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See what's left of your AI coding limits

Little Limits is a free Mac menu bar app. It shows your 5-hour and weekly limits, when each one resets, and when your weekly total will hit zero.

Download for MacGitHub
brew install --cask parkerrex/tap/little-limits

Free and open source (MIT). Tested on macOS 27 on Apple silicon. Older macOS and Intel Macs are not tested yet.

The Little Limits Home window with made-up demo accounts: weekly totals, a table with each 5-hour and weekly limit left and when it resets, and a forecast.

What it does

  • A number in your menu bar.

    How much of your limit is left, where you can always see it.

  • Both limits, with reset times.

    Click the number for your 5-hour and weekly limits, and when each one resets.

  • A calendar of resets.

    The Home window shows your usage in one table, with the resets coming up.

  • A forecast.

    From readings kept on your Mac, it shows how fast your weekly total is going down and when it would reach zero.

  • A history of your own work.

    From the logs your AI coding tools already keep on your Mac, it shows how each AI you use behaves: how fast it answers, how many steps it takes, and which commands it reaches for.

  • Read-only.

    It never buys credits, changes your plan or spends your usage to check your usage.

Install

  1. Install it.

    With Homebrew, the Mac's package manager, paste the line above into Terminal. Or download the zip from the latest release, unzip it, and drag Little Limits into Applications. It's signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without a security warning.

  2. Open it.

    A small gauge shows up in your menu bar. There's no Dock icon until you open the window.

  3. Add your account.

    Click the gauge and add an account. You sign in once, in your browser or in Terminal, and the app picks it up.

What it reads and where it goes

  • Your usage history stays on your Mac. Nothing in it is uploaded, and the app has no tracking.
  • The history keeps numbers and times. It never keeps what you type, the replies, your files, your folder names or the text of your commands.
  • The sign-ins it saves stay in your Mac's Keychain. The first time it opens, macOS may ask if it can read them.
  • Some usage numbers come from pages the AI company hasn't documented, so they can change without notice. An old reading says Last known, so you never mistake it for a live one.

Questions

  • How do I check how much of my AI coding limit is left?

    Your AI company shows your usage on a page in its settings. Little Limits puts that number in your menu bar, with both limits and when each one resets, so you don't have to go look.

  • When does my weekly limit reset?

    Each account has its own reset time. Little Limits shows it next to each limit, and the Home window has a calendar of the resets coming up.

  • What is the 5-hour limit?

    Some AI coding plans count your use in two windows, one that lasts 5 hours and one that lasts a week. You can hit either one. Little Limits shows both, and when each one resets.

  • Does it work on Intel Macs or older macOS?

    So far I've tested it only on macOS 27 on Apple silicon. Older macOS and Intel Macs are not tested yet. If it doesn't work on yours, tell me in an issue on GitHub.

  • Is it free? Do I need Little Worker?

    It's free under the MIT license. You don't need Little Worker or an account with me.

Why I made it

I build Little Worker with AI coding tools all day, and I kept hitting a limit in the middle of a task without seeing it coming. So I put the number where I can always see it. I use it every day.

Little Worker is what all that work is for: a to-do list with a team of AI workers. Give a to-do to Lou and it comes back done. See Little Worker.