OpenAI Codex Has Usage Limits Now — Here's How I Track Mine

OpenAI's Codex CLI launched with generous limits, but they're real — and if you're using it heavily alongside Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot, you're probably burning through multiple providers daily.

The Multi-Provider Problem

My daily stack:

• Codex CLI for terminal-based coding
• Claude Code (Pro plan, 5-hour sliding window)
• Cursor (Pro, 500 fast requests/month)
• GitHub Copilot (unlimited completions, but chat has limits)

Each has different:

• Reset windows (hourly, daily, monthly)
• Credit systems (tokens vs requests vs dollars)
• Rate limit behaviors

What I Was Doing Before

Manually checking each dashboard:

1. codex --usage in terminal
2. Claude settings page
3. Cursor's tiny usage indicator
4. Copilot's billing page

That's 4 different interfaces just to answer: "Can I keep coding or should I switch providers?"

The Solution I Built

I got tired of this and built TokenBar — a macOS menu bar app that shows all your AI usage in one glance.

What it tracks:

• Usage limits remaining across 20+ providers
• Reset countdowns (know exactly when limits refresh)
• Pace indicators (are you burning too fast?)
• Credit balances for pay-as-you-go services

Providers supported: Codex, Claude, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini, OpenRouter, Augment, Amp, JetBrains AI, Warp, Kimi, Kiro, and more.

Why Menu Bar?

Because context switching kills flow. Opening a browser tab to check limits means:

• Losing your place in code
• Getting distracted
• Often forgetting to check until you hit the wall

A menu bar icon gives you the answer in a glance without leaving your editor.

Key Design Decisions

1. One-time $4.99 — no subscription (ironic for a limit tracker)
2. Local-first — your usage data stays on your Mac
3. CLI output — pipe usage data into scripts and automations
4. Lightweight — menu bar app, not another Electron monster

Who It's For

If you're using 2+ AI coding tools and have ever:

• Hit a rate limit mid-session with no warning
• Wondered "how much Cursor do I have left today?"
• Switched providers because one ran out
• Wanted to pace your usage across a billing cycle

Check it out: tokenbar.site

Would love feedback from other multi-provider users. What's your AI tool stack look like?