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GitHub Copilot "Sorry, You've Exceeded Your Rate Limits": Fixes
GitHub Copilot says 'Sorry, you've exceeded your rate limits'? Rate limit vs monthly allowance, how long it lasts, and what to do next, with GitHub docs cited.
7 min read
Error text from Microsoft’s VS Code repo: #305485, #305404 and #302792 (verified Oct 31, 2026, re-read Nov 1, 2026). Rate-limit rules from GitHub Docs’ usage limits page and plan prices from Copilot plans, both verified Nov 1, 2026. Every source is listed at the bottom. No affiliate links on this page (how we work).
The exact error: Sorry, you've exceeded your rate limits. Please review our Terms of Service.
This is what Copilot users pasted into VS Code’s issue tracker:
Server Error: Sorry, you've exceeded your rate limits. Please review our Terms of Service. Error Code: user_global_rate_limited:proSource: microsoft/vscode #305485 (verified Oct 31, 2026). In #305404 a Pro+ user got the same line with user_global_rate_limited:pro_plus, right under a friendlier banner: Sorry, you have been rate-limited. Please wait a moment before trying again. The raw log behind it was an HTTP 429.
The one-line answer, as of Nov 1, 2026: this is a short-term rate limit, not your monthly allowance running out. GitHub’s docs say “Rate limits are temporary” and that “waiting a short period and trying again” often fixes it (verified Nov 1, 2026). Your AI credits can be nearly full and you can still hit it.
We haven’t tested this ourselves. Everything below comes from GitHub’s docs and the public issues, quoted and dated.
Rate limit vs monthly allowance: two different walls
Copilot has two separate ways to say no, and the messages look alike enough to confuse anyone mid-task.
The rate limit caps how many requests you send “in a given time period”. GitHub uses it “to ensure everyone has fair access to GitHub Copilot and to protect against abuse”, and lists four reasons: capacity, high usage (“Popular features and models may receive bursts of requests”), fairness and abuse mitigation (usage limits docs, verified Nov 1, 2026).
The monthly allowance is your bucket of AI credits. Pro gets 1,500 a month, Pro+ 7,000 and Max 20,000, at $0.01 per credit (plans docs, verified Nov 1, 2026). Credits reset at 00:00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month (verified Oct 31, 2026). Premium requests were the old version of this bucket; GitHub replaced them with usage-based billing on June 1, 2026. Full details: Copilot premium requests.
| Message | Limit type | Resets |
|---|---|---|
| Exceeded rate limits | Short-term rate | After a wait |
| Credits used up | Monthly credits | 1st, 00:00 UTC |
| Budget reached | Your own budget | When you raise it |
From GitHub’s usage-limits page (Nov 1, 2026) and individual billing docs (Oct 31, 2026). GitHub publishes no exact reset time for rate limits.
What about the “weekly rate limit” and “5 hour session limit” phrases people search for? We found no GitHub Docs page that uses that wording for Copilot as of Nov 1, 2026, so we’re not going to explain a limit GitHub hasn’t described.
How long it lasts, and what GitHub actually says
GitHub doesn’t publish a number. Not per plan, not per model, not per hour. The docs say rate limits are “temporary” and that “Often, waiting a short period and trying again resolves the issue” (verified Nov 1, 2026). That’s it.
The older wording, kept in VS Code’s meta issue #253124, at least gave you a clock: Sorry, your request was rate-limited. Please wait x minutes before trying again. The newer message drops the minutes and adds a Terms of Service link, which reads like a warning letter. In the March 2026 reports, it landed on people who said they barely used Copilot.
The same meta issue explains where limits bite hardest: “Most users see rate limiting for preview models”, and agent mode drives “higher request/token usage”. It also says service-level limits “should not affect typical or even deeply engaged Copilot usage” (verified Nov 1, 2026). Tell that to the commenter on #305404 who wrote, “i have 79% of quota remaining”, or the student who got user_global_rate_limited:edu.
Ay, caramba, as Bart would put it. Paying for Pro+, sitting on most of your credits, and still getting a ToS link is a rough user experience, and GitHub’s own docs don’t give you a number to plan around. That’s the bit we’d change first.
Then there’s the outage case. On #302792, filed Mar 18, 2026 by someone “not using copilot that much”, VS Code’s bot replied: “We are currently experiencing a service outage that may be affecting your experience with GitHub Copilot” (verified Nov 1, 2026). Sometimes the rate limit is the service having a bad day, not you.
Fixes, in the order GitHub suggests
Legit fixes only. No second accounts, no scripts to dodge limits: the message literally points at the Terms of Service.
- Wait, then retry. GitHub’s first step: “Wait and try again. Rate limits are temporary” (verified Nov 1, 2026). Hitting retry on a loop just adds more requests to the count.
- Slow the request rate. “If you’re making frequent or automated requests (for example, rapid-fire completions or large-scale usage), consider adjusting your usage pattern” (same page). In practice: run one agent session at a time instead of several in parallel. That’s our reading of “large-scale usage”, not a GitHub rule.
- Switch models. The meta issue says preview models get rate-limited most. The #305404 log shows the limit hit on an agent request to Claude Sonnet 4.6. Moving to a non-preview model is the lowest-effort test.
- Check if it’s an outage. If many people report it at once, as in #302792, waiting it out is the fix.
- Contact GitHub Support if it keeps happening. The meta issue says: “In case you experience repeated rate-limiting in GitHub Copilot, please reach out to GitHub Support” at support.github.com (verified Nov 1, 2026).
Don’t panic, as the Hitchhiker’s Guide movie reminds us in large friendly letters. The ToS link in the message reads scary, but nothing in GitHub’s docs says a rate limit means your account is in trouble.
Will upgrading help?
Upgrading definitely helps with the other wall. GitHub says that if you are on an individual plan, “upgrading your plan will allow for additional usage” (verified Nov 1, 2026). Pro is $10 a month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100, with 1,500, 7,000 and 20,000 AI credits (plans docs, verified Nov 1, 2026). Compare them in Copilot Pro vs Pro+ or on the GitHub Copilot pricing tracker.
For the rate limit itself, GitHub doesn’t say a higher plan raises it. The public reports show the error carrying plan tags pro, pro_plus and edu, so Pro+ users hit it too. Our take: don’t upgrade to fix this specific message. Upgrade if you’re running out of credits.
On Copilot Free? The free plan has its own caps; see Copilot free plan limits.
Here’s what I’d do
If the message shows up once, wait a few minutes and retry. If it shows up while you’re running parallel agents on a preview model, cut that back to one session on a standard model. If your credits are fine and it keeps coming back over days, contact GitHub Support rather than burning time on settings.
And if you’re constantly bumping into Copilot’s walls, look at the field: Copilot alternatives and AI coding tools compared.
If Copilot Chat says “Language model unavailable” rather than a rate limit, the Copilot language model unavailable fix separates plan limits from bugs.
FAQ
What does “Sorry, you’ve exceeded your rate limits” mean in Copilot? You sent too many requests in a short time; it’s a temporary rate limit, separate from your monthly AI credits.
How long does the Copilot rate limit last? GitHub doesn’t publish a duration; its docs call rate limits temporary and say waiting a short period often resolves it.
Does Copilot Pro+ raise rate limits? GitHub doesn’t say so; upgrading adds monthly AI credits, and public reports show Pro+ users getting the same rate-limit error.
Is this the same as running out of premium requests? No, premium requests (replaced by AI credits on June 1, 2026) are your monthly allowance, while this message is a short-term limit that can appear with credits left.
What does user_global_rate_limited mean? GitHub doesn’t document the code; in public reports it appears with a plan tag such as pro, pro_plus or edu after a rate-limited request.
Can I get banned for hitting the Copilot rate limit? GitHub’s docs describe rate limits as temporary and don’t say hitting one affects your account; repeated limits should go to GitHub Support.
Sources
- microsoft/vscode issue #305485 (exact error,
user_global_rate_limited:pro): https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/305485 (verified 2026-10-31, re-read 2026-11-01) - microsoft/vscode issue #305404 (Pro+ report, 429 log, “79% of quota remaining” and
educomments): https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/305404 (verified 2026-10-31, re-read 2026-11-01) - microsoft/vscode issue #302792 (low-usage report, outage reply): https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/302792 (verified 2026-10-31, re-read 2026-11-01)
- microsoft/vscode meta issue #253124, “Request rate limiting” (older message, preview models, agent mode, contact Support): https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/253124 (verified 2026-11-01)
- GitHub Docs, Usage limits for GitHub Copilot (rate limit reasons, what to do): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/usage-limits (verified 2026-11-01)
- GitHub Docs, Copilot plans (prices, AI credit allowances): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans (verified 2026-11-01)
- GitHub Docs, Usage-based billing for individuals (credit reset, budgets): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/billing (verified 2026-10-31)
- GitHub Docs, What changed with billing (premium requests replaced June 1, 2026): https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-billing/request-based-billing-legacy/what-changed-with-billing (verified 2026-10-31)