fix(tui): only drop an explicit effort when the target ring is authoritative

A nil ring meant both a catalog model with no effort controls and a
live-discovered custom model the catalog cannot vouch for. The drop now
requires an authoritative ring (a resolved catalog entry, whose ring may
legitimately be empty); an unknown ring preserves an explicit preference,
matching the cross-provider picker's behavior, while the profile's own
fill still applies only where support is known.

cmd/zero-perf-bench/turn.go

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/execprofile"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/perfbench"
 )
 
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ type turnOptions struct {
 	SuitePath   string
 	Model       string
 	Mode        string
+	ExecProfile string
 	SelfCorrect bool
 	Binary      string
 	Iterations  int
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@ func runTurnCommand(args []string, getenv func(string) string, stdout io.Writer,
 	result, err := perfbench.RunTurnBench(context.Background(), set, perfbench.TurnBenchConfig{
 		Model:       options.Model,
 		Mode:        options.Mode,
+		ExecProfile: options.ExecProfile,
 		SelfCorrect: options.SelfCorrect,
 		Version:     options.Version,
 		Commit:      options.Commit,
@@ -137,6 +140,13 @@ func parseTurnArgs(args []string, getenv func(string) string) (turnOptions, erro
 			}
 			options.Mode = value
 			index = next
+		case "--exec-profile":
+			value, next, err := readOptionValue(args, inlineValue, index, flag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return options, err
+			}
+			options.ExecProfile = value
+			index = next
 		case "--binary":
 			value, next, err := readOptionValue(args, inlineValue, index, flag)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -209,6 +219,20 @@ func parseTurnArgs(args []string, getenv func(string) string) (turnOptions, erro
 	if strings.TrimSpace(options.Model) == "" && !options.DryRun {
 		return options, fmt.Errorf("--model is required (or pass --dry-run)")
 	}
+	// Validate the profile here, before anything spawns: an unknown name would
+	// otherwise make every child exit with a usage error in milliseconds, and
+	// those near-zero walls would be recorded as valid latency samples in an
+	// exit-0 report — exactly the misread-as-improvement trap the harness
+	// closed for spawn failures. Normalizing to the catalog name also keeps
+	// the stamped execProfile canonical (Lookup is case-insensitive), so two
+	// captures of the same posture always compare equal.
+	if raw := strings.TrimSpace(options.ExecProfile); raw != "" {
+		profile, ok := execprofile.Lookup(raw)
+		if !ok {
+			return options, fmt.Errorf("unknown execution profile %q for --exec-profile. Valid profiles: %s", raw, strings.Join(execprofile.Names(), ", "))
+		}
+		options.ExecProfile = profile.Name
+	}
 	return options, nil
 }
 
@@ -239,6 +263,9 @@ func turnHelpText() string {
 		"  --suite <path>      Task set JSON file (required)",
 		"  --model <model>     Model to run (required unless --dry-run)",
 		"  --mode <name>       Exec mode preset to apply",
+		"  --exec-profile <name>",
+		"                      Execution profile for every task (fast|balanced|thorough);",
+		"                      forwarded to zero exec and stamped into the result",
 		"  --self-correct      Enable the post-edit verify-and-correct loop",
 		"  --binary <path>     Path to the `zero` binary (default: zero on PATH / repo root)",
 		"  --iterations <n>    Times to run each task (default: 1)",

cmd/zero-perf-bench/turn_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestParseTurnArgsExecProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	getenv := func(string) string { return "" }
+	options, err := parseTurnArgs([]string{
+		"--suite", "suite.json",
+		"--model", "m",
+		"--exec-profile", "fast",
+	}, getenv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parseTurnArgs: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.ExecProfile != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("ExecProfile = %q, want fast", options.ExecProfile)
+	}
+
+	// Inline form.
+	options, err = parseTurnArgs([]string{
+		"--suite=suite.json",
+		"--model=m",
+		"--exec-profile=thorough",
+	}, getenv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parseTurnArgs inline: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.ExecProfile != "thorough" {
+		t.Fatalf("ExecProfile = %q, want thorough", options.ExecProfile)
+	}
+}
+
+// The bench validates the profile BEFORE spawning anything: an unknown name
+// would otherwise make every child exit with a usage error in milliseconds
+// and record those near-zero walls as valid latency samples in an exit-0
+// report. Lookup normalization also keeps the stamped name canonical so two
+// captures of the same posture compare equal.
+func TestParseTurnArgsExecProfileValidatesAndNormalizes(t *testing.T) {
+	getenv := func(string) string { return "" }
+
+	options, err := parseTurnArgs([]string{
+		"--suite", "suite.json", "--model", "m", "--exec-profile", "FAST",
+	}, getenv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parseTurnArgs: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.ExecProfile != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("ExecProfile = %q, want the canonical fast", options.ExecProfile)
+	}
+
+	_, err = parseTurnArgs([]string{
+		"--suite", "suite.json", "--model", "m", "--exec-profile", "blanced",
+	}, getenv)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unknown profile must fail parse, before anything spawns")
+	}
+	for _, name := range []string{"balanced", "fast", "thorough"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), name) {
+			t.Fatalf("error must list %q, got %q", name, err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/agent/loop.go

@@ -202,6 +202,8 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, prompt string, provider Provider, options Options)
 			}
 			if target.ReasoningEffort != "" {
 				options.ReasoningEffort = target.ReasoningEffort
+			} else if target.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+				options.ReasoningEffort = ""
 			}
 			if target.RestoreCompletionGate {
 				options.RequireCompletionSignal = true

internal/agent/profile_controller_test.go

@@ -153,6 +153,51 @@ func TestPostureEscalationOnUncertainCompletion(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// A profile that filled the run's effort displaced the provider default ("");
+// RestoreDefaultEffort lets escalation restore that default, which a plain ""
+// ReasoningEffort target cannot express (it means "leave untouched").
+func TestPostureEscalationRestoresDefaultEffort(t *testing.T) {
+	provider := &mockProvider{turns: [][]zeroruntime.StreamEvent{
+		{
+			{Type: zeroruntime.StreamEventText, Content: "Let me read the file:"},
+			{Type: zeroruntime.StreamEventDone},
+		},
+		{
+			{Type: zeroruntime.StreamEventText, Content: "Done. All set."},
+			{Type: zeroruntime.StreamEventDone},
+		},
+	}}
+
+	result, err := Run(context.Background(), "go", provider, Options{
+		Registry:                tools.NewRegistry(),
+		MaxTurns:                10,
+		ReasoningEffort:         "low",
+		RequireCompletionSignal: true,
+		Profile: &ProfilePolicy{
+			Name: "fast",
+			Escalate: &PostureEscalation{
+				RestoreDefaultEffort:  true,
+				OnCompletionUncertain: 1,
+			},
+		},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if result.FinalAnswer != "Done. All set." {
+		t.Fatalf("expected the completed answer, got %q", result.FinalAnswer)
+	}
+	if len(provider.requests) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 requests, got %d", len(provider.requests))
+	}
+	if provider.requests[0].ReasoningEffort != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("pre-escalation request effort = %q, want the profile's low", provider.requests[0].ReasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if provider.requests[1].ReasoningEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("post-escalation request effort = %q, want the restored provider default (empty)", provider.requests[1].ReasoningEffort)
+	}
+}
+
 // failingProfileTool always errors with the same signature so the repeated-
 // failure guard builds a streak.
 type failingProfileTool struct{}

internal/agent/types.go

@@ -126,6 +126,12 @@ type PostureEscalation struct {
 	MaxTurns int
 	// ReasoningEffort replaces the run's effort when non-empty.
 	ReasoningEffort string
+	// RestoreDefaultEffort clears the run's effort override (back to the
+	// provider/model default) when true. It exists because the displaced value
+	// of a profile-filled effort is "" — which as a ReasoningEffort target
+	// means "leave untouched" — so restoring the default needs its own signal.
+	// Ignored when ReasoningEffort is non-empty.
+	RestoreDefaultEffort bool
 	// RestoreCompletionGate re-enables RequireCompletionSignal (headless
 	// completion semantics) when true.
 	RestoreCompletionGate bool

internal/cli/app.go

@@ -1341,6 +1341,9 @@ Flags:
       --spec-reasoning-effort <effort>
                                     Override draft reasoning effort when --use-spec is set
       --max-turns <number>           Override the maximum agent loop turns
+      --exec-profile <name>          Apply an execution profile (balanced, fast, thorough): loop
+                                    posture only (turn budget, effort, self-correction, escalation);
+                                    composes with --mode (which picks the model) and explicit flags win
       --auto <low|medium|high>       Set exec autonomy; high enables unsafe tools
       --enabled-tools <tools>        Only expose these comma or space separated tools
       --disabled-tools <tools>       Hide these comma or space separated tools

internal/cli/exec.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/agent"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/config"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/errhint"
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/execprofile"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/imageinput"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/lsp"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/modelregistry"
@@ -69,7 +70,14 @@ type execOptions struct {
 	// intentionally inert: nothing consumes it. Model selection is driven by
 	// --model / --mode instead. See writeExecHelp ("Accept legacy model profile
 	// selection") and TestRunExecAcceptsLegacyModelProfileFlags.
-	modelProfile          string
+	modelProfile string
+	// execProfile selects a named execution profile (balanced, fast, thorough):
+	// a loop-posture bundle (turn budget, reasoning effort, self-correction,
+	// escalation triggers) applied AFTER --mode with the same
+	// fill-only-if-unset rule, so precedence is explicit flag > mode > profile.
+	// Distinct from the mode preset also named "fast" (which picks a model) and
+	// from the legacy inert --profile above. See internal/execprofile.
+	execProfile           string
 	reasoningEffort       string
 	useSpec               bool
 	specModel             string
@@ -167,6 +175,14 @@ func runExec(args []string, stdout io.Writer, stderr io.Writer, deps appDeps) in
 	if err := applyExecMode(&options); err != nil {
 		return writeExecFormatUsageError(stdout, stderr, options.outputFormat, err.Error())
 	}
+	// A profile tunes loop posture the way a mode tunes model selection, and
+	// runs after it so the mode's fills count as "set" and win. MaxTurns is
+	// deferred to config resolution below, where the displaced resolved budget
+	// is known and becomes the escalation restore target.
+	execProfile, execProfileFilledEffort, err := applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err != nil {
+		return writeExecFormatUsageError(stdout, stderr, options.outputFormat, err.Error())
+	}
 
 	workspaceRoot, err := resolveWorkspaceRoot(options.cwd, deps)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -272,6 +288,8 @@ func runExec(args []string, stdout io.Writer, stderr io.Writer, deps appDeps) in
 		}
 		return writeExecProviderError(stdout, stderr, options.outputFormat, "provider_error", err.Error())
 	}
+	var displacedMaxTurns int
+	resolved.MaxTurns, displacedMaxTurns = applyProfileTurnBudget(execProfile, options.maxTurns, resolved.MaxTurns)
 	registerLocalControlTools(registry, workspaceRoot, resolved.LocalControl)
 	if err := validateExecToolFilters(options, registry); err != nil {
 		return writeExecFormatUsageError(stdout, stderr, options.outputFormat, err.Error())
@@ -486,6 +504,13 @@ func runExec(args []string, stdout io.Writer, stderr io.Writer, deps appDeps) in
 			reasoningEffort:    forwardEffort,
 			specPermissionMode: permissionMode,
 			notifier:           notifier,
+			// The profile displaced resolved.MaxTurns above, so the spec-draft
+			// run arms the same escalation policy as the main run (in practice
+			// only the failure-streak and risky-mutation triggers can fire
+			// here: the draft runs without the completion gate or a
+			// self-corrector).
+			profilePolicy: execProfile.Policy(displacedMaxTurns,
+				specProfileEffortFilled(execProfileFilledEffort, options.specReasoningEffort)),
 		})
 	}
 
@@ -528,7 +553,7 @@ func runExec(args []string, stdout io.Writer, stderr io.Writer, deps appDeps) in
 	var traceRecorder *trace.Recorder
 	var traceSnapshot *trace.TurnTrace
 	if tracePath != "" {
-		traceRecorder = trace.NewRecorder(preparedSession.Session.SessionID, runID, "")
+		traceRecorder = trace.NewRecorder(preparedSession.Session.SessionID, runID, execProfile.Name)
 		defer func() {
 			if err := writeTraceSnapshot(traceSnapshot, tracePath, stderr); err != nil {
 				fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "[zero] failed to write trace: %s\n", err)
@@ -627,6 +652,7 @@ func runExec(args []string, stdout io.Writer, stderr io.Writer, deps appDeps) in
 		Autonomy:             options.autonomy,
 		SelfCorrect:          selfCorrector,
 		FileDiagnostics:      fileDiagnostics,
+		Profile:              execProfile.Policy(displacedMaxTurns, execProfileFilledEffort),
 		// Headless exec: don't accept a no-tool-call turn as "done" while work
 		// clearly remains (pending plan items / a mid-step continuation cue) —
 		// nudge to continue, and finalize as INCOMPLETE rather than false success
@@ -1133,6 +1159,67 @@ func applyExecMode(options *execOptions) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// applyExecProfile expands an --exec-profile selection onto the exec options.
+// Like applyExecMode it only fills fields the caller left unset, and it runs
+// AFTER the mode so a mode-filled field counts as set: precedence is explicit
+// flag > --mode > --exec-profile. Only the options-level knobs are applied here
+// (reasoning effort still flows through the model-supported gating downstream;
+// self-correct is presence-only so a profile can only turn it on). MaxTurns is
+// intentionally NOT applied here — the profile displaces the resolved budget
+// after config resolution, where the displaced value is known and becomes the
+// escalation restore target. An unknown profile is a usage error listing the
+// valid names. Not to be confused with the legacy inert --profile flag.
+// The second return reports whether the profile actually filled the reasoning
+// effort (false when the user set one explicitly), so the escalation policy
+// knows the displaced effort was the provider default and can restore it.
+func applyExecProfile(options *execOptions) (execprofile.Profile, bool, error) {
+	name := strings.TrimSpace(options.execProfile)
+	if name == "" {
+		return execprofile.Profile{}, false, nil
+	}
+	profile, ok := execprofile.Lookup(name)
+	if !ok {
+		return execprofile.Profile{}, false, execUsageError{fmt.Sprintf("unknown execution profile %q. Valid profiles: %s.", options.execProfile, strings.Join(execprofile.Names(), ", "))}
+	}
+	effortFilled := false
+	if options.reasoningEffort == "" && profile.ReasoningEffort != "" {
+		options.reasoningEffort = profile.ReasoningEffort
+		effortFilled = true
+	}
+	// Spec-safe projection: the spec-draft path wires no self-corrector (an
+	// explicit --self-correct --use-spec is rejected at parse time, before
+	// profiles apply), so a profile's self-correct knob is meaningless there.
+	// Project it away rather than erroring: the user asked for a thorough
+	// DRAFT, and the profile's other knobs (budget, effort) apply to it fine.
+	if profile.SelfCorrect && !options.useSpec {
+		options.selfCorrect = true
+	}
+	return profile, effortFilled, nil
+}
+
+// specProfileEffortFilled reports whether the profile's effort fill actually
+// governs the spec-draft run. An explicit --spec-reasoning-effort replaces the
+// filled effort for the draft, so the escalation's effort restore must not arm
+// there: escalation must never clear an effort the user pinned by hand.
+func specProfileEffortFilled(effortFilled bool, specReasoningEffort string) bool {
+	return effortFilled && strings.TrimSpace(specReasoningEffort) == ""
+}
+
+// applyProfileTurnBudget decides the run's turn budget once config is resolved.
+// The profile displaces the RESOLVED value, not the flag: a pinned budget
+// always wins and the profile backs off entirely, while an env/config budget
+// is the "balanced posture" a mid-run escalation can restore. pinnedMaxTurns
+// is any caller-pinned budget — an explicit --max-turns flag OR a mode
+// preset's fill (both land in options.maxTurns, and a mode outranks a profile
+// just like the flag does). displaced is 0 when nothing was displaced, so an
+// escalation leaves the ceiling untouched.
+func applyProfileTurnBudget(profile execprofile.Profile, pinnedMaxTurns int, resolvedMaxTurns int) (effective int, displaced int) {
+	if profile.MaxTurns > 0 && pinnedMaxTurns == 0 {
+		return profile.MaxTurns, resolvedMaxTurns
+	}
+	return resolvedMaxTurns, 0
+}
+
 // resolveSelectedModel routes a user-supplied --model value through the model
 // registry so that fuzzy aliases (e.g. "sonnet 4.5") resolve to canonical ids
 // and deprecated models auto-redirect to their fallback. It returns the model id

internal/cli/exec_parse.go

@@ -147,6 +147,19 @@ func parseExecArgs(args []string) (execOptions, bool, error) {
 			index = next
 		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--profile="):
 			options.modelProfile = strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimPrefix(arg, "--profile="))
+		case arg == "--exec-profile":
+			value, next, err := nextFlagValue(args, index, arg)
+			if err != nil {
+				return options, false, err
+			}
+			options.execProfile = strings.TrimSpace(value)
+			index = next
+		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--exec-profile="):
+			value, err := requiredInlineFlagValue(arg, "--exec-profile")
+			if err != nil {
+				return options, false, err
+			}
+			options.execProfile = value
 		case arg == "-r" || arg == "--reasoning-effort":
 			value, next, err := nextFlagValue(args, index, arg)
 			if err != nil {

internal/cli/exec_profile_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/execprofile"
+)
+
+func TestApplyExecProfileFillsOnlyUnset(t *testing.T) {
+	// Unset effort: the profile fills it and reports the fill, so the
+	// escalation policy knows the displaced effort was the provider default.
+	options := execOptions{execProfile: "fast"}
+	profile, effortFilled, err := applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if profile.Name != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("profile.Name = %q, want fast", profile.Name)
+	}
+	if options.reasoningEffort != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("reasoningEffort = %q, want the profile's low", options.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if !effortFilled {
+		t.Fatal("the profile filled the effort, so effortFilled must report it")
+	}
+
+	// Set effort (explicit flag or a mode's fill): the profile backs off.
+	options = execOptions{execProfile: "fast", reasoningEffort: "high"}
+	_, effortFilled, err = applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("reasoningEffort = %q, an explicit value must win over the profile", options.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if effortFilled {
+		t.Fatal("the profile backed off, so effortFilled must be false")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestApplyExecProfileThoroughArmsSelfCorrect(t *testing.T) {
+	options := execOptions{execProfile: "thorough"}
+	if _, _, err := applyExecProfile(&options); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !options.selfCorrect {
+		t.Fatal("thorough must arm the post-edit self-correct loop")
+	}
+	if options.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("reasoningEffort = %q, want high", options.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+}
+
+// The spec-draft path wires no self-corrector (explicit --self-correct
+// --use-spec is rejected at parse time, before profiles apply), so a profile's
+// self-correct knob is projected away under --use-spec instead of silently
+// arming a knob the draft runner ignores. The other knobs still apply.
+func TestApplyExecProfileSpecProjectsAwaySelfCorrect(t *testing.T) {
+	options := execOptions{execProfile: "thorough", useSpec: true}
+	if _, _, err := applyExecProfile(&options); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.selfCorrect {
+		t.Fatal("thorough under --use-spec must not arm self-correct (the draft runner has none)")
+	}
+	if options.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("reasoningEffort = %q, the profile's other knobs must still apply", options.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestApplyExecProfileUnknownIsUsageError(t *testing.T) {
+	options := execOptions{execProfile: "turbo"}
+	_, _, err := applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a usage error for an unknown profile")
+	}
+	if _, ok := err.(execUsageError); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected execUsageError, got %T: %v", err, err)
+	}
+	for _, name := range execprofile.Names() {
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), name) {
+			t.Fatalf("usage error must list %q, got %q", name, err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Precedence: explicit flag > --mode > --exec-profile. The deep mode fills
+// effort=high and max-turns=160; the fast profile must not override either,
+// because a mode-filled field counts as set by the time the profile runs.
+func TestExecProfilePrecedenceFlagOverModeOverProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	options := execOptions{mode: "deep", execProfile: "fast"}
+	if err := applyExecMode(&options); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecMode: %v", err)
+	}
+	profile, _, err := applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if options.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("reasoningEffort = %q, the mode's high must win over the profile's low", options.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	// The mode filled options.maxTurns, so the turn budget must not be displaced.
+	effective, displaced := applyProfileTurnBudget(profile, options.maxTurns, options.maxTurns)
+	if effective != 160 || displaced != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("turn budget = (%d, displaced %d), the mode's 160 must win with nothing displaced", effective, displaced)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestApplyProfileTurnBudget(t *testing.T) {
+	fast, _ := execprofile.Lookup("fast")
+	balanced, _ := execprofile.Lookup("balanced")
+
+	// No explicit flag: the profile displaces the resolved budget.
+	if effective, displaced := applyProfileTurnBudget(fast, 0, 80); effective != 30 || displaced != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("fast over resolved 80 = (%d, %d), want (30, 80)", effective, displaced)
+	}
+	// Explicit --max-turns pins the budget; the profile backs off entirely.
+	if effective, displaced := applyProfileTurnBudget(fast, 50, 50); effective != 50 || displaced != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("fast with explicit 50 = (%d, %d), want (50, 0)", effective, displaced)
+	}
+	// Balanced never displaces anything.
+	if effective, displaced := applyProfileTurnBudget(balanced, 0, 80); effective != 80 || displaced != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("balanced over resolved 80 = (%d, %d), want (80, 0)", effective, displaced)
+	}
+}
+
+// The no-regression invariant at the options level: selecting balanced leaves
+// the options byte-identical to not selecting a profile at all, and produces
+// no loop policy.
+func TestExecProfileBalancedLeavesOptionsUntouched(t *testing.T) {
+	options := execOptions{execProfile: "balanced"}
+	reference := options
+	profile, _, err := applyExecProfile(&options)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyExecProfile: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(options, reference) {
+		t.Fatalf("balanced changed the options: %+v vs %+v", options, reference)
+	}
+	if policy := profile.Policy(80, false); policy != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("balanced must produce a nil policy, got %+v", policy)
+	}
+}
+
+// --exec-profile= with an inline empty value must error like its two-token
+// form and the sibling --mode=, not silently run the default posture (the
+// classic shell hazard: an unset variable expanding into the inline form).
+func TestParseExecProfileInlineEmptyIsError(t *testing.T) {
+	_, _, err := parseExecArgs([]string{"--exec-profile=", "hello"})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "--exec-profile requires a value") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected a required-value error, got %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// Full echo-provider run: the selected profile must be stamped into the
+// per-turn trace so benchmark attribution can group runs by posture.
+func TestRunExecTraceRecordsSelectedProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	tracePath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "trace.ndjson")
+	exitCode, _, stderr := runExecWithEcho(t, []string{
+		"exec", "--exec-profile", "fast", "--trace", tracePath, "hello",
+	})
+	if exitCode != exitSuccess {
+		t.Fatalf("expected exit %d, got %d: %s", exitSuccess, exitCode, stderr)
+	}
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(tracePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("read trace: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(raw), `"profile":"fast"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("trace must record the selected profile, got %s", raw)
+	}
+}
+
+// An explicit --spec-reasoning-effort governs the spec draft's effort, so the
+// escalation effort-restore must not arm there even when the profile filled
+// the (unused) main effort.
+func TestSpecProfileEffortFilled(t *testing.T) {
+	if !specProfileEffortFilled(true, "") {
+		t.Fatal("no explicit spec effort: the profile's fill governs, restore must arm")
+	}
+	if specProfileEffortFilled(true, "high") {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit spec effort must disarm the effort restore")
+	}
+	if specProfileEffortFilled(false, "") {
+		t.Fatal("nothing filled, nothing to restore")
+	}
+}
+
+// The trace label deliberately records the SELECTED profile, balanced
+// included, so captures are self-describing. Run behavior stays identical
+// (balanced fills nothing and arms no policy); the label is the one intended
+// difference in the opt-in trace artifact.
+func TestRunExecTraceRecordsBalancedSelection(t *testing.T) {
+	tracePath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "trace.ndjson")
+	exitCode, _, stderr := runExecWithEcho(t, []string{
+		"exec", "--exec-profile", "balanced", "--trace", tracePath, "hello",
+	})
+	if exitCode != exitSuccess {
+		t.Fatalf("expected exit %d, got %d: %s", exitSuccess, exitCode, stderr)
+	}
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(tracePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("read trace: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(raw), `"profile":"balanced"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("trace must record the balanced selection, got %s", raw)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunExecUnknownExecProfileIsUsageError(t *testing.T) {
+	exitCode, _, stderr := runExecWithEcho(t, []string{
+		"exec", "--exec-profile", "turbo", "hello",
+	})
+	if exitCode != exitUsage {
+		t.Fatalf("expected usage exit %d, got %d", exitUsage, exitCode)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(stderr, "unknown execution profile") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected an unknown-profile usage error, got %q", stderr)
+	}
+}

internal/cli/exec_spec.go

@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ type execSpecDraftRun struct {
 	reasoningEffort    string
 	specPermissionMode agent.PermissionMode
 	notifier           *notify.Notifier
+	// profilePolicy carries the selected execution profile's escalation policy
+	// (nil when none): the profile displaces resolved.MaxTurns before this
+	// path branches off, so the spec-draft run needs the same safety net as
+	// the main run.
+	profilePolicy *agent.ProfilePolicy
 }
 
 type execSpecDraftInfo struct {
@@ -119,6 +124,7 @@ func runExecSpecDraft(run execSpecDraftRun) int {
 		ProviderName:    run.resolved.Provider.Name,
 		Model:           run.resolved.Provider.Model,
 		ReasoningEffort: run.reasoningEffort,
+		Profile:         run.profilePolicy,
 		Cwd:             run.workspaceRoot,
 		SystemPrompt:    specmode.DraftSystemPrompt,
 		Images:          run.images,

internal/cli/exec_test.go

@@ -549,10 +549,14 @@ func TestExecMemberAutoToolListIncludesMutators(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunExecAcceptsLegacyModelProfileFlags(t *testing.T) {
+	// --profile (legacy, inert model profile) and --exec-profile (execution
+	// profile) are distinct flags and must coexist on one invocation.
 	exitCode, stdout, stderr := runExecWithEcho(t, []string{
 		"exec",
 		"--profile",
 		"fast",
+		"--exec-profile",
+		"balanced",
 		"--reasoning-effort",
 		"low",
 		"hello",

internal/execprofile/profile.go

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+// Package execprofile defines named execution profiles: bundles of loop-posture
+// knobs (turn budget, reasoning effort, self-correction, escalation triggers)
+// that tune how hard the agent loop tries, independent of which model runs.
+// Profiles COMPOSE with --mode: a mode answers "what runs" (model, tools),
+// a profile answers "how hard the loop tries". Selection precedence is
+// explicit flag > --mode > profile, enforced by the callers applying profiles
+// last with the same fill-only-if-unset rule modes use.
+//
+// The catalog is deliberately tiny and value-stable: balanced is the empty
+// profile (selecting it leaves the run's options, budget, and loop behavior
+// identical to an unflagged run — asserted by test; only the opt-in trace and
+// bench artifacts record the selected profile name, by design, so captures are
+// self-describing), fast trades turn budget and effort for latency with a
+// one-shot escalation back to the displaced posture as the safety net, and
+// thorough raises the budget and arms full self-correction.
+package execprofile
+
+import (
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/agent"
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/sandbox"
+)
+
+// Profile is a named execution posture. Zero-valued fields inherit the run's
+// existing value (flag, mode, config, or built-in default) — a profile only
+// ever fills knobs the caller left unset, except MaxTurns which REPLACES the
+// resolved budget (that displacement is what escalation restores).
+type Profile struct {
+	// Name identifies the profile in traces, help text, and diagnostics.
+	Name string
+	// MaxTurns replaces the resolved per-run tool-turn budget when > 0 and the
+	// user did not pass an explicit --max-turns. The displaced resolved value
+	// becomes the escalation target (see Policy).
+	MaxTurns int
+	// ReasoningEffort fills the run's effort when the user left it unset. It
+	// still flows through the model-supported gating at the call site, so an
+	// unsupported level degrades exactly like an explicit flag would.
+	ReasoningEffort string
+	// SelfCorrect arms the post-edit verify-and-correct loop. Profiles can only
+	// turn it ON (the flag is presence-only, so false is indistinguishable from
+	// unset and must never override an explicit opt-in).
+	SelfCorrect bool
+
+	// Escalation triggers. All zero means the profile never escalates and
+	// Policy returns nil (the loop stays byte-identical to a nil-profile run).
+	// Targets are NOT part of the catalog: escalation restores the values the
+	// profile displaced at selection time, never invented ones, so targets are
+	// stamped by Policy from what the caller measured.
+	EscalateOnToolFailureStreak   int
+	EscalateOnCompletionUncertain int
+	EscalateOnSelfCorrectFailure  bool
+	EscalateOnRiskyMutation       sandbox.RiskLevel
+}
+
+// The catalog. Values marked provisional are floors/ceilings derived from the
+// Phase 0 baseline's read-class evidence (successful nav runs used single-digit
+// turns; the mutating classes produced no successful samples to tune from) and
+// are expected to be re-tuned from the post-oracle-fix re-capture. The
+// escalation safety net is what makes shipping provisional Fast values safe:
+// a run that hits trouble gets its displaced budget back mid-run.
+var (
+	// Balanced is the default posture: empty on purpose. Selecting it changes
+	// nothing — the no-regression invariant of the whole feature.
+	Balanced = Profile{Name: "balanced"}
+
+	// Fast starts cheap (30 turns, low effort) and arms every escalation
+	// trigger so a struggling run restores its displaced posture: two
+	// same-tool retriable failures in a row, a second uncertain completion
+	// evaluation, a failing self-correction cycle, or a critical-risk
+	// mutation. The risk threshold is deliberately Critical, not High: the
+	// sandbox classifies EVERY shell command as at least high risk before any
+	// command analysis, so a High trigger would fire on the first `go test`
+	// of virtually any coding task and spend the one-shot on turn one.
+	// Critical marks the genuinely scary categories (destructive commands,
+	// piped installers, out-of-workspace writes, network mutations).
+	Fast = Profile{
+		Name:                          "fast",
+		MaxTurns:                      30,
+		ReasoningEffort:               "low",
+		EscalateOnToolFailureStreak:   2,
+		EscalateOnCompletionUncertain: 2,
+		EscalateOnSelfCorrectFailure:  true,
+		EscalateOnRiskyMutation:       sandbox.RiskCritical,
+	}
+
+	// Thorough doubles the default budget, asks for high effort, and arms the
+	// full post-edit verify-and-correct loop. Already the maximum posture, so
+	// it has nothing to escalate to.
+	Thorough = Profile{
+		Name:            "thorough",
+		MaxTurns:        160,
+		ReasoningEffort: "high",
+		SelfCorrect:     true,
+	}
+)
+
+var catalog = map[string]Profile{
+	Balanced.Name: Balanced,
+	Fast.Name:     Fast,
+	Thorough.Name: Thorough,
+}
+
+// Lookup resolves a profile by name, case-insensitively and ignoring
+// surrounding whitespace.
+func Lookup(name string) (Profile, bool) {
+	profile, ok := catalog[strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(name))]
+	return profile, ok
+}
+
+// Names returns the catalog's profile names, sorted, for usage errors and help.
+func Names() []string {
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(catalog))
+	for name := range catalog {
+		names = append(names, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return names
+}
+
+// Policy projects the profile into the loop-facing ProfilePolicy.
+//
+// displacedMaxTurns is the turn budget this profile displaced at selection time
+// (what the run would have used without it) and becomes the escalation's
+// restore target; pass 0 when the profile did not displace the budget (e.g.
+// the user pinned --max-turns explicitly) so escalation leaves the ceiling
+// untouched. effortFilled reports whether the profile actually filled the
+// run's reasoning effort (it backs off when the user set one explicitly); the
+// displaced effort is then "" (the provider default) by construction, which
+// the escalation restores via RestoreDefaultEffort — a plain "" target would
+// mean "leave untouched".
+//
+// Profiles with no armed triggers return nil: the loop treats a nil policy as
+// "no profile" (no observation, no counters), which keeps balanced and
+// thorough runs byte-identical to the same knob values set by hand.
+func (p Profile) Policy(displacedMaxTurns int, effortFilled bool) *agent.ProfilePolicy {
+	if p.EscalateOnToolFailureStreak == 0 && p.EscalateOnCompletionUncertain == 0 &&
+		!p.EscalateOnSelfCorrectFailure && p.EscalateOnRiskyMutation == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return &agent.ProfilePolicy{
+		Name: p.Name,
+		Escalate: &agent.PostureEscalation{
+			MaxTurns:              displacedMaxTurns,
+			RestoreDefaultEffort:  effortFilled,
+			OnToolFailureStreak:   p.EscalateOnToolFailureStreak,
+			OnCompletionUncertain: p.EscalateOnCompletionUncertain,
+			OnSelfCorrectFailure:  p.EscalateOnSelfCorrectFailure,
+			OnRiskyMutation:       p.EscalateOnRiskyMutation,
+		},
+	}
+}

internal/execprofile/profile_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+package execprofile
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/sandbox"
+)
+
+// The no-regression invariant of the whole feature: balanced must be the empty
+// profile (nothing but a name), so selecting it cannot change a run.
+func TestBalancedProfileIsEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	profile, ok := Lookup("balanced")
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal("balanced must exist in the catalog")
+	}
+	if profile.Name != "balanced" {
+		t.Fatalf("Name = %q, want %q", profile.Name, "balanced")
+	}
+	profile.Name = ""
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(profile, Profile{}) {
+		t.Fatalf("balanced must be zero-valued apart from its name, got %+v", profile)
+	}
+	if policy := Balanced.Policy(80, false); policy != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("balanced Policy must be nil (byte-identical loop), got %+v", policy)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLookupIsCaseAndSpaceInsensitive(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, name := range []string{"fast", "Fast", "  FAST  "} {
+		if _, ok := Lookup(name); !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("Lookup(%q) should resolve", name)
+		}
+	}
+	if _, ok := Lookup("turbo"); ok {
+		t.Fatal("Lookup(turbo) should not resolve")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNamesAreSorted(t *testing.T) {
+	want := []string{"balanced", "fast", "thorough"}
+	if got := Names(); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("Names() = %v, want %v", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// Escalation targets must be the displaced values only — the catalog carries
+// triggers, the call site supplies what was displaced, and nothing else may
+// appear in the escalation.
+func TestFastPolicyTargetsDisplacedValuesOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	policy := Fast.Policy(80, true)
+	if policy == nil {
+		t.Fatal("fast must arm an escalation policy")
+	}
+	if policy.Name != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("policy.Name = %q, want fast", policy.Name)
+	}
+	esc := policy.Escalate
+	if esc == nil {
+		t.Fatal("fast policy must carry an escalation")
+	}
+	if esc.MaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.MaxTurns = %d, want the displaced 80", esc.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if esc.ReasoningEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.ReasoningEffort = %q, want empty (displaced effort is the provider default by construction)", esc.ReasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if !esc.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("effort was profile-filled, so escalation must restore the provider default")
+	}
+	if esc.RestoreCompletionGate {
+		t.Fatal("fast does not touch the completion gate, so escalation must not either")
+	}
+	if esc.OnToolFailureStreak != Fast.EscalateOnToolFailureStreak ||
+		esc.OnCompletionUncertain != Fast.EscalateOnCompletionUncertain ||
+		esc.OnSelfCorrectFailure != Fast.EscalateOnSelfCorrectFailure ||
+		esc.OnRiskyMutation != Fast.EscalateOnRiskyMutation {
+		t.Fatalf("escalation triggers must mirror the catalog, got %+v", esc)
+	}
+}
+
+// The effort restore arms only when the profile actually filled the effort:
+// with an explicit user effort the profile backed off, so escalation must not
+// clear the user's choice.
+func TestFastPolicyExplicitEffortIsNeverRestored(t *testing.T) {
+	policy := Fast.Policy(80, false)
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("fast must still arm its triggers")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("the profile did not fill the effort, so escalation must leave it alone")
+	}
+}
+
+// A profile that did not displace the budget (explicit --max-turns pinned it)
+// must not let escalation move the ceiling at all.
+func TestFastPolicyZeroDisplacedLeavesCeilingUntouched(t *testing.T) {
+	policy := Fast.Policy(0, false)
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("fast must still arm its triggers with a zero displaced budget")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.MaxTurns != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.MaxTurns = %d, want 0 (no displaced value to restore)", policy.Escalate.MaxTurns)
+	}
+}
+
+// Thorough is already the maximum posture: no triggers, so no policy — the
+// loop must stay byte-identical to the same knobs set by hand.
+func TestThoroughPolicyIsNil(t *testing.T) {
+	if policy := Thorough.Policy(80, true); policy != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("thorough Policy must be nil, got %+v", policy)
+	}
+}
+
+// Pin the catalog's provisional values so a retune is a deliberate,
+// test-visible diff (these floors came from the Phase 0 baseline's read-class
+// evidence and are expected to move after the post-oracle-fix re-capture).
+func TestCatalogProvisionalValues(t *testing.T) {
+	if Fast.MaxTurns != 30 || Fast.ReasoningEffort != "low" || Fast.SelfCorrect {
+		t.Fatalf("fast knobs changed: %+v", Fast)
+	}
+	// Critical, not High: the sandbox classifies every shell command as at
+	// least high risk, so a High trigger would spend the one-shot escalation
+	// on the first benign `go test` of any coding task.
+	if Fast.EscalateOnRiskyMutation != sandbox.RiskCritical {
+		t.Fatalf("fast risky-mutation trigger = %q, want %q", Fast.EscalateOnRiskyMutation, sandbox.RiskCritical)
+	}
+	if Thorough.MaxTurns != 160 || Thorough.ReasoningEffort != "high" || !Thorough.SelfCorrect {
+		t.Fatalf("thorough knobs changed: %+v", Thorough)
+	}
+}

internal/perfbench/taskbench.go

@@ -85,6 +85,10 @@ type RunContext struct {
 	Model       string
 	Mode        string
 	SelfCorrect bool
+	// ExecProfile, when non-empty, is forwarded to the agent invocation as
+	// --exec-profile (turn benchmark runner; the task benchmark leaves it
+	// empty).
+	ExecProfile string
 }
 
 // TaskRunner runs a single benchmark task and returns its outcome.

internal/perfbench/turn_bench.go

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/execprofile"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/trace"
 )
 
@@ -52,7 +53,13 @@ import (
 // attempted task errored. Accounting: an errored oracle task stays in its
 // tier denominator as a failure; an errored latency-only task counts in
 // latencyOnlyTasks and, as always, in no pass rate.
-const TurnSchemaVersion = 4
+//
+// v5 is ADDITIVE ONLY: execProfile records the execution profile the run was
+// benchmarked under (omitted when none was selected), so profile A/B captures
+// are self-describing and two reports can't be compared without noticing they
+// ran different postures. No existing field changed shape or meaning; a v4
+// consumer reading a v5 report misses only the new field.
+const TurnSchemaVersion = 5
 
 // TurnRunner runs one benchmark task and reports its outcome plus the captured
 // per-turn trace. A non-nil Err means the run failed to execute (process crash);
@@ -79,6 +86,10 @@ type TurnBenchConfig struct {
 	Model       string
 	Mode        string
 	SelfCorrect bool
+	// ExecProfile, when non-empty, runs every task under the named execution
+	// profile (zero exec --exec-profile) and stamps it into the result so the
+	// report is self-describing for profile A/B comparisons.
+	ExecProfile string
 	Version     string
 	Commit      string
 	// Iterations is how many times each task is run. The per-process `zero exec`
@@ -151,6 +162,7 @@ type TurnBenchResult struct {
 	Suite               string                  `json:"suite"`
 	Model               string                  `json:"model"`
 	Mode                string                  `json:"mode,omitempty"`
+	ExecProfile         string                  `json:"execProfile,omitempty"`
 	SelfCorrect         bool                    `json:"selfCorrect"`
 	Version             string                  `json:"version,omitempty"`
 	Commit              string                  `json:"commit,omitempty"`
@@ -202,6 +214,19 @@ func RunTurnBench(ctx context.Context, set TaskSet, cfg TurnBenchConfig) (TurnBe
 	if cfg.Runner == nil {
 		return TurnBenchResult{}, errors.New("turn benchmark requires a runner")
 	}
+	// Canonicalize the profile once at the boundary so every consumer — the
+	// child exec args, the stamped result, the summary — carries the same
+	// catalog name regardless of the caller's casing/whitespace, and a direct
+	// library caller cannot slip an unknown name into a report the way the CLI
+	// (which validates at parse time) cannot.
+	benchProfile := strings.TrimSpace(cfg.ExecProfile)
+	if benchProfile != "" {
+		profile, ok := execprofile.Lookup(benchProfile)
+		if !ok {
+			return TurnBenchResult{}, fmt.Errorf("unknown execution profile %q (valid: %s)", cfg.ExecProfile, strings.Join(execprofile.Names(), ", "))
+		}
+		benchProfile = profile.Name
+	}
 	iterations := cfg.Iterations
 	if iterations < 1 {
 		iterations = 1
@@ -210,7 +235,7 @@ func RunTurnBench(ctx context.Context, set TaskSet, cfg TurnBenchConfig) (TurnBe
 	if now == nil {
 		now = time.Now
 	}
-	rc := RunContext{Model: cfg.Model, Mode: cfg.Mode, SelfCorrect: cfg.SelfCorrect}
+	rc := RunContext{Model: cfg.Model, Mode: cfg.Mode, SelfCorrect: cfg.SelfCorrect, ExecProfile: benchProfile}
 
 	perSpanSamples := map[string][]float64{}
 	classWalls := map[string][]float64{}
@@ -240,6 +265,7 @@ func RunTurnBench(ctx context.Context, set TaskSet, cfg TurnBenchConfig) (TurnBe
 		Suite:         strings.TrimSpace(set.ID),
 		Model:         strings.TrimSpace(cfg.Model),
 		Mode:          strings.TrimSpace(cfg.Mode),
+		ExecProfile:   benchProfile,
 		SelfCorrect:   cfg.SelfCorrect,
 		Version:       strings.TrimSpace(cfg.Version),
 		Commit:        strings.TrimSpace(cfg.Commit),
@@ -496,6 +522,9 @@ func FormatTurnBenchSummary(result TurnBenchResult) string {
 	if result.Mode != "" {
 		lines = append(lines, "mode: "+result.Mode)
 	}
+	if result.ExecProfile != "" {
+		lines = append(lines, "exec-profile: "+result.ExecProfile)
+	}
 	if len(result.TopLatency) > 0 {
 		lines = append(lines, "top latency sources:")
 		for _, src := range result.TopLatency {
@@ -771,6 +800,9 @@ func buildTurnExecArgs(task BenchTask, rc RunContext, tracePath string, extraArg
 	if rc.SelfCorrect {
 		args = append(args, "--self-correct")
 	}
+	if profile := strings.TrimSpace(rc.ExecProfile); profile != "" {
+		args = append(args, "--exec-profile", profile)
+	}
 	args = append(args, extraArgs...)
 	args = append(args, task.Prompt)
 	return args

internal/perfbench/turn_bench_test.go

@@ -536,10 +536,12 @@ func TestRunTurnBenchBuildOnlyMechanism(t *testing.T) {
 // and nav answer-oracles moved into correctnessPassRate). v4 adds tasksErrored:
 // tasks whose every iteration died before the agent produced a run are now
 // first-class in the report instead of visible only in warnings, so a
-// spawn-broken run cannot print a clean-looking summary or exit 0.
+// spawn-broken run cannot print a clean-looking summary or exit 0. v5 is
+// additive only: execProfile stamps the execution profile the run was
+// benchmarked under so profile A/B reports are self-describing.
 func TestTurnSchemaVersion(t *testing.T) {
-	if TurnSchemaVersion != 4 {
-		t.Fatalf("TurnSchemaVersion = %d, want 4", TurnSchemaVersion)
+	if TurnSchemaVersion != 5 {
+		t.Fatalf("TurnSchemaVersion = %d, want 5", TurnSchemaVersion)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1161,3 +1163,95 @@ func TestRunTurnBenchPartialErrorStillCounts(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("TasksAttempted=%d, want 2", result.TasksAttempted)
 	}
 }
+
+// The exec-profile passthrough: the profile must reach every task's zero exec
+// invocation as --exec-profile (with the prompt staying last) and stay out of
+// the args entirely when unset.
+func TestBuildTurnExecArgsIncludesExecProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	task := BenchTask{ID: "t", Prompt: "do the thing"}
+	args := buildTurnExecArgs(task, RunContext{Model: "m", ExecProfile: "fast"}, "trace.ndjson", nil)
+	found := false
+	for i := 0; i < len(args)-1; i++ {
+		if args[i] == "--exec-profile" && args[i+1] == "fast" {
+			found = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Fatalf("args must carry --exec-profile fast, got %v", args)
+	}
+	if args[len(args)-1] != "do the thing" {
+		t.Fatalf("prompt must stay the last argument, got %v", args)
+	}
+
+	args = buildTurnExecArgs(task, RunContext{Model: "m"}, "trace.ndjson", nil)
+	for _, arg := range args {
+		if arg == "--exec-profile" {
+			t.Fatalf("no profile configured, but args carry --exec-profile: %v", args)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The configured profile must reach the runner's RunContext and be stamped
+// into the result, so a profile A/B report is self-describing. The boundary
+// canonicalizes (case/whitespace) so equivalent postures always carry the same
+// label, and rejects unknown names so a direct library caller cannot slip an
+// unvalidated profile into a report the way the CLI (parse-time check) cannot.
+func TestRunTurnBenchStampsExecProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	set := TaskSet{
+		ID:    "profile-suite",
+		Tasks: []BenchTask{{ID: "t1", Class: "longproc", Prompt: "p"}},
+	}
+	var gotProfile string
+	cfg := TurnBenchConfig{
+		Model:       "fake-model",
+		ExecProfile: " FAST ",
+		Iterations:  1,
+		Runner: func(_ context.Context, _ BenchTask, rc RunContext) TurnTaskOutcome {
+			gotProfile = rc.ExecProfile
+			return TurnTaskOutcome{Passed: true, WallMs: 10, Trace: cannedTrace(10, 1, 100)}
+		},
+		Now: func() time.Time { return time.Date(2026, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, time.UTC) },
+	}
+	result, err := RunTurnBench(context.Background(), set, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RunTurnBench: %v", err)
+	}
+	if gotProfile != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("runner RunContext.ExecProfile = %q, want the canonical fast", gotProfile)
+	}
+	if result.ExecProfile != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("result.ExecProfile = %q, want the canonical fast", result.ExecProfile)
+	}
+	raw, err := json.Marshal(result)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshal result: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(raw), `"execProfile":"fast"`) {
+		t.Fatal("published JSON must carry execProfile")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunTurnBenchRejectsUnknownExecProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	set := TaskSet{
+		ID:    "profile-suite",
+		Tasks: []BenchTask{{ID: "t1", Class: "longproc", Prompt: "p"}},
+	}
+	ran := false
+	cfg := TurnBenchConfig{
+		Model:       "fake-model",
+		ExecProfile: "blanced",
+		Iterations:  1,
+		Runner: func(context.Context, BenchTask, RunContext) TurnTaskOutcome {
+			ran = true
+			return TurnTaskOutcome{Passed: true, WallMs: 10, Trace: cannedTrace(10, 1, 100)}
+		},
+	}
+	_, err := RunTurnBench(context.Background(), set, cfg)
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "unknown execution profile") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want an unknown-profile rejection", err)
+	}
+	if ran {
+		t.Fatal("nothing may run under an unknown profile")
+	}
+}

internal/tui/command_center.go

@@ -464,13 +464,15 @@ func (m model) handleModelCommand(args string) (model, string) {
 		// dedupe against the entry just persisted here, showing the same switch twice.
 		config.RecentModelEntry{Provider: m.providerName, Model: target.modelID},
 	)
-	resetEffort := false
-	if m.reasoningEffort != "" && !reasoningEffortAllowed(target.reasoningEfforts, m.reasoningEffort) {
-		// Drop an unsupported carry-over preference and fall back to the
-		// model's effective default for the new model.
-		m.reasoningEffort = ""
-		resetEffort = true
-	}
+	// Drop a known-unsupported preference, void any profile bookkeeping the
+	// drop erased, and re-derive an active profile's per-model effort fill.
+	// The ring is authoritative only for catalog-resolved targets
+	// (target.entry non-nil); live-discovered/custom targets carry no support
+	// knowledge, so an explicit preference survives onto them. resetEffort
+	// reports a dropped preference nothing refilled (shown as a reset to
+	// auto).
+	var resetEffort bool
+	m, resetEffort = m.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(target.reasoningEfforts, target.entry != nil)
 	effortLine := "effort: " + m.effortDisplay()
 	if resetEffort {
 		// Preference was dropped: show "auto" (model default applies), not a
@@ -551,6 +553,13 @@ func (m model) switchProviderModel(providerName, modelID string) (model, string,
 	m.providerProfile = target
 	m.providerName = target.Name
 	m.modelName = target.Model
+	// An active profile's effort fill is per-model: re-derive it for the
+	// destination, exactly like handleModelCommand does. No generic
+	// unsupported-drop here: cross-provider targets are often custom models
+	// the catalog cannot vouch for either way, so an explicit preference is
+	// carried (pre-existing behavior) while the profile's own fill stays
+	// conservative — it only ever applies where support is known.
+	m = m.reconcileProfileAfterModelSwitch(m.availableReasoningEfforts())
 	// Record the outgoing pair too — see the matching comment in
 	// handleModelCommand for why (keeps the session's starting model from
 	// silently dropping out of "Recent" on the first switch away from it).

internal/tui/commands.go

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ const (
 	commandAddDir
 	commandSelfCorrect
 	commandTurns
+	commandProfile
 	commandRetry
 	commandEdit
 	commandCopy
@@ -286,6 +287,13 @@ var commandDefinitions = []commandDefinition{
 		description: "Show or set the per-run tool-turn budget for this session (raise it for long multi-step tasks).",
 		kind:        commandTurns,
 	},
+	{
+		name:        "/profile",
+		usage:       "/profile [status|balanced|fast|thorough]",
+		group:       commandGroupSession,
+		description: "Show or switch the execution profile for the next run (loop posture: turn budget, effort, self-correction, escalation; model selection is unchanged).",
+		kind:        commandProfile,
+	},
 	{
 		name:        "/retry",
 		usage:       "/retry",

internal/tui/model.go

@@ -128,20 +128,36 @@ type model struct {
 	permissionMode              agent.PermissionMode
 	selfCorrectTests            bool
 	reasoningEffort             modelregistry.ReasoningEffort
-	responseStyle               string
-	keyBindings                 keyBindings
-	themeMode                   themeMode // palette preference: auto (default), dark, light
-	hasDarkBg                   bool      // last terminal background-detection result (auto mode)
-	userAgent                   string
-	compactRequests             int
-	compactInFlight             bool
-	compactFrame                int
-	lastCompactResult           *CompactResult
-	lastCompactError            string
-	unpricedRequests            int
-	unpricedTokens              int
-	lastUsage                   usage.Normalized
-	lastUsageSeen               bool
+	// Active execution profile (set by /profile; applies to the NEXT run).
+	// The displaced/applied pairs let a switch or /profile balanced restore
+	// exactly what the profile replaced while leaving later manual overrides
+	// (/turns, Ctrl+T, /selfcorrect) alone: each knob is only reverted when it
+	// still holds the value the profile applied.
+	execProfileName              string
+	execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns int
+	execProfileAppliedMaxTurns   int
+	execProfileAppliedEffort     modelregistry.ReasoningEffort
+	execProfileArmedSelfCorrect  bool
+	// The touched bits record explicit user choices made while a profile is
+	// active (/turns, /effort, Ctrl+T, /selfcorrect); a touched knob is never
+	// reverted, even when its value coincides with what the profile applied.
+	execProfileTurnsTouched       bool
+	execProfileEffortTouched      bool
+	execProfileSelfCorrectTouched bool
+	responseStyle                 string
+	keyBindings                   keyBindings
+	themeMode                     themeMode // palette preference: auto (default), dark, light
+	hasDarkBg                     bool      // last terminal background-detection result (auto mode)
+	userAgent                     string
+	compactRequests               int
+	compactInFlight               bool
+	compactFrame                  int
+	lastCompactResult             *CompactResult
+	lastCompactError              string
+	unpricedRequests              int
+	unpricedTokens                int
+	lastUsage                     usage.Normalized
+	lastUsageSeen                 bool
 	// turnLatencySum / turnLatencyCount accumulate completed-run wall time so
 	// /context can show a rolling average turn latency (the "is it slow?" signal).
 	// Reset by /new.
@@ -4346,6 +4362,18 @@ func (m model) dispatchCommand(command parsedCommand) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 		m, text = m.handleTurnsCommand(command.text)
 		m.transcript = reduceTranscript(m.transcript, transcriptAction{kind: actionAppendSystem, text: text})
 		return m, nil
+	case commandProfile:
+		// Same idle-session rule as /turns: switching the profile mutates the
+		// turn budget (and its ZERO_MAX_TURNS propagation), so a change needs
+		// an idle session; bare /profile (status) is always allowed.
+		if m.pending && strings.TrimSpace(command.text) != "" && !strings.EqualFold(strings.TrimSpace(command.text), "status") {
+			m.transcript = reduceTranscript(m.transcript, transcriptAction{kind: actionAppendSystem, text: "Profile\nFinish or stop the current run before switching the execution profile."})
+			return m, nil
+		}
+		text := ""
+		m, text = m.handleProfileCommand(command.text)
+		m.transcript = reduceTranscript(m.transcript, transcriptAction{kind: actionAppendSystem, text: text})
+		return m, nil
 	case commandTheme:
 		// Bare `/theme` opens the popup picker (live preview on move, apply on
 		// Enter), matching /model and /effort. An explicit `/theme auto|dark|light`

internal/tui/profile_command_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,432 @@
+package tui
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/config"
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/modelregistry"
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/zeroruntime"
+)
+
+// profileSwitchModel builds a session on a model whose catalog entry supports
+// the fast profile's "low" effort, with a second saved provider whose custom
+// model has no catalog entry (so no effort ring) — the two directions the
+// model-switch reconciliation must handle.
+func profileSwitchModel(t *testing.T) model {
+	t.Helper()
+	return newModel(context.Background(), Options{
+		ProviderName:    "anthropic",
+		ModelName:       "claude-sonnet-4.5",
+		Provider:        &fakeProvider{},
+		ProviderProfile: config.ProviderProfile{Name: "anthropic", CatalogID: "anthropic", Model: "claude-sonnet-4.5", APIKey: "k"},
+		SavedProviders: []config.ProviderProfile{
+			{Name: "anthropic", CatalogID: "anthropic", Model: "claude-sonnet-4.5", APIKey: "k"},
+			{Name: "ollama", CatalogID: "ollama", ProviderKind: config.ProviderKindOpenAICompatible, BaseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1", Model: "kimi-k2.7-code:cloud"},
+		},
+		NewProvider: func(config.ProviderProfile) (zeroruntime.Provider, error) {
+			return &fakeProvider{}, nil
+		},
+	})
+}
+
+// The profile's effort fill is per-model and must be re-derived on a model
+// switch: dropped when the destination does not support the level, refilled
+// when a later destination does, with the escalation's effort restore tracking
+// whether the profile currently governs the effort.
+func TestProfileEffortReconciledOnModelSwitch(t *testing.T) {
+	m := profileSwitchModel(t)
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "low" || m.agentOptions.Profile == nil || !m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatalf("fast on a low-supporting model must fill low and arm the restore, got effort %q", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+
+	// Supported -> unsupported: the profile-applied level must not survive
+	// onto a model with no effort ring.
+	m, text, ok, _ := m.switchProviderModel("ollama", "kimi-k2.7-code:cloud")
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("switch to ollama failed: %q", text)
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "" || m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q applied = %q, want both cleared on an unsupported destination", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileAppliedEffort)
+	}
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("the profile no longer governs the effort, so the restore must disarm")
+	}
+	if m.execProfileName != "fast" || m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 30 {
+		t.Fatalf("profile must stay active across the switch: name %q turns %d", m.execProfileName, m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+
+	// Unsupported -> supported: switching (back) to a supporting model must
+	// behave like selecting the profile there.
+	m, text, ok, _ = m.switchProviderModel("anthropic", "claude-sonnet-4.5")
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("switch back to anthropic failed: %q", text)
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "low" || m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q applied = %q, want the profile's low refilled", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileAppliedEffort)
+	}
+	if !m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("the profile governs the effort again, so the restore must re-arm")
+	}
+}
+
+// The direct /model path (reconcileEffortForModelSwitch, driven by the
+// target's authoritative ring) drops a KNOWN-unsupported effort — the TUI run
+// path forwards the effort unfiltered, so it must not survive. When that drop
+// voids a choice made under an active profile, the profile's effort
+// bookkeeping resets and the profile resumes governing: a later switch to a
+// supporting ring fills the profile's level again.
+func TestProfileEffortVoidedByModelSwitchDrop(t *testing.T) {
+	m := profileSwitchModel(t)
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleEffortCommand("high")
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" || !m.execProfileEffortTouched {
+		t.Fatalf("setup: effort %q touched %v, want an explicit high", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileEffortTouched)
+	}
+
+	// Destination with an AUTHORITATIVE empty ring (a catalog model without
+	// effort controls): "high" is known-unsupported, the drop fires, and the
+	// voided choice resets the profile's bookkeeping.
+	m, reset := m.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(nil, true)
+	if !reset {
+		t.Fatal("a dropped preference with nothing refilled must report the reset")
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q, a known-unsupported level must not survive", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if m.execProfileEffortTouched || m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("voided choice must reset the bookkeeping: touched %v applied %q", m.execProfileEffortTouched, m.execProfileAppliedEffort)
+	}
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("no profile-governed effort on this model, so the restore must be disarmed")
+	}
+	if m.execProfileName != "fast" || m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 30 {
+		t.Fatalf("profile must stay active: name %q turns %d", m.execProfileName, m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+
+	// With the void cleared, a destination that supports the profile's level
+	// behaves like selecting the profile there: the fill returns.
+	ring := []modelregistry.ReasoningEffort{"low", "medium", "high"}
+	m, reset = m.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(ring, true)
+	if reset {
+		t.Fatal("a refill is not a reset to auto")
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "low" || m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q applied = %q, want the profile's low refilled", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileAppliedEffort)
+	}
+	if !m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("the profile governs the effort again, so the restore must re-arm")
+	}
+}
+
+// A touched effort the destination DOES support survives the direct /model
+// path untouched — the drop only fires for known-unsupported levels.
+func TestProfileEffortTouchedSurvivesSupportedModelSwitch(t *testing.T) {
+	m := profileSwitchModel(t)
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleEffortCommand("high")
+	m, reset := m.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch([]modelregistry.ReasoningEffort{"low", "medium", "high"}, true)
+	if reset {
+		t.Fatal("nothing was dropped, so no reset")
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" || !m.execProfileEffortTouched {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q touched %v, an explicit choice the destination supports must survive", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileEffortTouched)
+	}
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit choice keeps the restore disarmed")
+	}
+}
+
+// An UNKNOWN ring (live-discovered/custom target with no catalog entry) is
+// not evidence of unsupported: an explicit preference survives, exactly as it
+// does on the cross-provider picker path, while the profile's own fill still
+// retreats to models where support is known.
+func TestProfileEffortUnknownRingPreservesExplicitChoice(t *testing.T) {
+	m := profileSwitchModel(t)
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleEffortCommand("high")
+	m, reset := m.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(nil, false)
+	if reset {
+		t.Fatal("an unknown ring must not report a reset")
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" || !m.execProfileEffortTouched {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q touched %v, an explicit choice must survive an unknown ring", m.reasoningEffort, m.execProfileEffortTouched)
+	}
+
+	// Untouched profile fill on an unknown ring: the fill retreats (the
+	// profile only governs where support is known), with clean bookkeeping.
+	m2 := profileSwitchModel(t)
+	m2, _ = m2.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m2, reset = m2.reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(nil, false)
+	if reset {
+		t.Fatal("a profile-fill retreat is not an unsupported-preference reset")
+	}
+	if m2.reasoningEffort != "" || m2.execProfileAppliedEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q applied = %q, the profile fill must retreat on an unknown ring", m2.reasoningEffort, m2.execProfileAppliedEffort)
+	}
+	if m2.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("no profile-governed effort, so the restore must be disarmed")
+	}
+}
+
+// An explicitly touched effort is the user's choice: the reconciliation must
+// leave it alone entirely across model switches.
+func TestProfileEffortTouchedSurvivesModelSwitch(t *testing.T) {
+	m := profileSwitchModel(t)
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleEffortCommand("high")
+	m, text, ok, _ := m.switchProviderModel("ollama", "kimi-k2.7-code:cloud")
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("switch to ollama failed: %q", text)
+	}
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q, an explicit choice must survive the switch untouched", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit choice keeps the restore disarmed")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProfileCommandStatus(t *testing.T) {
+	_, out := model{}.handleProfileCommand("")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "balanced (default)") {
+		t.Fatalf("bare /profile must report the balanced default, got %q", out)
+	}
+	_, out = model{}.handleProfileCommand("status")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "balanced (default)") {
+		t.Fatalf("/profile status must report the balanced default, got %q", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProfileCommandUnknownValue(t *testing.T) {
+	got, out := model{}.handleProfileCommand("turbo")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "Usage:") {
+		t.Fatalf("unknown profile must print usage, got %q", out)
+	}
+	if got.execProfileName != "" || got.agentOptions.Profile != nil {
+		t.Fatal("unknown profile must not change any state")
+	}
+}
+
+// Fast applies to the next run: the turn budget drops, the escalation policy
+// is armed with the DISPLACED budget as its restore target, and effort stays
+// untouched when the session has no model-supported effort ring (model{}).
+func TestProfileCommandSetsFastPosture(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	got, out := m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	if got.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 30 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want the fast profile's 30", got.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if got.execProfileName != "fast" {
+		t.Fatalf("execProfileName = %q, want fast", got.execProfileName)
+	}
+	policy := got.agentOptions.Profile
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("fast must arm an escalation policy on agentOptions")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.MaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.MaxTurns = %d, want the displaced 80", policy.Escalate.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if got.reasoningEffort != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q, must stay auto when the model exposes no effort ring", got.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "fast") || !strings.Contains(out, "headless-only") {
+		t.Fatalf("status must name the profile and the TUI signal asymmetry, got %q", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProfileCommandThoroughArmsSelfCorrect(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	got, _ := m.handleProfileCommand("thorough")
+	if got.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 160 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want thorough's 160", got.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if !got.selfCorrectTests {
+		t.Fatal("thorough must arm full self-correction")
+	}
+	if got.agentOptions.Profile != nil {
+		t.Fatal("thorough has no escalation triggers, so the loop policy must stay nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProfileCommandBalancedRestoresDisplaced(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	got, _ := m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if got.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want the displaced 80 restored", got.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if got.execProfileName != "" || got.agentOptions.Profile != nil {
+		t.Fatal("balanced must clear the profile state and loop policy")
+	}
+}
+
+// Profiles must not stack: switching fast -> thorough restores fast's
+// displacement first, so thorough displaces the ORIGINAL budget and a later
+// balanced lands back on it.
+func TestProfileCommandSwitchDoesNotStack(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("thorough")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 160 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want thorough's 160", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("displaced = %d, want the original 80 (not fast's 30)", m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns)
+	}
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want the original 80 restored", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+}
+
+// An explicit /turns while a profile is active is a pinned budget: it must
+// disarm the escalation's turn target (mirroring headless exec, where an
+// explicit --max-turns leaves nothing displaced) while the other triggers
+// stay armed, and it must survive a later revert.
+func TestProfileCommandTurnsPinDisarmsEscalationTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleTurnsCommand("20")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 20 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want the pinned 20", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	policy := m.agentOptions.Profile
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the profile's other escalation triggers must stay armed")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.MaxTurns != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.MaxTurns = %d, want 0 (a pinned budget must never be raised by escalation)", policy.Escalate.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.OnToolFailureStreak == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("disarming the turn target must not disarm the other triggers")
+	}
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 20 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, the pinned 20 must survive the revert", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+}
+
+// A manual override that COINCIDES with the profile's own value must still
+// survive the revert: touched beats value equality.
+func TestProfileCommandRevertLeavesCoincidingOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleTurnsCommand("30") // explicit, happens to equal fast's 30
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 30 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, the explicit /turns 30 must survive even though it equals fast's value", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+
+	// Same for self-correct: /selfcorrect off then on under thorough is an
+	// explicit opt-in, not the profile's arming.
+	m2 := model{}
+	m2.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+	m2, _ = m2.handleProfileCommand("thorough")
+	m2, _ = m2.handleSelfCorrectCommand("off")
+	m2, _ = m2.handleSelfCorrectCommand("on")
+	m2, _ = m2.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if !m2.selfCorrectTests {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit /selfcorrect on must survive the revert even though thorough also armed it")
+	}
+}
+
+// Reverting a profile whose displaced budget was zero (nothing was set before
+// it) must clear ZERO_MAX_TURNS: SetMaxTurnsEnv ignores zero, so without an
+// explicit unset, spawned sub-agents would keep the removed profile's budget.
+func TestProfileCommandRevertFromZeroClearsMaxTurnsEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(config.MaxTurnsEnv, "")
+	m := model{} // MaxTurns 0: the profile displaces nothing
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	if got := os.Getenv(config.MaxTurnsEnv); got != "30" {
+		t.Fatalf("env after apply = %q, want the profile's 30", got)
+	}
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if m.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, want the displaced 0 restored", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	if got, present := os.LookupEnv(config.MaxTurnsEnv); present {
+		t.Fatalf("env after revert = %q (present), want the key removed", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// An explicit effort choice after /profile must disarm the escalation's
+// effort restore (the effort analog of the /turns pin): a mid-run escalation
+// must never clear an effort the user pinned by hand. Needs a catalog model
+// with an effort ring so the profile's fill actually applies.
+func TestProfileCommandExplicitEffortDisarmsRestore(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{modelName: "claude-sonnet-4.5"}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("profile did not fill low effort for the test model: got %q", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	policy := m.agentOptions.Profile
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil || !policy.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("profile-filled effort must arm the escalation effort restore")
+	}
+
+	m, _ = m.handleEffortCommand("high")
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q, want the explicit high", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+	policy = m.agentOptions.Profile
+	if policy == nil || policy.Escalate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the escalation policy must stay armed")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit /effort must disarm the effort restore")
+	}
+	if policy.Escalate.MaxTurns != 80 {
+		t.Fatalf("Escalate.MaxTurns = %d, disarming effort must not touch the turn target", policy.Escalate.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	// And the explicit choice survives a later revert (touched bit).
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if m.reasoningEffort != "high" {
+		t.Fatalf("effort = %q, the explicit high must survive the revert", m.reasoningEffort)
+	}
+}
+
+// A manual override made after selecting a profile survives the revert: the
+// profile only restores knobs that still hold the value it applied.
+func TestProfileCommandRevertLeavesManualOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	m := model{}
+	m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+
+	m, _ = m.handleProfileCommand("fast")
+	m, _ = m.handleTurnsCommand("100")
+	got, _ := m.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if got.agentOptions.MaxTurns != 100 {
+		t.Fatalf("MaxTurns = %d, the user's explicit /turns 100 must survive the revert", got.agentOptions.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	// An explicit /selfcorrect choice armed BEFORE thorough must survive too.
+	m2 := model{selfCorrectTests: true}
+	m2.agentOptions.MaxTurns = 80
+	m2, _ = m2.handleProfileCommand("thorough")
+	m2, _ = m2.handleProfileCommand("balanced")
+	if !m2.selfCorrectTests {
+		t.Fatal("an explicit self-correct opt-in must survive profile revert")
+	}
+}

internal/tui/session_controls.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package tui
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/agent"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/config"
+	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/execprofile"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/modelregistry"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/sessions"
 	"github.com/Gitlawb/zero/internal/usage"
@@ -61,6 +63,7 @@ func (m model) handleEffortCommand(args string) (model, string) {
 	}
 	if args == "auto" {
 		m.reasoningEffort = ""
+		m = m.markProfileEffortTouched()
 		return m, m.effortStatusCard("auto", "Reasoning effort selection will follow the active model/provider defaults.")
 	}
 
@@ -78,6 +81,7 @@ func (m model) handleEffortCommand(args string) (model, string) {
 	}
 
 	m.reasoningEffort = requested
+	m = m.markProfileEffortTouched()
 	return m, m.effortStatusCard(string(requested), "Reasoning effort preference is stored for this TUI session.")
 }
 
@@ -131,6 +135,104 @@ func (m model) effortText() string {
 	})
 }
 
+// markProfileEffortTouched records an explicit effort choice made while a
+// profile is active: the touched bit protects the choice from a later profile
+// revert, and disarming the policy's RestoreDefaultEffort stops a mid-run
+// escalation from clearing an effort the user pinned by hand.
+func (m model) markProfileEffortTouched() model {
+	if m.execProfileName == "" {
+		return m
+	}
+	m.execProfileEffortTouched = true
+	return m.setProfileEffortRestore(false)
+}
+
+// setProfileEffortRestore rewrites the armed policy's RestoreDefaultEffort on
+// a clone (an in-flight run may hold the current pointer), like the /turns
+// turn-target disarm. No-op when no escalation policy is armed or the flag
+// already matches.
+func (m model) setProfileEffortRestore(restore bool) model {
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile == nil || m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate == nil ||
+		m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort == restore {
+		return m
+	}
+	policy := *m.agentOptions.Profile
+	escalate := *policy.Escalate
+	escalate.RestoreDefaultEffort = restore
+	policy.Escalate = &escalate
+	m.agentOptions.Profile = &policy
+	return m
+}
+
+// reconcileEffortForModelSwitch applies the effort rules for a model switch.
+// efforts is the destination's supported ring and ringKnown whether that ring
+// is authoritative (a catalog entry, whose ring may be legitimately empty) or
+// missing knowledge (a live-discovered/custom model the catalog cannot vouch
+// for either way).
+//
+// First the pre-existing generic rule: a KNOWN-unsupported preference is
+// dropped — the TUI run path forwards the effort to the provider unfiltered,
+// so it must not survive the switch, for a profile-touched effort exactly as
+// for a plain one. An UNKNOWN ring never drops an explicit preference: the
+// model may well support it, matching the cross-provider picker's behavior
+// for custom models. When a drop voids a choice living under an active
+// profile (the profile's own fill or a user override of it), the profile's
+// effort bookkeeping resets so a choice that no longer exists stops binding
+// and no stale applied/restore state remains.
+//
+// Then the profile rule: an active, untouched profile re-derives its fill for
+// the destination (conservative in both directions — the fill only ever
+// applies where support is known). The second return reports whether an
+// unsupported preference was dropped and nothing refilled (the caller's
+// "(unsupported preference reset)" display case).
+func (m model) reconcileEffortForModelSwitch(efforts []modelregistry.ReasoningEffort, ringKnown bool) (model, bool) {
+	dropped := false
+	if ringKnown && m.reasoningEffort != "" && !reasoningEffortAllowed(efforts, m.reasoningEffort) {
+		m.reasoningEffort = ""
+		dropped = true
+		if m.execProfileName != "" {
+			m.execProfileEffortTouched = false
+			m.execProfileAppliedEffort = ""
+			m = m.setProfileEffortRestore(false)
+		}
+	}
+	m = m.reconcileProfileAfterModelSwitch(efforts)
+	return m, dropped && m.reasoningEffort == ""
+}
+
+// reconcileProfileAfterModelSwitch re-derives an active profile's effort fill
+// for the model the session just switched to, whose supported ring is passed
+// in. The fill is per-model, not a session preference: fast selected on a
+// model without "low" fills nothing, and switching to a model that supports
+// it should behave exactly like selecting the profile there (and the reverse
+// switch must not keep sending a level the destination does not support). An
+// explicitly touched effort is the user's choice and is never reconciled; the
+// escalation's RestoreDefaultEffort tracks whether the profile currently
+// governs the effort.
+func (m model) reconcileProfileAfterModelSwitch(efforts []modelregistry.ReasoningEffort) model {
+	if m.execProfileName == "" || m.execProfileEffortTouched {
+		return m
+	}
+	profile, ok := execprofile.Lookup(m.execProfileName)
+	if !ok || profile.ReasoningEffort == "" {
+		return m
+	}
+	want := modelregistry.ReasoningEffort(profile.ReasoningEffort)
+	supported := reasoningEffortAllowed(efforts, want)
+	filled := m.execProfileAppliedEffort != ""
+	switch {
+	case supported && !filled && m.reasoningEffort == "":
+		m.reasoningEffort = want
+		m.execProfileAppliedEffort = want
+		m = m.setProfileEffortRestore(true)
+	case !supported && filled && m.reasoningEffort == m.execProfileAppliedEffort:
+		m.reasoningEffort = ""
+		m.execProfileAppliedEffort = ""
+		m = m.setProfileEffortRestore(false)
+	}
+	return m
+}
+
 func (m model) availableReasoningEfforts() []modelregistry.ReasoningEffort {
 	if strings.TrimSpace(m.modelName) == "" {
 		return nil
@@ -161,6 +263,10 @@ func (m model) cycleReasoningEffort() (model, tea.Cmd) {
 	if len(efforts) == 0 {
 		return m, nil
 	}
+	// Every branch below changes the effort; a cycle while a profile is active
+	// is an explicit user choice that must survive both a later profile revert
+	// and any mid-run escalation.
+	m = m.markProfileEffortTouched()
 	if m.reasoningEffort == "" {
 		m.reasoningEffort = efforts[0]
 		return m, nil
@@ -254,6 +360,12 @@ func (m model) handleSelfCorrectCommand(args string) (model, string) {
 	default:
 		return m, "Self-correct\nUsage: /selfcorrect [status|on|off|tests|full|lsp]"
 	}
+	// An explicit choice while a profile is active must survive a later
+	// profile revert, even when it lands on the value the profile applied
+	// (e.g. /selfcorrect off then on under thorough).
+	if m.execProfileName != "" {
+		m.execProfileSelfCorrectTouched = true
+	}
 	return m, m.selfCorrectText()
 }
 
@@ -278,9 +390,146 @@ func (m model) handleTurnsCommand(args string) (model, string) {
 	// Propagate the budget to spawned sub-agents / swarm members (which inherit the
 	// environment) so a delegated task gets the same budget, not config.json's default.
 	config.SetMaxTurnsEnv(n)
+	// An explicit /turns while a profile is active is a pinned budget: mirror
+	// headless exec's rule (an explicit --max-turns leaves nothing displaced)
+	// by disarming the escalation's turn target, so a mid-run escalation can
+	// never raise the budget the user just pinned. The other escalation
+	// triggers stay armed. Mark the knob touched so a later profile revert
+	// leaves this choice alone even if n coincides with the profile's value.
+	if m.execProfileName != "" {
+		m.execProfileTurnsTouched = true
+		if m.agentOptions.Profile != nil && m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate != nil {
+			policy := *m.agentOptions.Profile
+			escalate := *policy.Escalate
+			escalate.MaxTurns = 0
+			policy.Escalate = &escalate
+			m.agentOptions.Profile = &policy
+		}
+	}
 	return m, m.turnsText()
 }
 
+// handleProfileCommand shows or switches the session's execution profile: a
+// loop-posture bundle (turn budget, reasoning effort, self-correction,
+// escalation triggers) applied to the NEXT run, composing with the selected
+// model rather than replacing it. Switching first restores whatever the
+// previous profile displaced (profiles never stack), and balanced IS that
+// restore: the empty profile, so selecting it just clears the posture.
+func (m model) handleProfileCommand(args string) (model, string) {
+	args = strings.TrimSpace(args)
+	if args == "" || strings.EqualFold(args, "status") {
+		return m, m.profileText()
+	}
+	profile, ok := execprofile.Lookup(args)
+	if !ok {
+		return m, "Profile\nUsage: /profile [status|" + strings.Join(execprofile.Names(), "|") + "] — switch the next run's loop posture."
+	}
+	m = m.revertExecProfile()
+	if profile.Name == execprofile.Balanced.Name {
+		return m, m.profileText()
+	}
+	// Turn budget: displace the session's current budget. The displaced value
+	// becomes the escalation restore target, exactly like headless exec, and
+	// the new budget propagates to spawned sub-agents the same way /turns does.
+	displacedMaxTurns := 0
+	if profile.MaxTurns > 0 {
+		displacedMaxTurns = m.agentOptions.MaxTurns
+		m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = profile.MaxTurns
+		m.execProfileAppliedMaxTurns = profile.MaxTurns
+		m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns = displacedMaxTurns
+		config.SetMaxTurnsEnv(profile.MaxTurns)
+	}
+	// Reasoning effort: fill only when the session is on auto AND the active
+	// model supports the profile's level, mirroring exec's supported-effort
+	// gating. An explicit user choice always wins over the profile.
+	if want := modelregistry.ReasoningEffort(profile.ReasoningEffort); want != "" && m.reasoningEffort == "" {
+		if reasoningEffortAllowed(m.availableReasoningEfforts(), want) {
+			m.reasoningEffort = want
+			m.execProfileAppliedEffort = want
+		}
+	}
+	// Self-correction is presence-only: a profile can arm it but never disarm
+	// an explicit /selfcorrect choice.
+	if profile.SelfCorrect && !m.selfCorrectTests {
+		m.selfCorrectTests = true
+		m.execProfileArmedSelfCorrect = true
+	}
+	m.agentOptions.Profile = profile.Policy(displacedMaxTurns, m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "")
+	m.execProfileName = profile.Name
+	return m, m.profileText()
+}
+
+// revertExecProfile restores what the active profile displaced. Each knob is
+// restored only when the user has not explicitly touched it since the profile
+// was applied (the touched bits, set by /turns, /effort, Ctrl+T, and
+// /selfcorrect) AND it still holds the value the profile applied — so manual
+// overrides survive the revert even when they coincide with the profile's own
+// value (e.g. /turns 30 under fast, or /selfcorrect off-then-on under
+// thorough).
+func (m model) revertExecProfile() model {
+	if m.execProfileName == "" {
+		return m
+	}
+	if !m.execProfileTurnsTouched && m.execProfileAppliedMaxTurns > 0 && m.agentOptions.MaxTurns == m.execProfileAppliedMaxTurns {
+		m.agentOptions.MaxTurns = m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns
+		if m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns > 0 {
+			config.SetMaxTurnsEnv(m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns)
+		} else {
+			// The profile's apply exported its budget to ZERO_MAX_TURNS (for
+			// sub-agents), and SetMaxTurnsEnv ignores zero — so restoring a
+			// zero displaced budget must clear the env explicitly or spawned
+			// children would keep the removed profile's budget.
+			_ = os.Unsetenv(config.MaxTurnsEnv)
+		}
+	}
+	if !m.execProfileEffortTouched && m.execProfileAppliedEffort != "" && m.reasoningEffort == m.execProfileAppliedEffort {
+		m.reasoningEffort = ""
+	}
+	if !m.execProfileSelfCorrectTouched && m.execProfileArmedSelfCorrect && m.selfCorrectTests {
+		m.selfCorrectTests = false
+	}
+	m.agentOptions.Profile = nil
+	m.execProfileName = ""
+	m.execProfileDisplacedMaxTurns = 0
+	m.execProfileAppliedMaxTurns = 0
+	m.execProfileAppliedEffort = ""
+	m.execProfileArmedSelfCorrect = false
+	m.execProfileTurnsTouched = false
+	m.execProfileEffortTouched = false
+	m.execProfileSelfCorrectTouched = false
+	return m
+}
+
+func (m model) profileText() string {
+	name := m.execProfileName
+	if name == "" {
+		name = execprofile.Balanced.Name + " (default)"
+	}
+	lines := []string{
+		"execution profile: " + name,
+		fmt.Sprintf("max tool-turns per run: %d", m.agentOptions.MaxTurns),
+		"reasoning effort: " + m.effortDisplay(),
+	}
+	if m.agentOptions.Profile != nil && m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate != nil {
+		turnTarget := "keeps the pinned turn budget"
+		if target := m.agentOptions.Profile.Escalate.MaxTurns; target > 0 {
+			turnTarget = fmt.Sprintf("restores the turn budget to %d", target)
+		}
+		lines = append(lines,
+			"escalation: armed — one-shot on a tool-failure streak, a failing self-correct cycle, or a critical-risk mutation; "+turnTarget,
+			"note: the uncertain-completion signal is headless-only (the completion gate never runs interactively), so it cannot fire in the TUI")
+	}
+	return renderCommandOutput(commandOutput{
+		Title:  "Profile",
+		Status: commandStatusOK,
+		Sections: []commandSection{{
+			Title: "State",
+			Lines: lines,
+		}},
+		Hints: []string{"/profile " + strings.Join(execprofile.Names(), "|") + " switches the next run's loop posture (turn budget, effort, self-correction, escalation); pick the model separately with /model"},
+	})
+}
+
 func (m model) turnsText() string {
 	return renderCommandOutput(commandOutput{
 		Title:  "Turns",