[BUG] API Error: Rate limit reached on Cowork only - account-specific, persists across machines

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Cowork displays "API Error: Rate limit reached" immediately on every action, while Claude Chat and Claude Code CLI work fine on the same account. Switching to a different account on the same machine resolves the issue, confirming this is an account-level server-side problem.

Account usage is less than 30% of quota.

How this started: I was trying to find archived Cowork sessions that were not visible in the UI. My sessions were stored in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/ but were not appearing in Claude Desktop, despite isArchived: false in the session JSON files. While troubleshooting this (clearing caches, migrating session files to claude-code-sessions/, etc.), Cowork began returning rate limit errors and has not recovered since.

What Should Happen?

Cowork should function normally when rate limits have not been exceeded. The rate limit error should not persist across fresh installs, cache clears, and different machines.

Error Messages/Logs

API Error: Rate limit reached

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Start a new Cowork session
3. Send any message
4. Immediately get "API Error: Rate limit reached"

What works on the same account:

• Claude Chat (same account, same machine) -- works fine
• Claude Code CLI (same account, same machine) -- works fine
• Cowork on a different account (same machine) -- works fine

What fails:

• Cowork on my main account -- immediate rate limit error
• Cowork on my main account on a second machine -- same error

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Cowork was working prior to this session. Exact version unknown.

Claude Code Version

2.1.72 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Extensive troubleshooting performed (none resolved the issue):

• Cleared all Claude Desktop caches (Session Storage, IndexedDB, Cookies, Local Storage, Network Persistent State, WebStorage)
• Removed OAuth token cache from config.json
• Complete removal of ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
• Cleared system-level caches (Preferences, Saved Application State, Logs, Crash Reports, Daemon Containers)
• Uninstalled and reinstalled Claude Desktop
• Reinstalled Claude CLI via npm
• Tested on a completely separate machine -- same error
• claude logout / claude login -- did not help

Conclusion: The issue is account-specific and server-side. Cowork rate limiting appears to be incorrectly applied to my account. Switching accounts on the same machine immediately resolves the problem. Requesting a server-side reset of the Cowork rate limit state for this account.

Plan: Max (usage under 30%)
macOS Darwin 24.6.0

Related Issues

Rate limit errors despite having quota:

• #27336 - CLI returns "API Error: Rate limit reached" on every command including logout (native binary, Max plan)
• #29579 - API Error: Rate limit reached despite Claude Max subscription and only 16% usage
• #30723 - CLAUDE CODE CLI: API Error: Rate limit reached
• #25531 - API Error: Rate limit reached incorrect in CLI

Archived Cowork sessions / session migration (how this issue started):

• #22931 - Archived Cowork chats are nowhere to be found
• #24534 - Archived Code sessions not visible in Archive filter on Claude Desktop
• #29373 - Claude Desktop update loses Code session history (migration from local-agent-mode-sessions to claude-code-sessions)

External references:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/comments/1qp5w06/cli_says_youve_hit_your_limit_despite_having/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1qqaung/where_are_archived_cowork_chats/
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47164969