Claude Code "You've hit your session limit"

In this guide

What does the message mean?

Claude subscriptions come with a rolling allowance, and Claude Code draws from it. When it runs out, the Claude Code errors page says you’ll see one of these:

You've hit your session limit · resets 3:45pm
You've hit your weekly limit · resets Mon 12:00am
You've hit your Opus limit · resets 3:45pm
You've hit your Sonnet limit · resets 3:45pm

Pro and Max have a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit. Max and Ultra also have a separate weekly limit for Fable. Verified Ultra accounts have no five-hour limit.

Both windows count at once. One heavy burst, like a big fan-out of agents, can use up the weekly allowance before the five-hour window even resets.

Your AI bill, with ernd

What could your AI bill earn?

Monthly AI vendor spend

USD

$4,800

back a year at 4%

Request your card

For US companies. No annual fee. Illustration based on AI vendor spend only. Rewards are points redeemable as cash back.

How do you keep working?

Wait for the time in the message. In an interactive session, Claude Code can wait and pick the task back up shortly after the reset.
If it’s the Opus or Sonnet limit, run /model and pick a model from another family. The new model starts with a cold prompt cache, so the next request costs more.
Turn on usage credits. Run /usage-credits, or go to Settings, then Usage on claude.ai. With credits on, requests past your limit switch to pay-as-you-go and keep going.
On Team or Enterprise, /usage-credits sends the request to your admin.
Upgrade the plan if you hit limits all the time. Anthropic points Pro users who keep hitting them toward Max.

Run /usage any time to see your windows and when each resets. Claude Code also warns you before the end, with a message like You've used 85% of your session limit · resets 3:45pm.

What about spend limits on usage credits?

Usage credits have their own monthly cap if you set one. Hit it and the message changes to You've hit your monthly spend limit, or a version naming your org, team or channel. Raise it on claude.ai, or ask your admin.

One more trap. The monthly API credits that come with Max and Ultra can’t be used in Claude Code, including for usage credits. For long coding sprints Anthropic suggests a Claude Console account with API credits instead.

Usage credits and API credits both bill to a card. ernd is a credit card for US companies with 4% back on AI vendor spend and 1.5% on everything else. Request the card at app.ernd.ai.

The ernd card

Once your billing is back on track.

The card earns rewards on AI spend. It does not bypass provider quotas, fix account restrictions or change provider prices.

Request your card

The ernd card is a credit card for US companies, with partners across the AI stack built in.

Common questions.

Does using Claude on the web count toward my Claude Code limit?

Yes. Anthropic says usage limits are shared across Claude and Claude Code, and IDE usage counts toward the same limits.

Will switching models get me past the limit?

Not for the session or weekly limit, which cover every model. The Opus and Sonnet limits apply to one model family, so switching to a model outside that family with /model keeps you working.

What does "You've hit your monthly spend limit" mean?

Your plan's included usage ran out and your usage credits hit their monthly spend limit too. On Pro, Max and Ultra you raise it in Settings, then Usage on claude.ai. On Team and Enterprise an admin raises it in the organization's usage settings.

Sources & methodology

Checked November 5, 2026. Providers change prices and terms; the linked official page is the final word. This guide is published by ernd.

ernd is run by Provenance Research Inc.