[BUG] /usage displays incorrect cost for max user

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?

the /usage text in Claude Code has changed in the last day or so to show a $ cost even though I am within my usage on my max account (console.anthropic.com show no usage or cost on the api key). when I query this in Claude code the response is that it is showing what the session would have cost if using token billing but I think that is very confusing to the user. it is not clear that the cost is zero

What Should Happen?

the /usage dialog should be clearer about any costs

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

/usage with a max account

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.118

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

why am i being charged 2.66 for usage, i should be within my claude max daily limits. bit confused

⏺ I can't see your billing details from here — Claude Code doesn't expose subscription/usage accounting to me, and /usage is a client-side dialog that doesn't pipe into the
conversation.

A few things that commonly cause unexpected charges on a Max plan:

1. API key fallback — if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set in your environment, Claude Code may be routing through pay-as-you-go API billing instead of your Max subscription. Check

with env | grep ANTHROPIC.

1. Ultrareview / cloud agents — /ultrareview and similar cloud-run features are billed separately from the Max subscription (per-run, metered).
2. 1P API usage outside Claude Code — scripts, the Anthropic SDK, or other tools hitting the API directly bill to your API account, not the Max plan.
3. Model overage — Max has daily Opus limits; exceeding them can spill to metered billing depending on plan settings.

Best path: check the Anthropic Console billing page (console.anthropic.com → Settings → Billing/Usage) — that'll show what the $2.66 was actually for. If you want, I can help
check whether ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set locally.

❯ do the check please

⏺ Bash(env | grep -i anthropic)
⎿  No matches found

⏺ No ANTHROPIC_* env vars are set — so Claude Code isn't falling back to API billing via that route. The $2.66 is most likely from a separately-metered feature (ultrareview,
cloud agents) or direct API usage from another tool. Check console.anthropic.com → Usage to see the exact line item.

❯ i dont see any usage today on the consol. perhaps there is something wrong with /usage ? the text looks all funny too

⏺ Could be a display glitch in /usage — it's a client-side dialog and the "funny text" (overlapping characters, broken box drawing) usually means a terminal rendering issue
rather than a real charge.

A couple of things to try:

1. Resize the terminal window, or run clear and reopen /usage — fixes most rendering artefacts.
2. Check your Claude Code version: claude --version. If it's behind, claude update may resolve it.
3. If the console shows no usage today, the $2.66 figure shown in /usage is likely stale or mis-rendered — the console is authoritative for billing.

Want me to check the version?

❯ clear

⏺ Cleared — what would you like to do next?

❯ /usage
⎿ Status dialog dismissed

❯ now it says $2.87 something is odd

⏺ That's likely the session cost estimate, not an actual charge to your account. /usage in Claude Code shows the token cost of the current conversation as if it were billed via
API — it ticks up as the session grows. On a Max plan, this is informational only; you're not actually being charged per-token.

The authoritative source is console.anthropic.com → Usage. If that shows $0 today, you're not being billed — the /usage dialog is just showing what the conversation would
have cost on pay-as-you-go.

❯ okay but as feedback that is pretty confusing

⏺ Agreed — showing a dollar figure that isn't actually charged to Max users is genuinely misleading. You can file that feedback at
https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues — the team watches that repo.

❯ /usage
⎿ Status dialog dismissed

❯ claude --version

⏺ Bash(claude --version)
⎿  2.1.118 (Claude Code)

⏺ You're on 2.1.118. Run claude update in a fresh terminal if you want to grab the latest — might improve the /usage rendering.