diff --git a/docs/architecture.md b/docs/architecture.md
index 4314329b..bad7ac6b 100644
--- a/docs/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/architecture.md
@@ -852,6 +852,16 @@ both local-server lanes, so `thinking_mode`/`thinking_param`/
 `effort_param` mean the same thing whichever endpoint serves the model.
 Only the Responses API surface (native reasoning) ignores it.
 
+The console surfaces this projection as an *effective effort ladder*:
+the admin model form's per-model effort select and the skill
+launch-config effort select annotate knob positions that alias to the
+same wire behavior (e.g. "Max (= high)"), computed server-side by
+`providers/effort_ladder.py` from the same mapping functions the
+providers use at request time and shipped on `/v1/api/models` rows and
+`POST /v1/api/admin/models/effort-ladder`. The ladder describes what
+Turnstone sends — a server-side template may alias further (DeepSeek-V4
+folds `low`/`medium` into its default `high` tier).
+
 The `anthropic-compatible` lane never sends Anthropic's native
 `thinking`/`output_config` params — they are not in vLLM's request
 schema. The real `anthropic` provider is unaffected: official Claude
diff --git a/tests/test_effort_ladder.py b/tests/test_effort_ladder.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0ab753c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_effort_ladder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+"""Tests for the effective effort-ladder projection.
+
+The ladder must mirror the request-time mapping functions exactly —
+equal ``effective`` tokens promise byte-identical effort behavior on
+the wire, which is what the UI annotations lean on.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from turnstone.core.providers._protocol import ModelCapabilities
+from turnstone.core.providers.effort_ladder import (
+    KNOB_VALUES,
+    effort_ladder,
+    effort_ladder_for_model,
+)
+
+
+def _as_map(ladder: list[dict[str, str]]) -> dict[str, str]:
+    assert [r["value"] for r in ladder] == list(KNOB_VALUES)
+    return {r["value"]: r["effective"] for r in ladder}
+
+
+class TestLocalLanes:
+    def test_qwen_style_toggle_only_two_groups(self) -> None:
+        """Toggle-only model: none=off, everything else one 'on' group."""
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(thinking_mode="manual", thinking_param="enable_thinking")
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("anthropic-compatible", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "off"
+        assert {eff[k] for k in KNOB_VALUES if k != "none"} == {"on"}
+
+    def test_freeform_effort_param_forwards_each_value(self) -> None:
+        """deepseek-style config: toggle + verbatim effort per position."""
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(
+            thinking_mode="manual",
+            thinking_param="thinking",
+            effort_param="reasoning_effort",
+        )
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("anthropic-compatible", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "off"
+        assert eff["low"] == "on+low"
+        assert eff["max"] == "on+max"
+
+    def test_validated_effort_param_shows_snapping(self) -> None:
+        """Declared values collapse off-list positions onto the default."""
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(
+            thinking_mode="manual",
+            thinking_param="enable_thinking",
+            effort_param="reasoning_effort",
+            reasoning_effort_values=("low", "medium", "high"),
+            default_reasoning_effort="medium",
+        )
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("openai-compatible", caps))
+        assert eff["xhigh"] == "on+medium"
+        assert eff["max"] == "on+medium"
+        assert eff["high"] == "on+high"
+
+    def test_openai_compatible_flat_param_without_effort_param(self) -> None:
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(
+            reasoning_effort_values=("low", "medium", "high"),
+            default_reasoning_effort="medium",
+        )
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("openai-compatible", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "default"
+        assert eff["high"] == "high"
+        assert eff["xhigh"] == "medium"
+
+    def test_adaptive_local_never_off(self) -> None:
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(thinking_mode="adaptive", thinking_param="enable_thinking")
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("openai-compatible", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "on"
+        assert eff["max"] == "on"
+
+
+class TestNativeAnthropicLane:
+    def test_adaptive_with_effort_levels(self) -> None:
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(
+            thinking_mode="adaptive",
+            supports_effort=True,
+            effort_levels=("low", "medium", "high", "xhigh", "max"),
+        )
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("anthropic", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "adaptive"  # thinking on, model decides
+        assert eff["minimal"] == "adaptive"  # unmapped knob level
+        assert eff["low"] == "low"
+        assert eff["max"] == "max"
+
+    def test_manual_budget_ladder(self) -> None:
+        caps = ModelCapabilities(thinking_mode="manual")
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder("anthropic", caps))
+        assert eff["none"] == "off"
+        assert eff["low"] == "budget:1024"
+        assert eff["medium"] == "budget:4096"
+        assert eff["high"] == "budget:16384"
+        # Off-map knob levels share the default budget — aliased group.
+        assert eff["minimal"] == eff["xhigh"] == eff["max"] == "budget:4096"
+
+
+class TestFlatParamLanes:
+    def test_google_default_caps(self) -> None:
+        eff = _as_map(effort_ladder_for_model("google", "gemini-3-flash", None))
+        assert eff["none"] == "default"
+        assert eff["minimal"] == "minimal"
+        assert eff["high"] == "high"
+        assert eff["xhigh"] == eff["max"] == "high"
+
+    def test_overrides_merge_and_unknown_keys_ignored(self) -> None:
+        eff = _as_map(
+            effort_ladder_for_model(
+                "google",
+                "gemini-3-flash",
+                {"reasoning_effort_values": [], "not_a_field": True},
+            )
+        )
+        # Operator cleared the values → nothing effort-related is sent.
+        assert set(eff.values()) == {"default"}
diff --git a/turnstone/console/server.py b/turnstone/console/server.py
index 290b1b4a..d39b6842 100644
--- a/turnstone/console/server.py
+++ b/turnstone/console/server.py
@@ -1908,8 +1908,26 @@ async def list_available_models(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
         return err
 
     rows = storage.list_model_definitions(enabled_only=True)
-    # Only expose alias/model/provider — rows also contain api_key, base_url, etc.
-    models = [{"alias": r["alias"], "model": r["model"], "provider": r["provider"]} for r in rows]
+    # Only expose alias/model/provider (+ the derived effort ladder) —
+    # rows also contain api_key, base_url, etc.
+    from turnstone.core.providers.effort_ladder import effort_ladder_for_model
+
+    models = []
+    for r in rows:
+        entry: dict[str, Any] = {
+            "alias": r["alias"],
+            "model": r["model"],
+            "provider": r["provider"],
+        }
+        try:
+            entry["effort_ladder"] = effort_ladder_for_model(
+                r["provider"], r["model"], r.get("capabilities") or {}
+            )
+        except Exception:
+            # Unknown provider string / malformed capabilities row must
+            # not take down the picker — the ladder is an annotation.
+            log.debug("models.effort_ladder_failed alias=%s", r.get("alias"), exc_info=True)
+        models.append(entry)
 
     # Include effective defaults for clients (web UI, channel gateway).
     default_alias = ""
@@ -11592,6 +11610,47 @@ async def admin_model_capabilities(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
     )
 
 
+async def admin_effort_ladder(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
+    """POST /v1/api/admin/models/effort-ladder — knob→wire projection.
+
+    Body: ``{"provider": ..., "model": ..., "capabilities": {...}}`` —
+    capabilities are the (possibly unsaved) overrides from the model
+    form, so the modal can annotate its effort select live while the
+    operator edits thinking mode / effort param.  Pure computation; no
+    stored state is read or written.
+    """
+    from turnstone.core.auth import require_permission
+    from turnstone.core.providers.effort_ladder import effort_ladder_for_model
+
+    err = require_permission(request, "admin.models")
+    if err:
+        return err
+
+    try:
+        body = await request.json()
+    except Exception:
+        return JSONResponse({"error": "invalid JSON body"}, status_code=400)
+    provider = str(body.get("provider") or "").strip()
+    model = str(body.get("model") or "").strip()
+    capabilities = body.get("capabilities")
+
+    if provider not in _MODEL_PROVIDERS:
+        return JSONResponse({"error": f"Unknown provider: {provider!r}"}, status_code=400)
+    if not model:
+        return JSONResponse({"error": "model is required"}, status_code=400)
+    if capabilities is not None and not isinstance(capabilities, dict):
+        return JSONResponse({"error": "capabilities must be an object"}, status_code=400)
+
+    try:
+        ladder = effort_ladder_for_model(provider, model, capabilities or {})
+    except Exception:
+        # Garbage override values (wrong types for capability fields)
+        # surface as a clean 400 rather than a 500 — the form's raw
+        # JSON is operator-typed.
+        return JSONResponse({"error": "could not resolve capabilities"}, status_code=400)
+    return JSONResponse({"provider": provider, "model": model, "ladder": ladder})
+
+
 async def admin_known_models(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
     """GET /v1/api/admin/model-capabilities/known — list known model name prefixes."""
     from turnstone.core.auth import require_permission
@@ -13988,6 +14047,11 @@ def create_app(
                         "/api/admin/model-capabilities/known",
                         admin_known_models,
                     ),
+                    Route(
+                        "/api/admin/models/effort-ladder",
+                        admin_effort_ladder,
+                        methods=["POST"],
+                    ),
                     # Governance: Prompt Policies
                     Route("/api/admin/prompt-policies", admin_list_prompt_policies),
                     Route(
diff --git a/turnstone/console/static/admin.js b/turnstone/console/static/admin.js
index 9c1a09cf..bba01d89 100644
--- a/turnstone/console/static/admin.js
+++ b/turnstone/console/static/admin.js
@@ -6905,6 +6905,7 @@ function showCreateModelModal() {
   document.getElementById("model-thinking-param").value = "";
   document.getElementById("model-thinking-param-row").hidden = true;
   document.getElementById("model-effort-param").value = "";
+  _annotateEffortSelect(document.getElementById("model-reasoning-effort"), null);
   document.getElementById("model-extra-body").value = "";
   document.getElementById("model-capabilities").value = "";
   // Clear validation error styling from prior submit attempts
@@ -7033,6 +7034,7 @@ function showEditModelModal(definitionId) {
       });
       _modelRenderTiles();
       _modelCapsRefreshBaseline();
+      _scheduleEffortLadder();
       // Remove structured fields from capabilities display — only delete
       // thinking_mode/thinking_param when the UI successfully captured them.
       delete capsObj.server_compat;
@@ -7625,6 +7627,99 @@ let _modelCapsSeq = 0;
 function _onModelFieldChange() {
   clearTimeout(_capsTimer);
   _capsTimer = setTimeout(_modelCapsRefreshBaseline, 500);
+  _scheduleEffortLadder();
+}
+
+/* Effort-ladder annotation: label knob positions that alias to the same
+   wire behavior for a given model, from the server-computed projection
+   (providers/effort_ladder.py — equal "effective" tokens ⇒ identical
+   requests).  Defined here and shared as a page global with
+   governance.js (skill launch config), which loads after this file. */
+function _annotateEffortSelect(sel, ladder) {
+  if (!sel) return;
+  const byVal = {};
+  const firstOf = {};
+  (ladder || []).forEach(function (row) {
+    byVal[row.value] = row.effective;
+    if (!(row.effective in firstOf)) firstOf[row.effective] = row.value;
+  });
+  Array.from(sel.options).forEach(function (opt) {
+    if (!opt.value) return; // "" = inherit-the-default option
+    if (!opt.dataset.baseLabel) opt.dataset.baseLabel = opt.textContent;
+    let label = opt.dataset.baseLabel;
+    let title = "";
+    const eff = byVal[opt.value];
+    if (eff !== undefined) {
+      const first = firstOf[eff];
+      if (first !== opt.value) {
+        label += " (= " + first + ")";
+      } else if (eff === "default") {
+        label += " (model default)";
+      }
+      title = "sends: " + eff;
+    }
+    opt.textContent = label;
+    opt.title = title;
+  });
+}
+
+let _effortLadderTimer = null;
+let _effortLadderSeq = 0;
+function _scheduleEffortLadder() {
+  clearTimeout(_effortLadderTimer);
+  _effortLadderTimer = setTimeout(_refreshModelEffortLadder, 500);
+}
+function _refreshModelEffortLadder() {
+  const shelf = document.getElementById("model-shelf");
+  const sel = document.getElementById("model-reasoning-effort");
+  if (!shelf || !shelf.open || !sel) return;
+  const provider = document.getElementById("model-provider").value;
+  const modelName = document.getElementById("model-name").value.trim();
+  if (!modelName) {
+    _annotateEffortSelect(sel, null);
+    return;
+  }
+  // Assemble the same capabilities the save path would persist: raw
+  // JSON base, structured thinking/effort fields overlaid.  Mid-edit
+  // invalid JSON annotates from the structured fields alone.
+  let caps = {};
+  const rawText = document.getElementById("model-capabilities").value.trim();
+  if (rawText) {
+    try {
+      const parsed = JSON.parse(rawText);
+      if (_isPlainObject(parsed)) caps = parsed;
+    } catch (e) {
+      /* fall through */
+    }
+  }
+  const tm = document.getElementById("model-thinking-mode").value;
+  if (tm) {
+    caps.thinking_mode = tm;
+    const tp = document.getElementById("model-thinking-param").value;
+    if (tp) caps.thinking_param = tp;
+  }
+  const ep = document.getElementById("model-effort-param").value.trim();
+  if (ep) caps.effort_param = ep;
+  const seq = ++_effortLadderSeq;
+  authFetch("/v1/api/admin/models/effort-ladder", {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+    body: JSON.stringify({
+      provider: provider,
+      model: modelName,
+      capabilities: caps,
+    }),
+  })
+    .then(function (r) {
+      return r.ok ? r.json() : null;
+    })
+    .then(function (d) {
+      if (seq !== _effortLadderSeq) return; // superseded by a newer edit
+      _annotateEffortSelect(sel, d && d.ladder);
+    })
+    .catch(function () {
+      /* silent — annotation only */
+    });
 }
 
 /* Known-model lookup feeding the tile matrix: the table becomes the display
@@ -7771,6 +7866,13 @@ function _refreshModelSuggestions() {
   const provEl = document.getElementById("model-provider");
   const tmEl = document.getElementById("model-thinking-mode");
   if (tmEl) tmEl.addEventListener("change", _toggleThinkingParam);
+  if (tmEl) tmEl.addEventListener("change", _scheduleEffortLadder);
+  ["model-thinking-param", "model-effort-param", "model-capabilities"].forEach(
+    function (id) {
+      const el = document.getElementById(id);
+      if (el) el.addEventListener("input", _scheduleEffortLadder);
+    },
+  );
   const grid = document.getElementById("model-capgrid");
   if (grid) {
     grid.addEventListener("change", function (e) {
diff --git a/turnstone/console/static/governance.js b/turnstone/console/static/governance.js
index 88134d8c..6f62ffa2 100644
--- a/turnstone/console/static/governance.js
+++ b/turnstone/console/static/governance.js
@@ -1965,6 +1965,7 @@ function showEditTemplateModal(tmplId) {
   document.getElementById("skl-default").checked = tmpl.is_default;
   // Session config fields
   document.getElementById("sklc-model").value = tmpl.model || "";
+  _sklcScheduleEffortLadder();
   document.getElementById("sklc-temperature").value =
     tmpl.temperature != null ? tmpl.temperature : "";
   document.getElementById("sklc-reasoning-effort").value =
@@ -5044,3 +5045,43 @@ function _submitOGPShelf() {
       errEl.classList.add("is-visible");
     });
 }
+
+/* Effort-ladder annotation for the skill launch-config effort select.
+   Resolves the typed alias against /v1/api/models (each row carries a
+   server-computed effort_ladder) and reuses the page-global
+   _annotateEffortSelect from admin.js, which loads before this file. */
+let _sklcModelsPromise = null;
+let _sklcLadderTimer = null;
+function _sklcRefreshEffortLadder() {
+  const sel = document.getElementById("sklc-reasoning-effort");
+  const aliasEl = document.getElementById("sklc-model");
+  if (!sel || !aliasEl || typeof _annotateEffortSelect !== "function") return;
+  const alias = aliasEl.value.trim();
+  if (!alias) {
+    _annotateEffortSelect(sel, null);
+    return;
+  }
+  if (!_sklcModelsPromise) {
+    _sklcModelsPromise = authFetch("/v1/api/models").then(function (r) {
+      return r.json();
+    });
+  }
+  _sklcModelsPromise
+    .then(function (d) {
+      const row = (d.models || []).find(function (m) {
+        return m.alias === alias;
+      });
+      _annotateEffortSelect(sel, row ? row.effort_ladder : null);
+    })
+    .catch(function () {
+      /* silent — annotation only */
+    });
+}
+function _sklcScheduleEffortLadder() {
+  clearTimeout(_sklcLadderTimer);
+  _sklcLadderTimer = setTimeout(_sklcRefreshEffortLadder, 400);
+}
+(function () {
+  const el = document.getElementById("sklc-model");
+  if (el) el.addEventListener("input", _sklcScheduleEffortLadder);
+})();
diff --git a/turnstone/core/providers/_anthropic.py b/turnstone/core/providers/_anthropic.py
index d3432597..4975d550 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/providers/_anthropic.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/providers/_anthropic.py
@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@ _TOOL_SEARCH_TOOL_TYPE = "tool_search_tool_bm25"
 # bodies byte-identical when a caller threads thinking overrides.
 _INTERNAL_EXTRA_PARAMS = frozenset({"thinking_budget_tokens"})
 
+# Manual-mode thinking budgets per effort knob level; knob values outside
+# the map (minimal, xhigh, max) fall back to the default budget.  Shared
+# with ``effort_ladder`` so UI projections can't drift from the wire.
+_EFFORT_BUDGET_MAP = {"low": 1024, "medium": 4096, "high": 16384}
+_DEFAULT_THINKING_BUDGET = 4096
+
 # -- model capabilities -------------------------------------------------------
 
 _ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT = ModelCapabilities(
@@ -778,8 +784,7 @@ class AnthropicProvider:
         """
         if not reasoning_effort or reasoning_effort in ("none", ""):
             return {}
-        budget_map = {"low": 1024, "medium": 4096, "high": 16384}
-        budget = budget_map.get(reasoning_effort, 4096)
+        budget = _EFFORT_BUDGET_MAP.get(reasoning_effort, _DEFAULT_THINKING_BUDGET)
         if extra_params and "thinking_budget_tokens" in extra_params:
             budget = extra_params["thinking_budget_tokens"]
         if budget > 0:
diff --git a/turnstone/core/providers/effort_ladder.py b/turnstone/core/providers/effort_ladder.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a8fde36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/turnstone/core/providers/effort_ladder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+"""Effective effort-ladder projection — what each knob position actually does.
+
+The session reasoning-effort knob has seven positions; how many are
+DISTINCT depends on the provider lane and the model's capabilities
+(qwen3.6: two — off/on; a freeform ``effort_param`` model: one per
+forwarded value; Claude with effort levels: one per level plus the
+adaptive fallback).  This module projects the knob domain through the
+same mapping functions the providers use at request time, so UIs can
+annotate knob positions that alias to identical wire behavior instead
+of presenting seven positions as seven behaviors.
+
+Pure computation — no network, no provider clients.  Labels are short
+comparable tokens: two knob positions with the same ``effective`` string
+produce the same request.  ``"default"`` means nothing effort-related is
+sent (the server/model default applies); ``"off"``/``"on"`` describe the
+local-lane template toggle.  The ladder describes what Turnstone SENDS —
+a server-side template may alias further (e.g. DeepSeek-V4 maps
+``low``/``medium`` to its default ``high`` tier).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import dataclasses
+from typing import Any
+
+from turnstone.core.providers._anthropic import (
+    _DEFAULT_THINKING_BUDGET,
+    _EFFORT_BUDGET_MAP,
+    _map_reasoning_to_effort,
+)
+from turnstone.core.providers._protocol import (
+    ModelCapabilities,
+    reasoning_template_kwargs,
+    resolve_reasoning_effort,
+)
+
+# The full session-knob domain, in ladder order (mirrors the console
+# selects; "" rides as the caller's alias for its default and is not a
+# ladder row).
+KNOB_VALUES: tuple[str, ...] = ("none", "minimal", "low", "medium", "high", "xhigh", "max")
+
+# Lanes whose reasoning control rides chat_template_kwargs
+# (merge_reasoning_template_kwargs) rather than native params.
+_LOCAL_LANES = frozenset({"openai-compatible", "anthropic-compatible"})
+
+
+def effort_ladder(provider_name: str, caps: ModelCapabilities) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
+    """Project every knob position to its effective wire behavior.
+
+    Returns ``[{"value": <knob>, "effective": <token>}, ...]`` in knob
+    order.  Equal ``effective`` tokens ⇒ identical requests.
+    """
+    return [
+        {"value": knob, "effective": _effective(provider_name, caps, knob)} for knob in KNOB_VALUES
+    ]
+
+
+def effort_ladder_for_model(
+    provider_name: str,
+    model: str,
+    capability_overrides: dict[str, Any] | None,
+) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
+    """Ladder for a stored model row: provider defaults + operator overrides.
+
+    Mirrors ``ChatSession._resolve_capabilities`` — overrides are
+    field-filtered and applied over the provider's per-model defaults.
+    """
+    from turnstone.core.providers import create_provider
+
+    caps = create_provider(provider_name).get_capabilities(model)
+    if capability_overrides:
+        fields = {f.name for f in dataclasses.fields(type(caps))}
+        overrides = {k: v for k, v in capability_overrides.items() if k in fields}
+        if overrides:
+            caps = dataclasses.replace(caps, **overrides)
+    return effort_ladder(provider_name, caps)
+
+
+def _effective(provider_name: str, caps: ModelCapabilities, knob: str) -> str:
+    if provider_name == "anthropic":
+        return _effective_anthropic(caps, knob)
+    if provider_name in _LOCAL_LANES:
+        return _effective_local(provider_name, caps, knob)
+    # Flat-param lanes: openai (chat + responses), google, xai.
+    return resolve_reasoning_effort(caps, knob) or "default"
+
+
+def _effective_anthropic(caps: ModelCapabilities, knob: str) -> str:
+    """Native lane — mirrors ``_build_thinking_and_kwargs``."""
+    effort = _map_reasoning_to_effort(knob, caps.effort_levels) if caps.supports_effort else None
+    if caps.thinking_mode == "adaptive":
+        # Thinking always on, model self-regulates; effort rides
+        # output_config when the knob maps onto a supported level.
+        return effort or "adaptive"
+    if caps.thinking_mode == "manual":
+        if not knob or knob == "none":
+            return "off"
+        budget = _EFFORT_BUDGET_MAP.get(knob, _DEFAULT_THINKING_BUDGET)
+        return f"{effort}·budget:{budget}" if effort else f"budget:{budget}"
+    return "default"
+
+
+def _effective_local(provider_name: str, caps: ModelCapabilities, knob: str) -> str:
+    """Local lanes — mirrors ``merge_reasoning_template_kwargs`` (+ flat param)."""
+    updates = reasoning_template_kwargs(caps, knob)
+    parts: list[str] = []
+    if caps.thinking_param in updates:
+        parts.append("on" if updates[caps.thinking_param] else "off")
+    if caps.effort_param and caps.effort_param in updates:
+        parts.append(str(updates[caps.effort_param]))
+    # openai-compatible additionally sends the flat param when no
+    # effort_param declares the template channel (suppression rule in
+    # apply_temperature_and_effort).
+    if provider_name == "openai-compatible" and not caps.effort_param:
+        flat = resolve_reasoning_effort(caps, knob)
+        if flat:
+            parts.append(flat)
+    return "+".join(parts) if parts else "default"