Pro and Max plans run two limits at once: a five-hour window that starts with your first message, and a weekly cap. Hitting either pauses you until it resets; some plans add a weekly limit for a single model. Both count tokens, not messages, are shared with claude.ai, and show in /status.
Two Claude Code limits, two clocks
Both measure plan tokens over different periods. Max 5x and Max 20x give five and twenty times Pro's usage; Anthropic's help center has the current rules.
| 5-hour limit | Weekly limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | With your first message after the last window ended | On a weekly cycle tied to your account |
| Resets | Five hours after it started | Once a week |
| Usually hit by | One long, heavy session | Many days of heavy use |
| What fixes it | Shorter, leaner sessions | Less total waste, or a bigger plan |
What counts against the Claude Code limit
Every step sends the system prompt, tools, CLAUDE.md, history and all file and command output. A late message counts far more than the same message early on, and claude.ai chats draw from the same allowance.
- default
- with condense
How to check Claude Code usage and reset times
- 1/status in Claude Code
Shows how much of the five-hour window and weekly cap you have used, and when each resets.
- 2/context for the current window
Shows what fills the context, the main reason one turn costs a lot.
- 3dense usage with condense
Session, weekly and single-model limits next to the uncompressed estimate;
/dense:usageinside a session. Subscriptions only (details).
Which limit are you hitting, and what it tells you
The five-hour limit points at session shape; the weekly limit points at volume.
| You hit | Likely cause | Try |
|---|---|---|
| 5-hour limit | One long session with many file reads and full test output | Fresh session per task |
| Weekly limit | Lean sessions, but more work than the plan is sized for | Compare plans |
What to do when you hit the limit mid-task
- 1Save state before it runs out
Ask for a handoff note in a file: done, broken, files, next step.
- 2Leave the branch clean
Commit or stash so a half-applied edit does not confuse the next session.
- 3Restart from the note
A new session from the note, not the old bloated conversation.
- 4If it cannot wait, use an API key
Pay per token until the reset and watch
/cost(trade-offs).
How to stop hitting the Claude Code weekly limit
/clear between tasks, Sonnet for implementation, fewer MCP servers, short CLAUDE.md, quiet tool output (full list). Habits cannot fix the history a long session re-reads.
condense compresses that history with your Claude login: up to 3× more from the same plan, most on long sessions, little under about 20 turns. Install with curl -fsSL https://cli.condense.chat/unix | sh, run dense claude and watch dense usage for a week.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Claude Code weekly limit reset?
Once a week, at a time tied to your account. /status and dense usage show the exact reset time.
When does the Claude Code 5-hour limit reset?
Five hours after the first message of the current window; the next message after that opens a new one.
Does using claude.ai count against my Claude Code limit?
Yes. Both draw from the same plan allowance.
Can I keep working after hitting the Claude Code limit?
Wait for the reset, or switch to an API key and pay per token. Write a handoff note first either way.
Why did I hit the weekly limit after only a few days?
Long sessions re-send their whole history every turn, and Opus draws allowance faster than Sonnet.
How do I check Claude Code usage?
Run /status. Through condense, dense usage adds reset times and an estimate of usage without compression.