Rate limit

[Nassergmr]

Select Topic Area

Question

Body

When i reach the daily limit of github models, no error is thrown, what should i do?

[JonathanZawadke]

When you hit the daily rate limit for GitHub Copilot or another GitHub model, the expected behavior is usually that an error or message is returned to indicate the limit has been reached. If you're not seeing any error, here are a few things to check:

1. API or Interface?
   Are you calling the models via the GitHub API, using the Copilot plugin in an IDE (like VS Code), or another interface? The error handling can differ depending on the context.

2. Silent Failures
   Some integrations (like extensions) may silently stop responding or fallback to limited functionality when the quota is exceeded. Try checking logs or enabling verbose/debug output if available.

3. Rate Limit Headers
   If you're making API requests, check the HTTP headers—GitHub includes rate limit information (X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset). These can help you detect and respond to quota exhaustion.

4. Expected vs. Actual Behavior
   Are you expecting a specific error code or message? Let us know what tool or library you're using and what behavior you’re seeing vs. expecting.

To help troubleshoot further, could you share:

• How exactly you're accessing the models (API, IDE plugin, CLI tool, etc.)?
• What behavior you observe after hitting the limit (e.g., blank results, timeouts)?
• Any logs or output you can share?

[Kushan2k]

It's frustrating when you hit a daily limit on GitHub models (likely GitHub Copilot) and don't get an explicit error message. This can make it hard to diagnose what's happening. Here's what you should do:

1. Understand GitHub Copilot's Limits:

Plan-Dependent: Your specific limits depend on your GitHub Copilot plan (Free, Pro, Pro+).

Copilot Free: Has limited code completions (e.g., up to 2,000 per month) and premium requests (e.g., up to 50 per month). All chat interactions count as premium requests.

Copilot Pro & Pro+: Offer "unlimited" completions with included models (GPT-4.1, GPT-4o), but still have allowances for "premium requests" (e.g., 300 per month for Pro, 1,500 for Pro+), which are consumed by more advanced features and models (like GPT-4.5, Claude Opus 4, etc.) and all chat interactions.

Token-Based: Many of these limits are ultimately token-based, meaning the length and complexity of your prompts and the generated responses consume tokens, bringing you closer to the limit.

No Built-in Tracker (Historically): While GitHub Copilot allows you to view usage, there hasn't always been a clear, real-time "counter" in the IDE for completions or chat requests.

2. How to Check Your Usage (and why you might not see an error):

IDE Integration:

Visual Studio Code: Click the Copilot icon in the status bar.

Visual Studio: Click the Copilot icon in the top right, then "Copilot Consumptions."

JetBrains IDEs: Click the Copilot icon in the status bar, then "View quote usage."

These locations should show information about your plan, progress toward limits, and when your allowance resets.

GitHub Account Settings:

Go to your GitHub account settings.

Navigate to "Billing & Licensing" -> "Usage."

You can often download a CSV usage report from here to see your premium request usage.

Why no error?

Sometimes, instead of a hard error, Copilot might subtly stop providing suggestions or its responses might become less relevant or shorter. This could be due to hitting a soft limit or a service-side throttling without a client-side notification.

For paid plans, if you exhaust premium requests, it might automatically switch you to an "included" model (like GPT-4.1) without a direct error, meaning functionality is still there but perhaps degraded.

3. What to Do When You Suspect You've Hit a Limit:

Check Your Usage (as described above): This is the first step to confirm if you're actually hitting a limit.

Wait and Try Again: Rate limits are temporary. Often, simply waiting for a short period (e.g., 5-15 minutes, or until the next day for daily limits) can resolve the issue.

Adjust Usage Patterns:

Fewer Requests: If you're making rapid-fire requests or very long/complex prompts, try to be more concise.

Clear Chat History: For chat models, long conversation histories consume more tokens. Start new chat sessions or clear the current one.

Change Model (if applicable): If you're using "preview" or more advanced models, they often have stricter rate limits. Try switching to a more "included" or general-purpose model if your IDE allows.

Restart Your IDE/Extension: Sometimes, a simple restart of your code editor or the Copilot extension can clear transient issues.

Update Your IDE and Copilot Extension: Ensure both are on the latest versions, as updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements related to rate limiting and error handling.

Contact GitHub Support: If you're consistently hitting limits, believe it's impacting legitimate use, or are not receiving any notification at all, reach out to GitHub Support. Provide them with details:

Your GitHub Copilot plan.

The specific IDE you're using.

When you started noticing the issue.

Any behaviors you observe (e.g., suggestions stop, chat becomes unresponsive).

Screenshots if possible.

Relevant logs from your IDE (Copilot logs can be found in your editor's output/debug console).

By following these steps, you should be able to identify whether you're hitting a GitHub Copilot limit and take appropriate action.

[rodcasseb]

I'm a pro+ user, and I keep stumbling upon this issue (see screenshot).

Doesn't matter if I use another model, it gives me the same rate-limited message. I'm clearly not using Claude Sonnet 4, but it still tells me that I have reached the limit for this model. I think this is unacceptable for the money spent.

Please, I need urgent assistance.

Thanks in advance.

[jcodes101]

Hey @Nassergmr 👋 — great question!

If you're hitting the daily request limit on GitHub's models (like Copilot or Codespaces features powered by LLMs) and no error is being thrown, that can definitely be confusing 😕.

Here are a few things you can try:
🛠 1. Check the Console/Network Tab
Sometimes the request might silently fail or return a status like 429 (Too Many Requests) in the browser console or API logs — try checking the DevTools in your browser or logs in your terminal.

📊 2. Review GitHub Usage Dashboard
If you're using something like GitHub Copilot, go to your GitHub billing page or Copilot usage to see if you've hit your quota.

📨 3. Add Manual Error Handling
If you’re using the API or SDK, consider adding a check for HTTP status codes (like 429) and build in backoff/retry logic or alerts for when your quota is reached.

📬 4. Contact GitHub Support
If you’re not seeing any logs or your usage seems under the limit, GitHub Support can help investigate. They’re generally responsive when it comes to access or usage limits.

🔁 Temporary Fix
Sometimes waiting until the next UTC day resets the quota (depending on your plan).

[github-actions[bot]]

🕒 Discussion Activity Reminder 🕒

This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

2️⃣ Provide More Information: Share additional details or context — or let the community know if you've found a solution on your own.

3️⃣ Mark a Reply as Answer: If your question has been answered by a reply, mark the most helpful reply as the solution.

Note: This dormant notification will only apply to Discussions with the Question label. To learn more, see our recent announcement.

Thank you for helping bring this Discussion to a resolution! 💬

[ThatCodingFrog]

Hi, I'm having a problem with rates in Github Copilot Free. I had used it for a while and then was waiting for it to reset. However, it appears to have passed the day it should have reset, and my percentage of chat messages remains at 92%, while the bottom message says messages reset in 30 days. Am I simply not understanding something with Copilot, or is this an actual bug?

[Eskinder185]

I have been seeing a lot of comments regarding this issue lately. What I would say is try Signing in and out of your account to force and refresh it. The usage dashboard you are seeing is just the UI not being in sync with what is actually happening

[ThatCodingFrog]

Hi, sorry it's been a while.

I signed out and back in a couple of times, and it did not reset the UI. I tried using Copilot a couple more times and it continued from where it was before. It now says that it will reset on October 18.

[github-actions[bot]]

🕒 Discussion Activity Reminder 🕒

This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

2️⃣ Provide More Information: Share additional details or context — or let the community know if you've found a solution on your own.

3️⃣ Mark a Reply as Answer: If your question has been answered by a reply, mark the most helpful reply as the solution.

Note: This dormant notification will only apply to Discussions with the Question label. To learn more, see our recent announcement.

Thank you for helping bring this Discussion to a resolution! 💬