In this article, I will share a quick report on the "token usage exceeded" error encountered while using GitHub Copilot Agent (Claude Opus 4.5 model) and how it was resolved instantly.
If you are staring at the following error message and feeling hopeless, don't give up just yet.
Sorry, you have been rate-limited. Please wait a moment before trying again. Learn More Server Error: Sorry, you have exceeded your Claude Opus 4.5 token usage, please try again later or switch to Auto. Please review our Terms of Service. Error Code: rate_limited
The Situation
I was working in VS Code's GitHub Copilot Chat, using the "Claude Opus 4.5 (Preview)" model. After sending a moderately complex instruction, I suddenly received the error message above, and the generation stopped.
Reading the message, it clearly states that I exceeded the token usage limit and should try again later or switch models. Usually, this type of error implies a "cooldown period" ranging from a few hours to 24 hours, so I assumed I was done for the day.
What I Did: Immediately Click "Retry"
Just to be sure, I tried resending the same prompt (or clicking the "Retry" button) immediately after the error appeared—literally seconds later.
Surprisingly, it generated the response normally as if nothing had happened.
【Conclusion】 Even if you see "token usage exceeded," retry immediately. It might be a momentary glitch or server load, not a hard limit.
Possible Causes
While the exact logic is a black box, here are a few possibilities:
- Momentary Rate Limit: I might have consumed too many tokens in a short burst, triggering a temporary block that resets in seconds.
- Server Load: The inference servers for Claude Opus 4.5 might have been congested, returning a generic limit error.
- False Positive: A lag in token calculation might have triggered the limit check incorrectly.
Of course, if you have truly hit the hard limit, retrying will continue to fail. However, receiving this error once or twice does not necessarily mean you have to switch models or stop working immediately.
Summary
Rate limit errors are common when using high-performance models in GitHub Copilot. However, the error message does not always mean an absolute, long-term block.
【Action】 If you see the error, try retrying once first. If it still fails, then switch to "Auto" or another model.
References:
- GitHub Copilot FAQ https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/using-github-copilot/github-copilot-faq
- GitHub Blog – Copilot Workspace https://github.blog/news-insights/product-news/github-copilot-workspace/
