The Claude Code weekly limit is the second, slower clock on Pro and Max plans: a cap on a whole week of use that sits on top of the five-hour session window. When it runs out, Claude Code stops until the reset time in the message, often days away, so it pays to watch it with /usage or a desktop tracker such as UsageAtlas, which is free and open source.
Two clocks, one pool
Think of it like stamina in a game. The five-hour session window is the bar that refills after a rest. The weekly limit is the bigger meter that only refills once a week. Every request you send drains both at the same time.
Anthropic's help center confirms both exist on Pro and Max, and that Max adds a separate weekly limit for Fable. The limits are shared across Claude and Claude Code, so chat in the Claude app, coding in the terminal and work in your IDE all draw from the same week.
Anthropic changes the sizes from time to time, so the only numbers worth trusting are the ones your own account shows.
Why burst coders hit it
If you code in long weekend sessions rather than an hour a day, the weekly limit is the one you meet. The five-hour window resets several times over a long Saturday, which feels like a free refill. It is not: each of those windows also spent part of the week.
Anthropic's error reference spells this out. A single burst of heavy activity, such as a large workflow that spawns many agents, can use up the weekly allowance before the session window has even reset.
Signs you are heading for the wall:
- Each session window feels shorter than last week's.
- You run several subagents or agent teams in parallel.
- Sessions stay open for hours without
/clear, so each request resends the whole conversation.
How to see the weekly number
| Check | What you get |
|---|---|
/usage in Claude Code |
Usage bars for your plan limits, plus what used them, with a 24-hour and 7-day toggle |
| Settings > Usage on claude.ai | Real-time consumption for the account |
| Custom status line | rate_limits.seven_day percent used and reset time, always visible |
| UsageAtlas | Weekly and five-hour windows, remaining capacity, local reset time, history |
The built-in options only show while you are in a session or on the website. UsageAtlas keeps the weekly window on your desktop next to the session window, with the reset in your own time zone. You set a threshold, and it sends one desktop alert per reset cycle, so a Thursday warning gives you time to slow down instead of stalling on Saturday. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, needs no account, and does not read what you type to Claude.
If you only code a little each day and never get near the cap, the /usage screen is all you need.
When the week runs out
You see "You've hit your weekly limit" with a day and time. Switching models does not help, because the weekly limit covers all of them. Your choices:
- Wait for the reset shown in the message.
- Turn on usage credits with
/usage-credits, billed at standard API rates. - Move to a larger plan. Anthropic points Pro users to Max 5x and Max 5x users to Max 20x.
FAQ
Is the Claude Code weekly limit the same as the five-hour limit? No. They are separate windows that count the same usage, and they reset on different timers.
Does my weekly limit reset on a fixed day?
The limit message shows the exact day and time, and /usage lists when each window resets.
Do chats in the Claude app use my weekly limit? Yes. Anthropic shares the limits across Claude and Claude Code.