Claude Code · Server and limits
Credit balance is too low
Claude Code is billing a Console API key whose prepaid credits ran out, often by accident instead of your subscription.
Message
The exact error
Credit balance is too lowMeaning
What it means
This comes from the Anthropic Console: the organization behind the API key has no prepaid credit left. If you pay for a Claude subscription and see it, Claude Code is almost certainly using an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY from your environment rather than your subscription login.
Causes
Common causes
- An
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYin your shell, profile or a.envfile overriding your subscription - The Console organization’s prepaid credits ran out
Fix
How to fix it
If you have a subscription, stop using the key
Run
/statusand check the API key row. Unset the variable in the current shell, remove it from your shell profile, then relaunchclaudeand run/loginif needed.macOS / Linux unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY claudeWindows PowerShell Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY claudeIf you use the API on purpose, add credits
Top up at platform.claude.com/settings/billing and consider auto-reload so the balance doesn’t hit zero mid-task.
Cap spending per workspace
Set per-workspace spend limits in the Console so one project can’t drain the whole balance.
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