Hit your session limit in Claude Code? What to do next

"You've hit your session limit" means you have used up the five-hour allowance on your Claude plan, and Claude Code blocks further requests until the reset time printed in the message. You can wait, let Claude Code carry on by itself when the window resets, turn on usage credits to keep working now, or move to a bigger plan. Switching models will not help.

What the message looks like

Anthropic's Claude Code error reference gives this example: "You've hit your session limit · resets 3:45pm". The time is when your five-hour window refills. The docs say Claude Code "blocks further requests until the reset time shown in the message" (Claude Code errors).

The session limit is the short one. Anthropic describes "a session limit that resets every five hours": the period "starts when you send your first message, and your limit resets in full five hours later" (how usage and length limits work). For the mechanics of that window, see when the Claude 5-hour limit resets.

You may have seen a warning first. Before a window runs out, Claude Code can show a message such as "You've used 85% of your session limit · resets 3:45pm".

Why switching models does not fix it

The error reference is direct: "The session and weekly limits are shared across all models, so switching models doesn't restore access." Moving from Opus to Sonnet or Haiku only helps with a model-specific limit, which is a different message; see what to do when a model's limit is reached.

Your use also counts across every surface on the same account. Anthropic says that "your usage of all different Claude product surfaces (claude.ai, Claude Code, Claude Desktop) counts towards the same usage limit." A long chat in the browser draws on the same window your terminal needs.

Your options

Claude Code can show these as a menu: run /rate-limit-options, which needs a claude.ai subscription (commands reference). Claude Code can also open that menu by itself when you hit a limit at your own terminal.

1. Wait for the reset

Run /usage to see your limits and when they reset. The five-hour window refills in full at the time in the message.

2. Let Claude Code continue on its own

When a usage limit stops Claude mid-task, Claude Code can wait in the open session and continue the task by itself after the reset. Per the interactive mode docs, this is on by default in interactive sessions signed in with a claude.ai subscription and needs Claude Code v2.1.234 or later. While it waits, you see:

Usage limit reached · limit resets 3:45pm
Continuing automatically at 3:45pm · Esc to cancel

Keep the session open. A few things end or prevent the wait:

• Exiting Claude Code, sending a new prompt or switching accounts with /login ends it.
• After three automatic continuations it stops, with "Automatic continue stopped after repeated usage-limit hits".
• It is not offered in background sessions, -p runs, or with API keys, cloud providers or usage-based billing.
• In Remote Control and agent team teammate sessions it does not start on its own, but you can start it from /rate-limit-options.

To turn it off, switch off "Continue automatically at usage limit" in /config, or set autoContinueAtUsageLimit to false. In the Claude Desktop Code tab, the session-limit card has its own "Auto-continue when limits reset" checkbox, which is separate from the CLI setting.

3. Turn on usage credits

On Pro, Max and Ultra you can enable usage credits and keep going past the limit, billed at standard API rates separately from your subscription. Run /usage-credits, which opens Settings > Usage on claude.ai in your browser, or go there directly (manage usage credits). You set a monthly spend limit, and credits "don't affect the reset timing" of your limits: they let you work through the window rather than shortening it. The details are in usage credits on Claude plans.

On Team and Enterprise plans, /usage-credits for a member without billing access asks for confirmation and then sends a usage-credits request to the organization's admins (costs docs).

4. Upgrade

For Pro users who consistently hit limits, Anthropic suggests Max; for Max users, Ultra (use Claude Code with your plan). "If you upgrade, your new plan's limits apply right away." Anthropic does not publish token or message counts behind any limit, so you cannot calculate in advance how much longer you would last. Users have reported upgrades that were slow to show up in their limits (GitHub issues #79773 and #88353), so check /usage afterwards.

The same page lists a Claude Console account with purchased API credits as another route for Pro, Max and Ultra. Anthropic describes API key billing as pay-as-you-go with "No hard stop" (models, usage and limits), so set a spend limit in the Console first.

The wrap-up allowance

If you hit the five-hour limit while Claude Code is partway through a response, it "may keep working briefly so it can finish the step in progress" and shows "Usage limit reached · wrapping up". Anthropic calls it "small and capped". It counts toward your weekly limit and does not apply to new messages sent after the limit. On Pro it is available up to once per weekly usage period; on Max, unverified Ultra and Team Premium seats, each time you reach a five-hour limit. It needs Claude Code 2.1.277 or later, does not apply with API keys or third-party cloud providers, and is rolling out gradually (wrap-up allowance).

Check which limit you actually hit

The session and weekly messages look alike but behave very differently. A weekly limit can be days from resetting, and automatic continue does not start on its own for a reset more than 24 hours away. If your message says "weekly", go to what to do when you hit the weekly limit.

One edge case: verified Ultra accounts do not have a five-hour limit at all (Ultra plan). If you are on Ultra and see a session message, your account may not be verified yet. Unverified accounts have a temporary limit, which Anthropic removes automatically once the account is verified.

Seeing it coming

The warning is easy to miss mid-task, and /usage only shows numbers when you run it. Headroom, a free Mac menu bar app, puts your average session use in the menu bar and lists every Claude Code account signed in on your Mac with session and weekly meters; click a row for the reset countdown. It checks every five minutes without sending any prompt, so looking does not use your limits, and a row shows "Back in 38m" style text when an account is used up. It does not switch accounts or change limits. Headroom is independent and is not made or endorsed by Anthropic. You can get it at headroom.everydaymactools.com.