You’ve hit your usage limit. Upgrade to Pro

Seen in: VS Code extension, CLI

You’ve hit your usage limit. Upgrade to Pro (https://chatgpt.com/explore/pro), visit https://chatgpt.com/settings/usage to purchase more credits

The source uses a curly apostrophe in You've. It then appends a retry ending: either " or try again later." or " or try again at " plus the local reset time and a period.

Issue 12299 opens on the VS Code extension. Later comments on that issue paste the same Upgrade to Pro sentence from the CLI. The sentence is formatted in the shared Codex protocol error.

• https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/protocol/src/error.rs#L722-L870
• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/12299

Variant wording

The issue author quotes this Plus sentence with the credits link at https://chatgpt.com/codex/settings/usage and the ending or try again at Feb 23rd, 2026 9:01 PM. The current source file uses https://chatgpt.com/settings/usage (no /codex/ in the path).

source

Limits changed since this page was verified

When the message and the dashboard disagree

On issue 12299, the author (Plus, VS Code extension) reported this sentence at 10% remaining on the weekly limit.

A later comment on that issue said the usage page and /status still showed quota left. An OpenAI engineer replied that the logs for that report showed 0% weekly utilization remaining.

source

If the error includes a reset time, the Plus sentence ends with " or try again at ", then that time converted to the local timezone, then a period. The same local calendar day is a clock time (hour, minute, AM or PM). A later day also includes the month, day, and year. If there is no reset time, the sentence ends with " or try again later."

The error value can include the responsible window length in minutes. The Plus sentence does not print that number.

source

The timestamp in the issue 12299 report, Feb 23rd, 2026 9:01 PM, matches the later-day shape (month, day with an ordinal, year, and clock time). It is that report's retry time, not a reset shared by every Plus account.

source

How this tool describes the window

Shared allowance with ChatGPT Work; 5-hour window on Plus (Pro currently none), weekly limits may apply.

"These estimates are not fixed message limits; check your usage dashboard for current limits and reset times."

source, checked 2026-10-27

The Plus sentence links to https://chatgpt.com/explore/pro to upgrade, and to https://chatgpt.com/settings/usage to purchase more credits. The sentence does not state a credit price.

source

Difference of the tracked plan prices shown on this page.

Pro $100 ($100/month) is $80/month more than Plus ($20/month).

Pro plans this Plus sentence points to

Codex Pro 100 ($100): limits and pricing · ChatGPT Pro 200: limits, pricing and the allowance change · Codex Pro 500 ($500): limits, Ultrafast and pricing

1. Wait. If your message ends with "or try again at" and a time, that is the reset Codex was given, shown in your local timezone. If it ends with "or try again later.", the source had no reset time. source
2. Buy credits. Open the credits link named in the sentence. The source does not state how much a credit pack costs. source

   ChatGPT usage settings

3. Upgrade to Pro. The sentence links to the Pro upgrade page. The next Pro price we track above Plus, and the dollar gap, are in the cost section above. source

   Upgrade to Pro · Codex Pro 100 · Codex Pro 200 · Codex Pro 500

4. Switch model. This Plus sentence does not tell you to switch models. A different branch in the same function, used for a named model limit, does say to switch. Free and Go, and the Pro tiers, also get different sentences. source
5. If /status still shows quota. Issue 12299 records Plus users who saw this sentence while the usage page or /status still showed quota left. An OpenAI reply there said one reporter's logs were at 0% weekly remaining. A later comment, after a Plus to Pro Lite change, said this cleared it for them: codex logout, rename %USERPROFILE%\.codex to .codex_BACKUP, codex login, then a new session. That comment describes a Windows profile path. It is the comment author's workaround, not a step in the Codex source. source
6. Another tool. LimitWatch cannot see whether another product on your account still has allowance. The compare pages list published prices and limits only.

   Claude Code vs Codex limits · Cheapest paid plan

FAQ

Which ChatGPT plan gets the Upgrade to Pro usage-limit sentence?

Codex formats that sentence for the Plus plan. Free and Go get an upgrade-to-Plus sentence. Pro, Pro Lite, and Pro Max get a credits sentence that does not say Upgrade to Pro.

When does this Codex message say to try again?

If a reset time was provided, the sentence ends with or try again at and that time in the local timezone. The same local day is a clock time. A later day includes the date. If no reset time was provided, it ends with or try again later.

What if Codex says the usage limit is hit but /status still shows quota?

Issue 12299 collects Plus reports of that mismatch. An OpenAI reply on the issue said one reporter's logs were at 0% weekly remaining. A later comment describes a user workaround: codex logout, rename the %USERPROFILE%\.codex directory, codex login, and a new session.