[BUG] API Error: Rate limit reached despite Claude Max subscription and only 16% usage

[CaptainDaredevil]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Every request immediately returns "API Error: Rate limit reached" despite Claude Max subscription being active and only 16% usage shown in /status.

What Should Happen?

Requests should succeed within Claude Max plan limits (only 16% used).

Error Messages/Logs

API Error: Rate limit reached

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run claude logout, then claude login
2. Open Claude Code — shows "Claude Max" in header
3. Run /status — Login method: Claude Max Account, 16% session usage
4. Type any message (e.g. "hi")
5. Immediately get "API Error: Rate limit reached"

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

v2.1.63

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Prior to this, credentials.json showed subscriptionType: null and rateLimitTier: null.
API credits were added as a workaround — they were consumed instantly (within seconds),
leaving the account in debt. After fresh login subscription is recognized
(subscriptionType: "max", rateLimitTier: "default_claude_max_5x") but rate limit
error persists despite only 16% usage. Session resets at 3pm Europe/Budapest.

[KSEGIT]

I have similar issue , they have some problem with API rate limiting #29584

[erojasoficial-byte]

Same issue — Max 20x ($200/month), Windows, v2.1.63, only 16% session usage

Environment

• Plan: Claude Max 20x ($200/month)
• Platform: Windows (win32)
• Claude Code version: 2.1.63 (latest)
• Model: Default Opus 4.6
• Login method: Claude Max Account (OAuth, not API key)

What's happening

Intermittent API Error: Rate limit reached despite very low usage:

• Session usage: 16%
• Weekly (all models): 24%
• Weekly (Sonnet only): 1%
• /status correctly shows subscriptionType: "max" and login method as Claude Max Account

Behavior pattern

• claude logout → claude login temporarily fixes it (works for a few minutes)
• After a short period of use, the rate limit error returns
• The error appears especially during tool-heavy tasks (multiple sequential bash commands, file reads, ffmpeg operations)
• Updated to v2.1.63 — issue persists
• No ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable set
• /clear and /compact do not resolve the issue permanently

Additional context

• This is NOT a usage quota issue — dashboard confirms low usage
• This appears to be the per-minute throughput rate limit being triggered incorrectly for Max subscription users
• The error message does not distinguish between usage limits and throughput limits, making it impossible to know the actual cause
• Paying $200/month and unable to use Opus reliably is unacceptable

Related issues

• [BUG] WebSearch "Rate limit reached" occurs only with Claude subscription, works fine with API key #27074 (WebSearch rate limit only with subscription, works with API key)
• Rate limit errors show 'API Error' without distinguishing usage vs throughput limits #25805 (Rate limit errors don't distinguish usage vs throughput)
• [BUG] API Error: Rate limit reached incorrect in CLI #25531 (Rate limit reached incorrect in CLI)
• [Bug] Anthropic API Error: Rate limit reached with Claude Max model #28818 (Rate limit reached with Max plan on Windows)

[PedroProcopio]

Please man, fix this shit wtf

[lesly]

Same issue - Max 5x

ℹ️ Update on Wed 4 Mar
I logged in this morning and it was back to normal.

Environment

• Plan: Claude Max (Claude Max subscription)
• Platform: macOS
• Claude Code version: 2.1.63 (latest)
• Model: Default Opus 4.6
• Login method: Claude Max Account (OAuth, not API key)

What's happening

Intermittent API Error: Rate limit reached despite very low usage:

• Session usage: 4%
• Weekly (all models): 15%
• Weekly (Sonnet only): 5%
• Extra usage: enabled, €0.00 spent
• /status correctly shows subscription as Max

Behavior pattern

• claude logout → claude login does NOT fix it
• /clear and /compact do not resolve the issue
• Switching to Sonnet works fine — Opus only
• Updated to v2.1.63 — issue persists
• No ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable set
• Issue started on March 3, 2026 — likely related to the March 2 global outage

Additional context

• This is NOT a usage quota issue — dashboard confirms very low usage across all limits
• Sonnet works without any issues on the same session, confirming the problem is Opus-specific
• The error message does not distinguish between usage limits and per-minute throughput limits, making debugging impossible from the user side
• Possibly related to [BUG] API Error: Rate limit reached despite Claude Max subscription and only 16% usage #29579 and the March 2 outage aftereffects

[clementgineste]

here it's opus and sonnet
session was before a lot of upgrades
only haiku works
sometime it's working again after /compact with haiku and sometimes with disabling 1M context with env var (even if i'm not eligible)
claude team here

[artsmalley]

Still broken on 2.1.63 — $200 Max plan, additional evidence:

I'm on a $200/month Max plan and have been locked out since Feb 28 despite very low usage amounts. I was given a 7 day rate limiting lock out which seems wrong. The $200 Max plan limits should reset in hours, not days. Never had this problem in a year of Claude Code CLI usage...oddly this past week is one of my lowest usage periods in months...

Additional data points:

• This morning, before switching to API key auth, ~$11.73 burned in under 1 hour on minimal usage (just logging in and a few prompts)
• Previously yesterday, 2x $50 extra-credit sessions each burned out in ~1 hour even though I was on Sonnet 4.6 and the 1M context window was not enabled.
• My local config shows hasAvailableSubscription: false — my account is flagged as having no subscription on your end
• Switched to ANTHROPIC_API_KEY auth as a temporary workaround — this seems to be working normally now.
• Version 2.1.63 did not fix the issue for me. Sent ticket into Anthropic via help agent but so far no response.

The prompt caching overcounting + 7-day lockout on a Max plan is a significant regression. If not resolved I will have to switch to Codex or some other platform.

Happy to provide logs if helpful.