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5-hour quota starts ~40% depleted and continues draining while idle after reset (Plus, macOS) #42912
Description
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.901.31953
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT Plus
What platform is your computer?
Darwin arm64 arm
What issue are you seeing?
My 5-hour Codex/Work quota is being consumed when I am not running or submitting any Codex/Work tasks.
I observed this twice on Sep. 4.
First occurrence
Before I had done any Codex work on this account that day, I opened Codex and the 5-hour quota was already only approximately 50–60% remaining.
I had not used Codex on this account earlier that day, so I could not identify any activity that should have already consumed roughly half of the 5-hour window.
Second occurrence after an automatic reset
Later, I reached the 5-hour usage limit and stopped using Codex.
I waited for the automatic reset, which occurred at approximately 8:08–8:09 PM CDT.
After the reset, I did not start or submit any new Codex or Work task.
Despite that, the new window was already substantially depleted and continued decreasing while idle:
- ~10 minutes after reset: 58% remaining
- ~23 minutes after reset: 51% remaining
- Later while still idle: ~39% remaining
- Later while still idle: ~17% remaining
The first two readings are documented by timestamped screenshots:
- 8:18:40 PM CDT — 58% remaining
- 8:31:40 PM CDT — 51% remaining
The official ChatGPT desktop Usage page and the ChatGPT web Usage page showed the same quota values.
During the unexplained decrease:
- I was not submitting Codex prompts.
- No Codex task was actively running.
- The previous task had already stopped after the prior usage window reached its limit.
- No cloud Work task was running.
- No scheduled task was running.
- No Voice/Work task was running.
The main issue is that the quota decreased despite there being no corresponding user-initiated Codex/Work activity.
This also happened twice in the same day: once before I had performed any Codex work on the account that day, and again immediately after a later automatic 5-hour reset.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Reach the 5-hour Codex/Work usage limit.
- Stop all Codex work and wait for the automatic 5-hour reset.
- After the reset, do not submit any new Codex or Work tasks.
- Open Settings → Usage and check the remaining 5-hour quota.
- Leave Codex idle.
- Check the remaining quota again several minutes later.
- Compare the value with the ChatGPT web Usage page.
Observed on Sep. 4:
- ~8:08–8:09 PM CDT: automatic reset
- 8:18:40 PM CDT: 58% remaining
- 8:31:40 PM CDT: 51% remaining
- Later while still idle: ~39% remaining
- Later while still idle: ~17% remaining
No new Codex/Work task was started during this sequence.
I also observed the same general problem earlier that day: before doing any Codex work on this account, the 5-hour quota was already only approximately 50–60% remaining.
What is the expected behavior?
After the 5-hour Codex/Work usage window resets, the refreshed quota should be available unless chargeable Codex/Work activity actually occurs.
If no Codex/Work task is running and no new request is being submitted, the remaining quota should not continue decreasing.
If background or system-generated activity can consume the quota, the Usage page should identify the activity responsible for that consumption.
Additional information
The issue occurred twice on the same day.
First occurrence
- Before any Codex work on this account that day: approximately 50–60% remaining
Second occurrence
- Automatic reset: approximately 8:08–8:09 PM CDT
- ~10 minutes after reset: 58% remaining
- ~23 minutes after reset: 51% remaining
- Later while idle: ~39% remaining
- Later while idle: ~17% remaining
The 58% and 51% values are documented by timestamped screenshots.
The official ChatGPT desktop Usage page and ChatGPT web Usage page showed matching quota values.
The previous Codex task was already stopped before the reset. No cloud Work task, scheduled task, or Voice/Work task was running during the unexplained decrease.
The pattern I am reporting is:
Fresh/unused window → already partially depleted → continues decreasing while idle with no new tasks submitted.
This appears similar to #42765.
Activity
github-actions commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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Nebulazer123 commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Thanks — I reviewed all three suggested issues. They appear related at a high level, but I don't believe this report is a duplicate of any of them.
5-hour usage limit starts at 89% after more than 10 hours without any Codex usage #42218 is a Business/CLI/Linux report where the 5-hour window showed 89% remaining after a long idle period. My report is on ChatGPT Plus using the macOS desktop app, and the behavior is substantially more severe: after a fresh automatic 5-hour reset, the window was already at 58% approximately 10 minutes later, then continued decreasing to 51% approximately 23 minutes after reset, followed by ~39% and ~17% while no task was running.
Weekly Codex limit dropped from ~45% to 0% with no sessions run (Pro, Desktop app) #42765 is the closest related report, but it concerns a Pro account's weekly quota dropping from roughly 45% to 0% between checks. My report specifically documents the 5-hour window immediately after an automatic reset, including timestamped observations of the quota continuing to fall while idle. I also observed the same "already partially depleted before work" behavior earlier the same day.
Weekly Codex quota reset/reconciliation appears broken — quota exhausted with no local activity #42660 concerns a weekly quota/reset reconciliation issue observed across multiple days using the CLI, including a changed weekly reset anchor and missing local activity. My report concerns a single 5-hour window on the macOS desktop app, with the depletion observed in real time within minutes of the reset.
The distinct reproduction in this issue is:
automatic 5-hour reset → no new Codex/Work task → ~10 min: 58% remaining → ~23 min: 51% remaining → later while still idle: ~39% → ~17%.
The official desktop Usage page and ChatGPT web Usage page showed matching values.
This also happened once earlier the same day, when the account showed only approximately 50–60% of the 5-hour quota remaining before I had done any Codex work on the account that day.
I think these reports may ultimately share a root cause, but this issue captures a different and more specific reproduction: a fresh 5-hour window starting heavily depleted and continuing to drain in real time with no active task.
For that reason, I believe it is useful to keep this issue open unless maintainers confirm that one of the linked issues is tracking this exact 5-hour post-reset behavior as the same underlying bug.
Nebulazer123 commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Update — Sep. 5, 2026
After restarting my Mac, I have not observed the unexplained idle quota drain recurring so far.
The issue appears to have affected roughly 10 hours on Sep. 4, around the same time GPT-6 Astra was rolling out to my account.
The original incident is still unresolved. I would like OpenAI to determine:
I have already provided diagnostic information to OpenAI Support.
If the investigation confirms that usage was incorrectly charged, I am hoping that the affected usage allowance be restored or credited back to my account.
I’m leaving the issue open until there is an explanation or confirmed resolution.
puvvularama-png commentedon Sep 6, 2026
Wow, same issue for me on Windows 11 , opened #43166