[BUG] Pro plan session limit exhausted on single non-coding audit prompt

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?

Plan: Claude Pro
Claude surface: Claude Code in VS Code
What happened:
Submitted a single prompt asking Claude to audit my site and create a plan (no coding, no file writes, no agentic tasks). Used /clear before the session. The prompt exhausted my entire 5-hour session limit on one response.
Expected behavior:
A lightweight planning/audit prompt should consume a small fraction of a session, not the entire limit.
Additional context:
This appears related to the peak-hour session throttling changes reported around March 23, 2026. However, hitting 100% on a single non-coding prompt on a Pro plan suggests the throttling is disproportionately affecting Pro users even on minimal workloads. Similar reports in issue #38335.

What Should Happen?

Expected behavior:
A lightweight planning/audit prompt should consume a small fraction of a session, not the entire limit.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce:

Log in with a Claude Pro account
Open Claude Code in VS Code
Start a fresh session (or run /clear to reset context)
Submit a single prompt asking Claude to audit a site and create a plan — no file edits, no code execution, no agentic tasks
Observe that the session usage limit is immediately exhausted after one response

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

claude-sonnet-4-6 in VS CODE

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

I am on a claude.ai Pro plan and using the Claude extension in VS Code