[BUG] Max x20 plan — 5-hour quota consumed in ~10 prompts (started March 14, 2026)

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?

What's Wrong?
Starting today (March 14, 2026), the 5-hour rolling quota on my Max x20 ($200/month) subscriptions is being consumed at an abnormally fast rate. The quota is exhausted after approximately 10 prompts, which is drastically fewer than expected for this tier.

Setup & Context
I have three separate Max x20 subscriptions:

Subscription A & B: Used both on remote agents (headless/distant machines) and in local terminal sessions on my PC.
Subscription C: Used exclusively in local terminal sessions on my PC — no remote agents, no shared usage.

The Problem
To isolate the issue, I tested Subscription C (local-only, no remote agents) and hit the 5-hour quota limit in roughly 10 prompts. This rules out any shared/concurrent usage as a cause — the quota is simply being consumed far too quickly.
All three subscriptions exhibit the same behavior since today. My workflow has not changed.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior
On a Max x20 plan, the 5-hour quota window should support a significantly higher number of prompts (historically hundreds of messages). Hitting the limit in ~10 prompts suggests either a change in quota accounting or a backend bug.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Log in with a Max x20 subscription on Claude Code (local terminal only)
Send ~10 standard development prompts
Observe that the 5-hour quota is already exhausted

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.76

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Related Issues

#28537 — Usage limits hit significantly faster with unchanged workflow
#29178 — Usage limits hit faster since v2.1.53–v2.1.59 (system prompt bloat)
#20767 — Pro quota significantly reduced
#22435 — Inconsistent quota accounting on Max plan (10x burn rate variance documented with mitmproxy)