diff --git a/entry b/entry
index 4de7038..8cb45fb 100755
--- a/entry
+++ b/entry
@@ -141017,6 +141017,11 @@ async function checkoutPrBranch(pullNumber, params) {
   if (isFork) {
     toolState.pushUrl = `https://github.com/${headRepo.full_name}.git`;
   }
+  toolState.pushDest = {
+    remoteName: isFork ? `pr-${pullNumber}` : "origin",
+    remoteBranch: headBranch,
+    localBranch
+  };
   await executeLifecycleHook({
     event: "post-checkout",
     script: params.postCheckoutScript
@@ -141417,6 +141422,9 @@ async function reportProgress(ctx, { body }) {
       action: "updated"
     };
   }
+  if (existingCommentId === null) {
+    return { body, action: "skipped" };
+  }
   if (issueNumber === void 0) {
     return { body, action: "skipped" };
   }
@@ -141823,7 +141831,10 @@ function resolveInstructions(ctx) {
 
 Call \`delegate\` with a mode, effort level, and optional instructions:
 - \`mode\`: The workflow to run (see available modes below)
-- \`effort\`: \`"auto"\` (default, most capable), \`"mini"\` (fast, for simple tasks), or \`"max"\` (maximum capability)
+- \`effort\`: 
+  - \`"mini"\`: low-effort and fast, for simple tasks
+  - \`"auto"\`: medium-effort, good for typical tasks that don't require significant reasoning
+  - \`"max"\`: high-effort, good for PR reviews and complex coding tasks.
 - \`instructions\`: Optional additional context for the subagent. Use this to pass results from earlier delegations or narrow the subagent's focus.
 
 ### Single vs. multi-phase delegation
@@ -141921,7 +141932,7 @@ var DelegateParams = type({
     "the name of the mode to delegate to (e.g., 'Build', 'Plan', 'Review', 'Fix', 'AddressReviews')"
   ),
   "effort?": Effort.describe(
-    'effort level for the subagent: "mini" (fast), "auto" (default, highly capable), or "max" (maximum capability)'
+    `effort level for the subagent: "mini" (low-effort and fast, only for simple tasks), "auto" (medium-effort, good for typical tasks that don't require significant reasoning), or "max" (high-effort, good for PR reviews and complex coding tasks)`
   ),
   "instructions?": type.string.describe(
     "optional additional context or instructions for the subagent \u2014 use this to pass results from earlier delegations or narrow the subagent's focus"
@@ -142941,7 +142952,14 @@ function ListDirectoryTool(_ctx) {
 }
 
 // mcp/git.ts
-function getPushDestination(branch) {
+function getPushDestination(branch, storedDest) {
+  if (storedDest && storedDest.localBranch === branch) {
+    log.debug(`using stored push destination: ${storedDest.remoteName}/${storedDest.remoteBranch}`);
+    const url4 = $("git", ["remote", "get-url", "--push", storedDest.remoteName], {
+      log: false
+    }).trim();
+    return { remoteName: storedDest.remoteName, remoteBranch: storedDest.remoteBranch, url: url4 };
+  }
   try {
     const pushRemote = $("git", ["config", `branch.${branch}.pushRemote`], { log: false }).trim();
     const merge4 = $("git", ["config", `branch.${branch}.merge`], { log: false }).trim();
@@ -142958,7 +142976,7 @@ function normalizeUrl(url4) {
   return url4.replace(/\.git$/, "").toLowerCase();
 }
 function validatePushDestination(params) {
-  const dest = getPushDestination(params.branch);
+  const dest = getPushDestination(params.branch, params.storedDest);
   if (normalizeUrl(dest.url) !== normalizeUrl(params.pushUrl)) {
     throw new Error(
       `Push blocked: destination does not match expected repository.
@@ -142989,7 +143007,11 @@ function PushBranchTool(ctx) {
       if (!pushUrl) {
         throw new Error("pushUrl not set - setupGit must run before push_branch");
       }
-      const pushDest = validatePushDestination({ branch, pushUrl });
+      const pushDest = validatePushDestination({
+        branch,
+        pushUrl,
+        storedDest: ctx.toolState.pushDest
+      });
       if (pushPermission === "restricted" && pushDest.remoteBranch === defaultBranch) {
         throw new Error(
           `Push blocked: cannot push directly to default branch '${pushDest.remoteBranch}'. Create a feature branch and open a PR instead.`
@@ -144069,10 +144091,10 @@ function UploadFileTool(ctx) {
 
 // mcp/server.ts
 function initToolState(params) {
-  const progressCommentId = params.progressCommentId ? parseInt(params.progressCommentId, 10) : null;
-  const resolvedId = Number.isNaN(progressCommentId) ? null : progressCommentId;
-  if (progressCommentId) {
-    log.info(`\xBB using pre-created progress comment: ${progressCommentId}`);
+  const parsed2 = params.progressCommentId ? parseInt(params.progressCommentId, 10) : NaN;
+  const resolvedId = Number.isNaN(parsed2) ? void 0 : parsed2;
+  if (resolvedId) {
+    log.info(`\xBB using pre-created progress comment: ${resolvedId}`);
   }
   return {
     progressCommentId: resolvedId,
diff --git a/mcp/checkout.ts b/mcp/checkout.ts
index abdac32..08c89a4 100644
--- a/mcp/checkout.ts
+++ b/mcp/checkout.ts
@@ -290,6 +290,15 @@ export async function checkoutPrBranch(
     toolState.pushUrl = `https://github.com/${headRepo.full_name}.git`;
   }
 
+  // store push destination so push_branch can use it directly
+  // git config is the primary mechanism, but toolState serves as a reliable fallback
+  // in case git config reads fail in certain environments
+  toolState.pushDest = {
+    remoteName: isFork ? `pr-${pullNumber}` : "origin",
+    remoteBranch: headBranch,
+    localBranch,
+  };
+
   // execute post-checkout lifecycle hook
   await executeLifecycleHook({
     event: "post-checkout",
diff --git a/mcp/comment.ts b/mcp/comment.ts
index 7d81e1d..6095255 100644
--- a/mcp/comment.ts
+++ b/mcp/comment.ts
@@ -148,10 +148,14 @@ export const ReportProgress = type({
 });
 
 /**
- * Standalone function to report progress to GitHub comment.
- * Can be called directly without going through the MCP tool interface.
- * Returns result data if successful.
- * When there's no comment target (no progressCommentId and no issueNumber), returns a "skipped" result.
+ * Report progress to a GitHub comment.
+ *
+ * progressCommentId has three states:
+ *   - undefined: no comment yet — will create one if an issue/PR target exists
+ *   - number:    active comment — will update it in place
+ *   - null:      deliberately deleted (e.g. after submitting a PR review) — skips silently
+ *
+ * The body is always tracked in lastProgressBody for the job summary regardless of comment state.
  */
 export async function reportProgress(
   ctx: ToolContext,
@@ -201,6 +205,11 @@ export async function reportProgress(
     };
   }
 
+  // null = progress comment was deliberately deleted (e.g. by create_pull_request_review)
+  if (existingCommentId === null) {
+    return { body, action: "skipped" };
+  }
+
   // no existing comment - need an issue/PR to create one on
   // use fallback chain: dynamically set context > event payload
   if (issueNumber === undefined) {
@@ -288,6 +297,8 @@ export function ReportProgressTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
 /**
  * Delete the progress comment if it exists.
  * Used after submitting a PR review since the review body contains all necessary info.
+ * Sets progressCommentId to null, which prevents future report_progress calls from
+ * creating a new comment (the agent may call report_progress again after this).
  */
 export async function deleteProgressComment(ctx: ToolContext): Promise<boolean> {
   const existingCommentId = ctx.toolState.progressCommentId;
@@ -310,7 +321,7 @@ export async function deleteProgressComment(ctx: ToolContext): Promise<boolean>
     }
   }
 
-  // reset state and mark as updated so post script doesn't try to handle it
+  // set to null (not undefined) so report_progress skips instead of creating a new comment
   ctx.toolState.progressCommentId = null;
   ctx.toolState.wasUpdated = true;
 
diff --git a/mcp/delegate.ts b/mcp/delegate.ts
index b67f91b..233d752 100644
--- a/mcp/delegate.ts
+++ b/mcp/delegate.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ export const DelegateParams = type({
     "the name of the mode to delegate to (e.g., 'Build', 'Plan', 'Review', 'Fix', 'AddressReviews')"
   ),
   "effort?": Effort.describe(
-    'effort level for the subagent: "mini" (fast), "auto" (default, highly capable), or "max" (maximum capability)'
+    'effort level for the subagent: "mini" (low-effort and fast, only for simple tasks), "auto" (medium-effort, good for typical tasks that don\'t require significant reasoning), or "max" (high-effort, good for PR reviews and complex coding tasks)'
   ),
   "instructions?": type.string.describe(
     "optional additional context or instructions for the subagent — use this to pass results from earlier delegations or narrow the subagent's focus"
diff --git a/mcp/git.ts b/mcp/git.ts
index 4a02058..fd9bc6c 100644
--- a/mcp/git.ts
+++ b/mcp/git.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { type } from "arktype";
 import { log } from "../utils/cli.ts";
 import { $git } from "../utils/gitAuth.ts";
 import { $ } from "../utils/shell.ts";
-import type { ToolContext } from "./server.ts";
+import type { StoredPushDest, ToolContext } from "./server.ts";
 import { execute, tool } from "./shared.ts";
 
 type PushDestination = {
@@ -14,17 +14,27 @@ type PushDestination = {
 
 /**
  * get where git would actually push this branch.
- * reads branch.X.pushRemote and branch.X.merge set by checkout_pr.
+ * prefers the stored destination from toolState (set by checkout_pr) when it
+ * matches the current branch, because git config reads can silently fail in
+ * certain environments causing pushes to the wrong remote branch.
  *
- * NOTE: we read git config directly instead of using @{push} because
- * push.default=simple (git's default) requires local/remote branch names
- * to match. since checkout_pr uses pr-N as the local name, @{push} resolves
- * to origin/pr-N instead of the actual remote branch.
- *
- * for branches created via checkout_pr: uses configured pushRemote/merge
- * for new branches (git checkout -b): falls back to origin/<branch>
+ * falls back to reading branch.X.pushRemote and branch.X.merge from git config,
+ * and finally to origin/<branch> for branches created without checkout_pr.
  */
-function getPushDestination(branch: string): PushDestination {
+function getPushDestination(
+  branch: string,
+  storedDest: StoredPushDest | undefined
+): PushDestination {
+  // prefer stored destination from checkout_pr when it matches the current branch
+  if (storedDest && storedDest.localBranch === branch) {
+    log.debug(`using stored push destination: ${storedDest.remoteName}/${storedDest.remoteBranch}`);
+    const url = $("git", ["remote", "get-url", "--push", storedDest.remoteName], {
+      log: false,
+    }).trim();
+    return { remoteName: storedDest.remoteName, remoteBranch: storedDest.remoteBranch, url };
+  }
+
+  // fall back to git config (for branches not created by checkout_pr)
   try {
     const pushRemote = $("git", ["config", `branch.${branch}.pushRemote`], { log: false }).trim();
     const merge = $("git", ["config", `branch.${branch}.merge`], { log: false }).trim();
@@ -49,6 +59,7 @@ function normalizeUrl(url: string): string {
 type ValidatePushParams = {
   branch: string;
   pushUrl: string;
+  storedDest: StoredPushDest | undefined;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -56,7 +67,7 @@ type ValidatePushParams = {
  * pushUrl is set by setupGit (base repo) and updated by checkout_pr (fork repo).
  */
 function validatePushDestination(params: ValidatePushParams): PushDestination {
-  const dest = getPushDestination(params.branch);
+  const dest = getPushDestination(params.branch, params.storedDest);
 
   if (normalizeUrl(dest.url) !== normalizeUrl(params.pushUrl)) {
     throw new Error(
@@ -102,7 +113,11 @@ export function PushBranchTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
       if (!pushUrl) {
         throw new Error("pushUrl not set - setupGit must run before push_branch");
       }
-      const pushDest = validatePushDestination({ branch, pushUrl });
+      const pushDest = validatePushDestination({
+        branch,
+        pushUrl,
+        storedDest: ctx.toolState.pushDest,
+      });
 
       // block pushes to default branch in restricted mode
       if (pushPermission === "restricted" && pushDest.remoteBranch === defaultBranch) {
diff --git a/mcp/server.ts b/mcp/server.ts
index 095a866..1004066 100644
--- a/mcp/server.ts
+++ b/mcp/server.ts
@@ -15,10 +15,19 @@ export type BackgroundProcess = {
   pidPath: string;
 };
 
+export type StoredPushDest = {
+  remoteName: string;
+  remoteBranch: string;
+  localBranch: string;
+};
+
 export interface ToolState {
   // where we're allowed to push - base repo initially, fork URL for fork PRs
   // set by setupGit, updated by checkout_pr. always set before push validation.
   pushUrl?: string;
+  // push destination set by checkout_pr - used as primary source in push_branch
+  // because git config reads can fail in certain environments
+  pushDest?: StoredPushDest;
   // issue or PR number (same number space in GitHub)
   issueNumber?: number;
   selectedMode?: string;
@@ -34,7 +43,8 @@ export interface ToolState {
     promise: Promise<PrepResult[]> | undefined;
     results: PrepResult[] | undefined;
   };
-  progressCommentId: number | null;
+  // undefined = no comment yet, number = active comment, null = deliberately deleted
+  progressCommentId: number | null | undefined;
   lastProgressBody?: string;
   wasUpdated?: boolean;
   output?: string;
@@ -45,13 +55,11 @@ interface InitToolStateParams {
 }
 
 export function initToolState(params: InitToolStateParams): ToolState {
-  const progressCommentId = params.progressCommentId
-    ? parseInt(params.progressCommentId, 10)
-    : null;
-  const resolvedId = Number.isNaN(progressCommentId) ? null : progressCommentId;
+  const parsed = params.progressCommentId ? parseInt(params.progressCommentId, 10) : NaN;
+  const resolvedId = Number.isNaN(parsed) ? undefined : parsed;
 
-  if (progressCommentId) {
-    log.info(`» using pre-created progress comment: ${progressCommentId}`);
+  if (resolvedId) {
+    log.info(`» using pre-created progress comment: ${resolvedId}`);
   }
 
   return {
diff --git a/utils/instructions.ts b/utils/instructions.ts
index 655db96..c65d794 100644
--- a/utils/instructions.ts
+++ b/utils/instructions.ts
@@ -346,7 +346,10 @@ export function resolveInstructions(ctx: InstructionsContext): ResolvedInstructi
 
 Call \`delegate\` with a mode, effort level, and optional instructions:
 - \`mode\`: The workflow to run (see available modes below)
-- \`effort\`: \`"auto"\` (default, most capable), \`"mini"\` (fast, for simple tasks), or \`"max"\` (maximum capability)
+- \`effort\`: 
+  - \`"mini"\`: low-effort and fast, for simple tasks
+  - \`"auto"\`: medium-effort, good for typical tasks that don't require significant reasoning
+  - \`"max"\`: high-effort, good for PR reviews and complex coding tasks.
 - \`instructions\`: Optional additional context for the subagent. Use this to pass results from earlier delegations or narrow the subagent's focus.
 
 ### Single vs. multi-phase delegation