses/claude_openai-responses_request.go

@@ -54,21 +54,22 @@ func ConvertOpenAIResponsesRequestToClaude(modelName string, inputRawJSON []byte
 	root := gjson.ParseBytes(rawJSON)
 
 	if v := root.Get("reasoning.effort"); v.Exists() && util.ModelSupportsThinking(modelName) && !util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(modelName) {
-		out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
+		effort := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(v.String()))
-
+		if effort != "" {
-		switch v.String() {
+			budget, ok := util.ThinkingEffortToBudget(modelName, effort)
-		case "none":
+			if ok {
+				switch budget {
+				case 0:
 					out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "disabled")
-		case "minimal":
+				case -1:
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 512)
+					out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
-		case "low":
+				default:
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 1024)
+					if budget > 0 {
-		case "medium":
+						out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.type", "enabled")
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 8192)
+						out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", budget)
-		case "high":
+					}
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 24576)
+				}
-		case "xhigh":
+			}
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "thinking.budget_tokens", 32768)
 		}
 	}
 

internal/translator/openai/openai/responses/openai_openai-responses_request.go

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ func ConvertOpenAIResponsesRequestToOpenAIChatCompletions(modelName string, inpu
 		case "auto":
 			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "reasoning_effort", "auto")
 		case "minimal":
-			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "reasoning_effort", "low")
+			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "reasoning_effort", "minimal")
 		case "low":
 			out, _ = sjson.Set(out, "reasoning_effort", "low")
 		case "medium":

internal/util/gemini_thinking.go

@@ -167,20 +167,26 @@ var ReasoningEffortBudgetMapping = map[string]int{
 // for standard Gemini API format (generationConfig.thinkingConfig path).
 // Returns the modified body with thinkingBudget and include_thoughts set.
 func ApplyReasoningEffortToGemini(body []byte, effort string) []byte {
-	budget, ok := ReasoningEffortBudgetMapping[effort]
+	normalized := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(effort))
-	if !ok {
+	if normalized == "" {
-		budget = -1 // default to auto
+		return body
 	}
 
 	budgetPath := "generationConfig.thinkingConfig.thinkingBudget"
 	includePath := "generationConfig.thinkingConfig.include_thoughts"
 
-	if effort == "none" {
+	if normalized == "none" {
 		body, _ = sjson.DeleteBytes(body, "generationConfig.thinkingConfig")
-	} else {
+		return body
+	}
+
+	budget, ok := ReasoningEffortBudgetMapping[normalized]
+	if !ok {
+		return body
+	}
+
 	body, _ = sjson.SetBytes(body, budgetPath, budget)
 	body, _ = sjson.SetBytes(body, includePath, true)
-	}
 	return body
 }
 
@@ -188,20 +194,26 @@ func ApplyReasoningEffortToGemini(body []byte, effort string) []byte {
 // for Gemini CLI API format (request.generationConfig.thinkingConfig path).
 // Returns the modified body with thinkingBudget and include_thoughts set.
 func ApplyReasoningEffortToGeminiCLI(body []byte, effort string) []byte {
-	budget, ok := ReasoningEffortBudgetMapping[effort]
+	normalized := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(effort))
-	if !ok {
+	if normalized == "" {
-		budget = -1 // default to auto
+		return body
 	}
 
 	budgetPath := "request.generationConfig.thinkingConfig.thinkingBudget"
 	includePath := "request.generationConfig.thinkingConfig.include_thoughts"
 
-	if effort == "none" {
+	if normalized == "none" {
 		body, _ = sjson.DeleteBytes(body, "request.generationConfig.thinkingConfig")
-	} else {
+		return body
+	}
+
+	budget, ok := ReasoningEffortBudgetMapping[normalized]
+	if !ok {
+		return body
+	}
+
 	body, _ = sjson.SetBytes(body, budgetPath, budget)
 	body, _ = sjson.SetBytes(body, includePath, true)
-	}
 	return body
 }
 

internal/util/openai_thinking.go

@@ -5,15 +5,18 @@ package util
 //
 // Ranges:
 //   - 0            -> "none"
+//   - -1           -> "auto"
 //   - 1..1024      -> "low"
 //   - 1025..8192   -> "medium"
 //   - 8193..24576  -> "high"
 //   - 24577..      -> highest supported level for the model (defaults to "xhigh")
 //
-// Negative values (except the dynamic -1 handled elsewhere) are treated as unsupported.
+// Negative values other than -1 are treated as unsupported.
 func OpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffort(model string, budget int) (string, bool) {
 	switch {
-	case budget < 0:
+	case budget == -1:
+		return "auto", true
+	case budget < -1:
 		return "", false
 	case budget == 0:
 		return "none", true

test/thinking_conversion_test.go

@@ -66,6 +66,37 @@ func registerCoreModels(t *testing.T) func() {
 	}
 }
 
+var (
+	thinkingTestModels = []string{
+		"gpt-5",           // level-based thinking model
+		"gemini-2.5-pro",  // numeric-budget thinking model
+		"qwen3-code-plus", // no thinking support
+		"openai-compat",   // allowCompat=true (OpenAI-compatible channel)
+	}
+	thinkingTestFromProtocols = []string{"openai", "claude", "gemini", "openai-response"}
+	thinkingTestToProtocols   = []string{"gemini", "claude", "openai", "codex"}
+
+	// Numeric budgets and their level equivalents:
+	// -1 -> auto
+	// 0 -> none
+	// 1..1024 -> low
+	// 1025..8192 -> medium
+	// 8193..24576 -> high
+	// >24576 -> model highest level (right-most in Levels)
+	thinkingNumericSamples = []int{-1, 0, 1023, 1025, 8193, 64000}
+
+	// Levels and their numeric equivalents:
+	// auto -> -1
+	// none -> 0
+	// minimal -> 512
+	// low -> 1024
+	// medium -> 8192
+	// high -> 24576
+	// xhigh -> 32768
+	// invalid -> invalid (no mapping)
+	thinkingLevelSamples = []string{"auto", "none", "minimal", "low", "medium", "high", "xhigh", "invalid"}
+)
+
 func buildRawPayload(fromProtocol, modelWithSuffix string) []byte {
 	switch fromProtocol {
 	case "gemini":
@@ -101,19 +132,30 @@ func applyReasoningEffortMetadataLocal(payload []byte, metadata map[string]any,
 	if field == "" {
 		return payload
 	}
-	if !util.ModelSupportsThinking(model) && !allowCompat {
+	baseModel := util.ResolveOriginalModel(model, metadata)
+	if baseModel == "" {
+		baseModel = model
+	}
+	if !util.ModelSupportsThinking(baseModel) && !allowCompat {
 		return payload
 	}
 	if effort, ok := util.ReasoningEffortFromMetadata(metadata); ok && effort != "" {
-		if util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(model) || allowCompat {
+		if util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(baseModel) || allowCompat {
 			if updated, err := sjson.SetBytes(payload, field, effort); err == nil {
 				return updated
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(model) || allowCompat {
+	// Fallback: numeric thinking_budget suffix for level-based (OpenAI-style) models.
+	if util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(baseModel) || allowCompat {
 		if budget, _, _, matched := util.ThinkingFromMetadata(metadata); matched && budget != nil {
-			if effort, ok := util.OpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffort(model, *budget); ok && effort != "" {
+			if effort, ok := util.OpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffort(baseModel, *budget); ok && effort != "" {
+				if *budget == 0 && effort == "none" && util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(baseModel) {
+					if _, supported := util.NormalizeReasoningEffortLevel(baseModel, effort); !supported {
+						return stripThinkingFieldsLocal(payload, false)
+					}
+				}
+
 				if updated, err := sjson.SetBytes(payload, field, effort); err == nil {
 					return updated
 				}
@@ -320,79 +362,46 @@ func TestThinkingConversionsAcrossProtocolsAndModels(t *testing.T) {
 	cleanup := registerCoreModels(t)
 	defer cleanup()
 
-	models := []string{
-		"gpt-5",           // supports levels (level-based thinking)
-		"gemini-2.5-pro",  // supports numeric budget
-		"qwen3-code-plus", // no thinking support
-		"openai-compat",   // openai-compatible channel (allowCompat=true)
-	}
-	fromProtocols := []string{"openai", "claude", "gemini", "openai-response"}
-	toProtocols := []string{"gemini", "claude", "openai", "codex"}
-
 	type scenario struct {
 		name        string
 		modelSuffix string
-		expectFn    func(info *registry.ModelInfo) (present bool, budget int64)
 	}
 
-	buildBudgetFn := func(raw int) func(info *registry.ModelInfo) (bool, int64) {
+	numericName := func(budget int) string {
-		return func(info *registry.ModelInfo) (bool, int64) {
+		if budget < 0 {
-			if info == nil || info.Thinking == nil {
+			return "numeric-neg1"
-				return false, 0
-			}
-			return true, int64(util.NormalizeThinkingBudget(info.ID, raw))
 		}
+		return fmt.Sprintf("numeric-%d", budget)
 	}
 
-	levelBudgetFn := func(level string) func(info *registry.ModelInfo) (bool, int64) {
+	for _, model := range thinkingTestModels {
-		return func(info *registry.ModelInfo) (bool, int64) {
-			if info == nil || info.Thinking == nil {
-				return false, 0
-			}
-			if b, ok := util.ThinkingEffortToBudget(info.ID, level); ok {
-				return true, int64(b)
-			}
-			return false, 0
-		}
-	}
-
-	for _, model := range models {
 		_ = registry.GetGlobalRegistry().GetModelInfo(model)
 
-		for _, from := range fromProtocols {
+		for _, from := range thinkingTestFromProtocols {
 			// Scenario selection follows protocol semantics:
 			// - OpenAI-style protocols (openai/openai-response) express thinking as levels.
 			// - Claude/Gemini-style protocols express thinking as numeric budgets.
 			cases := []scenario{
-				{name: "no-suffix", modelSuffix: model, expectFn: func(_ *registry.ModelInfo) (bool, int64) { return false, 0 }},
+				{name: "no-suffix", modelSuffix: model},
 			}
 			if from == "openai" || from == "openai-response" {
-				// Level-based test cases: auto, none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh, foo(invalid)
+				for _, lvl := range thinkingLevelSamples {
-				// Maps to numeric: -1, 0, 512, 1024, 8192, 24576, 32768, invalid
+					cases = append(cases, scenario{
-				cases = append(cases,
+						name:        "level-" + lvl,
-					scenario{name: "level-auto", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(auto)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("auto")},
+						modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(%s)", model, lvl),
-					scenario{name: "level-none", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(none)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("none")},
+					})
-					scenario{name: "level-minimal", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(minimal)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("minimal")},
+				}
-					scenario{name: "level-low", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(low)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("low")},
-					scenario{name: "level-medium", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(medium)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("medium")},
-					scenario{name: "level-high", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(high)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("high")},
-					scenario{name: "level-xhigh", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(xhigh)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("xhigh")},
-					scenario{name: "level-invalid", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(invalid)", model), expectFn: levelBudgetFn("invalid")},
-				)
 			} else { // claude or gemini
-				// Numeric test cases: -1, 0, 1023, 1025, 8193, 24577
+				for _, budget := range thinkingNumericSamples {
-				// Maps to levels: auto, none, low, medium, high, xhigh
+					budget := budget
-				cases = append(cases,
+					cases = append(cases, scenario{
-					scenario{name: "numeric-neg1", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(-1)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(-1)},
+						name:        numericName(budget),
-					scenario{name: "numeric-0", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(0)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(0)},
+						modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(%d)", model, budget),
-					scenario{name: "numeric-1023", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(1023)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(1023)},
+					})
-					scenario{name: "numeric-1025", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(1025)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(1025)},
+				}
-					scenario{name: "numeric-8193", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(8193)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(8193)},
-					scenario{name: "numeric-24577", modelSuffix: fmt.Sprintf("%s(24577)", model), expectFn: buildBudgetFn(24577)},
-				)
 			}
 
-			for _, to := range toProtocols {
+			for _, to := range thinkingTestToProtocols {
 				if from == to {
 					continue
 				}
@@ -585,7 +594,7 @@ func buildRawPayloadWithThinking(fromProtocol, model string, thinkingParam any)
 		return []byte(base)
 	case "claude":
 		base := fmt.Sprintf(`{"model":"%s","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}`, model)
-		if budget, ok := thinkingParam.(int); ok && budget > 0 {
+		if budget, ok := thinkingParam.(int); ok {
 			base, _ = sjson.Set(base, "thinking.type", "enabled")
 			base, _ = sjson.Set(base, "thinking.budget_tokens", budget)
 		}
@@ -636,55 +645,50 @@ func TestRawPayloadThinkingConversions(t *testing.T) {
 	cleanup := registerCoreModels(t)
 	defer cleanup()
 
-	models := []string{
-		"gpt-5",           // supports levels (level-based thinking)
-		"gemini-2.5-pro",  // supports numeric budget
-		"qwen3-code-plus", // no thinking support
-		"openai-compat",   // openai-compatible channel (allowCompat=true)
-	}
-	fromProtocols := []string{"openai", "claude", "gemini", "openai-response"}
-	toProtocols := []string{"gemini", "claude", "openai", "codex"}
-
 	type scenario struct {
 		name          string
 		thinkingParam any // int for budget, string for effort level
 	}
 
-	for _, model := range models {
+	numericName := func(budget int) string {
+		if budget < 0 {
+			return "budget-neg1"
+		}
+		return fmt.Sprintf("budget-%d", budget)
+	}
+
+	for _, model := range thinkingTestModels {
 		supportsThinking := util.ModelSupportsThinking(model)
 		usesLevels := util.ModelUsesThinkingLevels(model)
 		allowCompat := isOpenAICompatModel(model)
 
-		for _, from := range fromProtocols {
+		for _, from := range thinkingTestFromProtocols {
 			var cases []scenario
 			switch from {
 			case "openai", "openai-response":
-				// Level-based test cases: auto, none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh, foo(invalid)
 				cases = []scenario{
 					{name: "no-thinking", thinkingParam: nil},
-					{name: "effort-auto", thinkingParam: "auto"},
+				}
-					{name: "effort-none", thinkingParam: "none"},
+				for _, lvl := range thinkingLevelSamples {
-					{name: "effort-minimal", thinkingParam: "minimal"},
+					cases = append(cases, scenario{
-					{name: "effort-low", thinkingParam: "low"},
+						name:          "effort-" + lvl,
-					{name: "effort-medium", thinkingParam: "medium"},
+						thinkingParam: lvl,
-					{name: "effort-high", thinkingParam: "high"},
+					})
-					{name: "effort-xhigh", thinkingParam: "xhigh"},
-					{name: "effort-invalid", thinkingParam: "invalid"},
 				}
 			case "gemini", "claude":
-				// Numeric test cases: -1, 0, 1023, 1025, 8193, 24577
 				cases = []scenario{
 					{name: "no-thinking", thinkingParam: nil},
-					{name: "budget-neg1", thinkingParam: -1},
+				}
-					{name: "budget-0", thinkingParam: 0},
+				for _, budget := range thinkingNumericSamples {
-					{name: "budget-1023", thinkingParam: 1023},
+					budget := budget
-					{name: "budget-1025", thinkingParam: 1025},
+					cases = append(cases, scenario{
-					{name: "budget-8193", thinkingParam: 8193},
+						name:          numericName(budget),
-					{name: "budget-24577", thinkingParam: 24577},
+						thinkingParam: budget,
+					})
 				}
 			}
 
-			for _, to := range toProtocols {
+			for _, to := range thinkingTestToProtocols {
 				if from == to {
 					continue
 				}
@@ -727,8 +731,8 @@ func TestRawPayloadThinkingConversions(t *testing.T) {
 										// ThinkingEffortToBudget already returns normalized budget
 										return true, fmt.Sprintf("%d", budget), false
 									}
-									// Invalid effort maps to default auto (-1)
+									// Invalid effort does not map to a budget
-									return true, "-1", false
+									return false, "", false
 								}
 								return false, "", false
 							case "claude":
@@ -758,14 +762,8 @@ func TestRawPayloadThinkingConversions(t *testing.T) {
 							case "openai":
 								if allowCompat {
 									if effort, ok := cs.thinkingParam.(string); ok && strings.TrimSpace(effort) != "" {
-										// For allowCompat models, invalid effort values are normalized to "auto"
 										normalized := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(effort))
-										switch normalized {
-										case "none", "auto", "low", "medium", "high", "xhigh":
 										return true, normalized, false
-										default:
-											return true, "auto", false
-										}
 									}
 									if budget, ok := cs.thinkingParam.(int); ok {
 										if mapped, okM := util.OpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffort(model, budget); okM && mapped != "" {
@@ -891,6 +889,7 @@ func TestOpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffortRanges(t *testing.T) {
 		want   string
 		ok     bool
 	}{
+		{name: "dynamic-auto", model: "gpt-5", budget: -1, want: "auto", ok: true},
 		{name: "zero-none", model: "gpt-5", budget: 0, want: "none", ok: true},
 		{name: "low-min", model: "gpt-5", budget: 1, want: "low", ok: true},
 		{name: "low-max", model: "gpt-5", budget: 1024, want: "low", ok: true},
@@ -898,7 +897,7 @@ func TestOpenAIThinkingBudgetToEffortRanges(t *testing.T) {
 		{name: "medium-max", model: "gpt-5", budget: 8192, want: "medium", ok: true},
 		{name: "high-min", model: "gpt-5", budget: 8193, want: "high", ok: true},
 		{name: "high-max", model: "gpt-5", budget: 24576, want: "high", ok: true},
-		{name: "over-max-clamps-to-highest", model: "gpt-5", budget: 24577, want: "high", ok: true},
+		{name: "over-max-clamps-to-highest", model: "gpt-5", budget: 64000, want: "high", ok: true},
 		{name: "over-max-xhigh-model", model: "gpt-5.2", budget: 50000, want: "xhigh", ok: true},
 		{name: "negative-unsupported", model: "gpt-5", budget: -5, want: "", ok: false},
 	}