ChatGPT Plus users got a taste of fewer restrictions, but OpenAI has now put the clock back on Codex and ChatGPT Work.
OpenAI restored a usage allowance that resets every five hours for ChatGPT Plus subscribers using Codex and ChatGPT Work on Aug. 25, ending a temporary period when only the weekly quota applied.
Thibault “Tibo” Sottiaux, an OpenAI engineering lead working on Codex and ChatGPT, announced the change on X after the company temporarily removed the five-hour restriction in July. The move gave Plus users more freedom to use the tools during individual sessions, but that period has now ended.
Sottiaux said the five-hour window helps OpenAI spread computing demand more evenly while preserving a relatively generous weekly allowance.
He also said some newer and more casual Plus subscribers were unintentionally consuming their entire weekly allowance in a single stretch, leaving them confused when they could no longer use the tools.
What happens when users hit the limit #
The five-hour restriction works alongside the weekly quota. Once a Plus subscriber exhausts either allowance, the user must wait for the relevant reset or purchase additional credits to continue using Codex.
OpenAI had temporarily removed the five-hour window in July, while also resetting weekly allowances early on some occasions as Codex and ChatGPT Work reached usage milestones. That gave developers and other heavy users a short period of greater flexibility before the restriction returned.
For now, Sottiaux said the five-hour restriction will remain disabled “for the upcoming months” for users on the plans he identified as the $100 and $200 tiers. Enterprise and Edu accounts use a separate credit-based system and are not covered by the Plus-plan change.
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A less predictable experience for developers #
For frequent Codex users, the restored five-hour window reduces flexibility. A developer working through a demanding project could exhaust that window’s allowance even when weekly usage remains available. But there is a practical reason for the restriction. AI coding tools can consume significant computing resources, and allowing users to concentrate large amounts of usage into short periods can make demand harder to manage. Spreading that usage across five-hour windows gives OpenAI more control over its infrastructure while preserving a larger weekly pool.
Plus subscribers working on demanding projects now need to monitor both their five-hour and weekly allowances. Before beginning a long coding session, users should check their remaining capacity and plan for a reset or additional credit purchase if either allowance is running low. The change gives OpenAI more control over computing demand, but it also makes usage less predictable for developers who rely on Codex throughout the workday.
Read more: OpenAI’s Codex Windows app brings its AI coding workspace to more developers, with tools for managing multiple coding tasks from a dedicated desktop interface.