[BUG] Usage limit reached - while still having 93% weekly limit and 100% 5-hour limit
Status Closed — not planned
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 14 comments · opened Apr 18, 2026 · closed Jul 13, 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?
Using the claude code feature in the APP, the app blocks completely, so no typing and the comment is "usage limit reached" even though my usage limits are solid (92% left and 100% of the 5 hour window)
What Should Happen?
Why is claude code being blocked ... it should not block with a usage limit message?
Error Messages/Logs
no errors just usage limit reached while this is not true
Steps to Reproduce
<img width="1496" height="688" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e1187c05-74f3-4e6b-ac07-23d76fb93680" />
<img width="1243" height="333" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7ebec678-2154-44dc-94dc-b7b0f6d6cfe1" />
Claude Model
Not sure / Multiple models
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
can't even ask that
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
_No response_
14 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
this is happening in the CLAUDE native app ..
same for me , its stuck in claude desktop
Same for me
<img width="2148" height="494" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fa505bc1-4233-45f0-beac-b08446ce5432" />
same here , on macos and all is up to date.
<img width="491" height="236" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f8db5e6f-b074-440f-b760-eaea7798c780" />
<img width="843" height="213" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/572b6d7a-3cf0-4048-9fc9-9e16071e02c6" />
the solution when you hit rate limit just bascul to other model whit saving your whole context windows
https://github.com/AbdoKnbGit/claudex
I have also hit this issue:
Bug Summary:
Usage synchronization issue between Claude Code and Claude web
Technical Details:
Claude Code shows 100% usage with blocking
Claude web shows 75% usage with continued access
Reset time displays as "12am Europe/London" instead of rolling 7-day reset
Max plan limits should be shared across all platforms
Steps to Reproduce:
Check usage in Claude Code (shows 100%, blocked)
Check usage in Claude web (shows 75%, accessible)
Note inconsistent reset time display
Expected Behavior:
Usage percentages and access should be identical across both platforms since Max plan limits are shared
Thanks for tracking this issue – I ran into the same problem and want to add some details that might help diagnose it.
Same issue here on a freshly activated Max 5x plan. Web dashboard shows:
Despite this, Claude Code in VS Code returned "usage limit reached" and blocked all input. No specific error code, just the generic message. I upgraded to Max specifically to avoid running into limits this early, and hitting a limit error with single-digit dashboard usage is the opposite of what I paid for.
After further investigation, the actual cause appears to have been context window overflow, not a plan limit at all. The status panel showed "Messages: 783k tokens" against a 200k context window. The
/compactcommand then failed with "Extra usage is required for 1M context", leaving/clear(full context loss) as the only recovery path.To be clear: I am not complaining about tool usage consuming tokens. Tools cost performance, that is fine. The problems are communication, limit visibility, usability, and the fact that the chat dies when compaction is no longer possible or becomes a paid feature.
1. Misleading error message. "Usage limit reached" for a context overflow made me check my plan, account, and billing for no reason. The error should name the actual cause and the actual recovery path.
2. The chat should not die. When the context grows too large to compact, the user is in a dead end: compaction requires a paid 1M tier,
/cleardestroys the session. Compaction must always be possible within the user's current plan tier, either by running it within the standard tier, or by triggering it automatically before the context grows past the point where compaction itself can run. Routing recovery through a paid 1M tier is not acceptable.3. No visibility into limits before they hit. The web dashboard shows plan-level percentages that have no relationship to what actually blocks the user. Context window state is not surfaced prominently in Claude Code. Users cannot plan around limits they cannot see, so proactive warnings well before a blocking threshold are needed.
Happy to provide more details if helpful. Claude Code is genuinely great when it works, which is exactly why this kind of dead end is so frustrating.
Platform: macOS, VS Code extension, Max 5x plan (newly subscribed).
<img width="835" height="309" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4adbed0c-a17e-4a91-b95b-d5e0ece23af7" />
Same issue here — filed and closed as duplicate of this: #59946
Details from our case (May 15–17, 2026):
This appears to be phantom usage / double-counting in the daily token tracker. Weekly tracking seems accurate but daily is significantly over-reporting. The two numbers are mathematically impossible if they track the same underlying usage.
Adding this data point to help prioritize a fix.
I have a similar issue, added by comment there; https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/61703
Root cause analysis
The false "usage limit reached" error is actually a context overflow + failed compaction issue, misattributed to the wrong error message.
The chain
/compactis triggered but fails:"Extra usage is required for 1M context""usage limit reached"on the client sideThis matches @ExtraAir's detailed analysis in the comments. The fix from the
ExtraAircomment in #50321 is the most accurate root cause description.The actual bugs
Workaround (immediate)
Or start a new session.
Recurring issue — Windows 11, Pro plan, June 5 2026
Same bug, different platform. Claude Desktop App on Windows 11, Chat tab (not Claude Code CLI), inside a named Project.
What happens:
Manual chat session on technical topics (MCP servers, Amazon SP-API, skill building)
After <30 min of typing, bottom bar shows: "Usage limit reached • limits shared with Claude Code"
Current session: 100% used / Weekly (All models): 33% used
Claude Code statistics: Sessions 0 / Messages 0 / Tokens 0 — CLI never used
Account: Pro plan, Support Conversation IDs: 215474382032800 / 215474589559710
Context: Now seeing the context overflow explanation — this makes sense. My sessions involve long technical conversations with large code blocks and tables, which likely fills the context window and triggers the false limit before the actual quota is reached.
The "limits shared with Claude Code" banner in the Desktop App is misleading — it suggests a categorization bug, but the real cause appears to be context overflow. The banner wording should be clarified.
<img width="1920" height="1200" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6f7ddb2e-286e-4022-8b03-e3d1c77f4ae8" />
Bug reproduces on Pro Plan with Desktop App (Windows) - June 7, 2026
I am experiencing the exact same critical defect on my paid Pro subscription for the third consecutive day (June 5, 6, and 7). The lockout behavior is getting progressively worse.
My metrics today:
Root Cause Observation:
The issue triggers immediately when using the Windows Desktop App to work on technical environments (configuring MCP servers, unzipping local files, running native PowerShell tools). The system automatically and forcefully tags the interaction with
"limits shared with Claude Code", even though I am typing manually into the standard chat UI.Once this happens, an invisible background tracking loop completely drains the session quota in minutes. Furthermore, this sync state completely corrupts the account profile on the web interface as well, resulting in
Conversation not founderrors and treating the Pro account as a restricted free/shared tier in the browser.This is a severe infrastructure issue where background tool execution and MCP integration flags are falsely triggering automated developer environment throttling constraints on standard Pro profiles.
<img width="1920" height="1200" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/aa2ddb7d-4a36-4ba8-89b5-8bd263c59ab1" />
<img width="1920" height="1200" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/60694437-0262-4894-ad3a-ea1068dfd15f" />
Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.