Francesco Bianco has released AIQuota, a lightweight tool that displays remaining usage for flat-rate AI subscriptions directly in the terminal title bar and startup banner. The project addresses a common developer frustration: discovering mid-task that a coding agent like ChatGPT or Claude has exhausted its quota. By presenting this data before the first prompt is entered, AIQuota allows for immediate switching between providers. The tool is currently available on GitHub with minimal dependencies, requiring only POSIX shell, awk, and curl to operate.

Instant Visibility Without Network Latency

AIQuota operates by caching usage data and displaying it instantly when a terminal session opens, ensuring no network wait times interrupt the developer workflow. The status band uses a traffic-light systemβ€”green, yellow, or red dotsβ€”to indicate how close an account is to its limit. For example, a green dot appears when 50% or more of the quota remains, while red indicates less than 20%. The display adapts to terminal width, progressively hiding details like plan names or reset times to maintain a single-line format. This design choice prioritizes speed and clarity over comprehensive data dumps at startup.

Supported Accounts and Technical Constraints

The tool currently supports major flat-rate subscriptions including Claude Pro/Max, ChatGPT plans via Codex, GitHub Copilot, and Freebuff. It explicitly excludes metered API keys and usage-based plans, focusing solely on time-bound quotas until the next reset window. Users can configure which accounts to display using the --display flag during installation or via environment variables. Notably, AIQuota reads credentials from existing agent configurations but never refreshes them to avoid logging users out of their primary agents. If a login expires, the tool displays the last known values marked with a tilde (~) until the next successful check.

Installation and Configuration Options

Installation is handled via a single shell script that adds a line to the user's shell startup file, such as .bashrc or .zshrc. The tool supports multiple shells, including bash, zsh, fish, dash, and ksh, and has been tested on Linux and macOS. For tmux users, AIQuota can be integrated into the status bar using the aiquota line --plain command. Configuration options allow users to disable the title bar override, change refresh intervals via AIQUOTA_TTL, or force ASCII output for compatibility with non-color terminals. The cache is stored in ~/.cache/aiquota and is readable only by the user, ensuring local privacy.

Key Takeaways

  • AIQuota provides instant, cached visibility into flat-rate AI subscription limits without network latency at terminal startup.
  • The tool uses a color-coded traffic light system to indicate quota status, with adaptive display for narrow terminals.
  • It supports Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and Freebuff, but explicitly ignores metered API keys and usage-based plans.
  • Installation is minimal, requiring only POSIX shell, awk, and curl, with no server-side components or telemetry.
  • Credential handling is read-only to prevent accidental logouts from primary AI agents during token refresh attempts.

The Bottom Line

AIQuota is a brilliant piece of utility engineering that solves a specific, high-friction problem for AI-heavy workflows. By stripping away the bloat of dashboards and focusing on instant, local visibility, it respects the terminal user's need for speed and control. It is a must-have for developers juggling multiple AI subscriptions who want to maximize uptime without guesswork.