What to watch
Claude Code usage is not a simple prompt counter. Anthropic says consumption changes with project complexity, codebase size, conversation length, and auto-accept behavior. A short question about one file and a long autonomous refactor can use very different amounts of the same allowance.
Start with three fields: percent used in the current window, percent used in the weekly window, and the reset time for each. The current window tells you whether the next hour is safe. The weekly number tells you whether today is borrowing too heavily from the rest of the week.
Use pace, not just percentage
A percentage without time can be misleading. Fifty percent used near the middle of a window is normal. Fifty percent used in the first thirty minutes means your current pace is likely to end the session early.
I like to compare usage with elapsed time. If usage is moving faster than the clock, I tighten the task, reduce unnecessary context, or move lightweight work to another model. This is a planning signal, not a reason to stop productive work.
How people track it
The built-in check is Claude Code's own usage view. Some developers keep that open, others use a status-line or menu-bar utility, and Super Notchy keeps the same current-session and weekly readings at the edge of the Mac. The important part is that the reading comes from the account already used by Claude Code and stays visible while you work.
Check before a long task, once during the run, and again when the agent finishes. After a few days, you will know which kinds of work create the steepest jumps for your setup.