Stop Reopening Old Claude Chats: The New-Chat Move That Saves Your Limit
Coming back to yesterday's long Claude chat makes Claude re-read the whole thing, and one message can eat a big share of your 5-hour limit. Why it happens, the warning Claude Code now shows, and the two-line habit that keeps your limit
Claude keeps a short-lived shortcut (a prompt cache) for the chat you're in. Step away for about an hour and it runs out, so the next message in that old chat makes Claude read the whole conversation again from the start. In a long chat that one message can use a noticeable share of your 5-hour usage limit.
Here's what the new warning says, what to do instead, a prompt to carry the old chat over, and the catches.
What changed
- Claude Code 2.1.304 added a warning on Pro and Max plans when resuming an inactive conversation would use a noticeable share of your 5-hour usage limit.
- It gives you two choices: resume anyway, or start a new conversation.
- In a new conversation, Claude can look up the previous one if you refer to it, so you don't lose what you did.
The habit
- Back after a break (an hour or more) and the old chat is long? Don't reopen it with `claude --resume`.
- Start a new chat: just run `claude` in the same project folder (or /clear in the open session).
- In your first message, name the old chat: what it was about and roughly when (see the prompt below). Claude looks it up and picks up where you left off.
- If the warning appears when you do resume, pick start a new conversation.
- Check /usage to see how much of your limit is left.
Look up my previous conversation in this project about [the feature / bug, e.g. the checkout page] from [yesterday]. Summarise where we left off in 5 bullets, then continue with [the next step]. From my last session on [topic], list the files we changed and the one thing that was still broken. Don't redo finished work. Before we start, read what we decided in my previous chat about [topic] and tell me if anything in the code has changed since.
Free, for your email
Get the full setup steps + the copy-paste setup prompt
The rest of this guide (2 more sections) opens right here. The setup prompt, one paste into Claude that sets it all up, comes by email only. Use your real address.
50,000+ follow where these guides come from. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.