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How to Track AI Usage Limits and Quotas: TokenBar for Codex, Claude and Cursor

Updated: 25.10.2026 · AI Release · @ai_release1
How to Track AI Usage Limits and Quotas: TokenBar for Codex, Claude and Cursor

TL;DR

Requirements and setup

Illustration: Requirements and setup
Illustration: Requirements and setup

TokenBar is the usage tracker named in the source post. It is a monitor, not the source of truth: the provider dashboard remains the authority for quota and billing state. A quota is the cap a provider places on usage in a time window; a baseline is a dated snapshot you compare later.

Step 1. Establish a provider-side quota baseline

What to do: Open the usage or billing dashboard for Codex, Claude, and Cursor. For each tool, record the plan name, quota window, reset time, current usage, dashboard URL, and the UTC timestamp when you read it. Put the values in a CSV. A CSV is a plain-text table with comma-separated columns.

mkdir -p ~/ai-quota
cd ~/ai-quota

cat > quota-baseline.csv <<'CSV'
tool,plan,quota_window,reset_at,used,source_url,checked_at
Codex,<your-plan>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<provider-dashboard-url>,<ISO-8601>
Claude,<your-plan>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<provider-dashboard-url>,<ISO-8601>
Cursor,<your-plan>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<from-dashboard>,<provider-dashboard-url>,<ISO-8601>
CSV

python3 - <<'PY'
import csv
with open('quota-baseline.csv') as f:
    for row in csv.DictReader(f):
        print(f"{row['tool']:8} used={row['used']:>10} reset={row['reset_at']} checked={row['checked_at']}")
PY

Example: if the Codex dashboard shows a weekly limit and 40% used, write weekly in quota_window and 40% in used. Do not guess a reset time — copy it from the dashboard.

Expected output:

Codex    used=<from-dashboard> reset=<from-dashboard> checked=2025-01-01T00:00:00Z
Claude   used=<from-dashboard> reset=<from-dashboard> checked=2025-01-01T00:00:00Z
Cursor   used=<from-dashboard> reset=<from-dashboard> checked=2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Why: TokenBar can show a number, but you need an independent dated record to detect drift, stale data, or a provider-side reset. The CSV also tells you which account and plan you measured.

How to check: Run ls -l ~/ai-quota/quota-baseline.csv and confirm the file exists. Then run the Python block again; you should see exactly three rows: Codex, Claude, and Cursor.

Step 2. Install and configure TokenBar for Codex, Claude, and Cursor

Illustration: Step 2. Install and configure TokenBar for Codex, Claude, and Cursor
Illustration: Step 2. Install and configure TokenBar for Codex, Claude, and Cursor

What to do: Install TokenBar using the official instructions, then connect the three providers. The source post does not provide an install command, package name, version, or exact menu path, so use the documentation and record what you used.

# Replace this placeholder with the install command from TokenBar's official documentation.
<tokenbar-install-command>

Record the install path. If TokenBar installs as a macOS app, an example check is:

ls -ld /Applications/TokenBar.app 2>/dev/null || echo "TokenBar.app not in /Applications; record the actual install path from the documentation."

Open TokenBar and go to its settings or connections page. Add Codex, Claude, and Cursor one at a time. If TokenBar asks for credentials, use the provider’s official token or login flow; do not paste account passwords into a third-party field. Set a refresh interval that TokenBar supports without hitting provider rate limits, and set warning and critical thresholds.

Example: a team policy file with example values — these are your policy, not TokenBar defaults:

# quota-policy.yaml — team policy, not a TokenBar-native config file
providers:
  codex:
    warning_at_percent: 70
    critical_at_percent: 90
    check_every_minutes: 15
  claude:
    warning_at_percent: 70
    critical_at_percent: 90
    check_every_minutes: 15
  cursor:
    warning_at_percent: 70
    critical_at_percent: 90
    check_every_minutes: 15

Translate those values into TokenBar’s settings UI. If TokenBar has no threshold setting, keep the YAML as the team policy and check the dashboard manually at the same interval.

Why: Connecting all three providers in one place gives you a single view of quota pressure. A written policy prevents one team member from setting a 95% critical threshold while another expects an alert at 70%.

How to check: TokenBar should show one connected row for Codex, one for Claude, and one for Cursor, each with a last-updated timestamp. If a provider row is missing or has no timestamp, the connection is incomplete — re-add it and check the documentation for the required credential scope.

Step 3. Verify counters, alerts, and fallback

Illustration: Step 3. Verify counters, alerts, and fallback
Illustration: Step 3. Verify counters, alerts, and fallback

What to do: Compare TokenBar’s displayed value with the provider dashboard after at least one refresh cycle. Log the pair with a timestamp. Then test one alert at the warning threshold, and write the fallback step for stale data.

cd ~/ai-quota
cat > quota-check.sh <<'SH'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
tool="${1:?usage: quota-check.sh <tool> <tokenbar-value> <provider-value>}"
tokenbar_value="${2:?}"
provider_value="${3:?}"
printf '%s,%s,%s,%s\n' "$tool" "$tokenbar_value" "$provider_value" "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" >> "$HOME/ai-quota/quota-check.csv"
SH
chmod +x quota-check.sh

printf 'tool,tokenbar_value,provider_value,checked_at\n' > quota-check.csv
./quota-check.sh Codex "<TokenBar-value>" "<provider-dashboard-value>"
./quota-check.sh Claude "<TokenBar-value>" "<provider-dashboard-value>"
./quota-check.sh Cursor "<TokenBar-value>" "<provider-dashboard-value>"
tail -n 4 quota-check.csv

Example: if TokenBar shows 40% for Codex and the Codex dashboard shows 40%, log Codex,40%,40%,2025-01-01T00:00:00Z. If TokenBar shows 40% but the dashboard shows 55%, the monitor is stale or reading a different quota window.

Expected output:

tool,tokenbar_value,provider_value,checked_at
Codex,<TokenBar-value>,<provider-dashboard-value>,2025-01-01T00:00:00Z
Claude,<TokenBar-value>,<provider-dashboard-value>,2025-01-01T00:00:00Z
Cursor,<TokenBar-value>,<provider-dashboard-value>,2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Test the warning path: use TokenBar’s test-alert control if it provides one; otherwise temporarily lower the warning threshold in a test profile, wait for one refresh, and confirm the alert arrives in your destination. Restore the real threshold afterward.

Fallback rule: if TokenBar’s last update is older than two refresh intervals, use the provider dashboard and log the event in quota-check.csv.

Why: A monitor is useful only when its numbers match the authority and its alerts reach a human. The paired log proves whether a discrepancy is a refresh delay or a configuration error.

How to check: Run tail -n 4 ~/ai-quota/quota-check.csv; you should see three tool rows. Confirm the alert arrived in your channel, then verify that a second alert is not stuck in “test mode.” For teams using Claude Code, pair this quota check with the subagent setup guide: Claude Code for Teams: Setting Up Subagents and a Shared AI Superagent. After quota checks are stable, scan AI-generated code with the vulnerability guide.

Troubleshooting

Problem. TokenBar will not open on macOS

Problem. A provider connection fails

Problem. The baseline check cannot find the CSV

Summary and next steps

You now have a dated provider baseline, a configured TokenBar view for Codex, Claude, and Cursor, and a verification log that compares the monitor with the provider dashboards. Next, add the quota check to your team runbook and run the code-security scan linked above on AI-generated changes.

FAQ

Does TokenBar replace the Codex, Claude, or Cursor billing dashboards?

No. Use TokenBar as a monitor; the provider dashboard remains the source of truth for quota, billing, and reset times.

Which account should I connect for a team plan?

Use an account that can see the team’s usage or billing data. If you cannot see usage in the provider dashboard, ask an admin; TokenBar cannot show data the account cannot access.

How often should TokenBar refresh?

The source post does not specify a default or supported minimum. Choose the shortest interval TokenBar supports without hitting provider rate limits, and verify it against the documentation.

Does TokenBar store prompts or source code?

The source post does not say. Review TokenBar’s privacy and security documentation before connecting a work account, especially if your repositories contain sensitive code.

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