Usage-limit message states a reset time ~3.5h later than when access actually returns ("session limit" vs "5-hour limit")
Summary
I was blocked by You've hit your session limit · resets 5:40pm (Europe/Budapest), but access came back at 2:00pm, i.e. 3h40m before the stated reset time. Because the message said 5:40pm, I stopped working and waited, losing over an hour of work I could have done.
At the same time, the usage popup showed the 5-hour limit at only 6% with a different reset time (~6:09pm), while the blocking error called it a "session limit" resetting at 5:40pm. Two counters, two different reset times, one confusing message.
Timeline (from my local ~/.claude transcripts, so these are exact)
- 12:53 last successful API call
- 12:53 - 14:00 blocked, 67 minutes of no calls possible
- 14:00 calls work again (3h40m BEFORE the announced 5:40pm reset)
- Blocking message:
You've hit your session limit · resets 5:40pm - Note: 5:40pm minus 5h = 12:40pm, so the message appears to state the time the window would be FULLY clear, not the time access returns.
Environment
- Claude Code desktop app, Windows 10 Pro, 2026-07-14
- Plan: Max (5x), model Opus 4.8
- Popup at 2:25pm:
5-hour limit: 6%, resets in 3h44m|Weekly all models: 54%| context window 833.6k/1.0M
Expected
The limit message should state when I can actually resume. If the 5-hour window is rolling and capacity returns gradually, say that (e.g. "capacity returns gradually, try again in ~X min") instead of a single reset timestamp that is hours too late. Also, "session limit" in the error and "5-hour limit" in the popup should use the same name and the same reset time, otherwise it reads as two unrelated limits.
Impact
Over an hour of lost working time, purely from trusting the stated reset time.
<img width="1271" height="597" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d6bf6d93-27ba-4c53-91e6-e914a8ccce1c" />