The Technique — Anchoring Your Usage Window
If you're on a Claude Max plan, you know the 5-hour usage window starts with your first message and resets on the clock hour. Start at 8:30 AM, hit your limit by 11 AM, and you're locked out until 1 PM—two hours of dead time. Developer Victor Smoliveira discovered a simple workaround: send a throwaway message with Claude Haiku (the cheapest model) at 6 AM. This anchors your window to 6-11 AM instead of 8 AM-1 PM. By 11 AM, you get a fresh window exactly when you'd normally be blocked.
Why It Works — Understanding Claude Code's Billing Cycle
Claude Code's usage window operates on a rolling 5-hour basis, but it's "floored" to the nearest clock hour. The system tracks when you first use any Claude model (including Haiku) and calculates your reset time as that hour plus five hours. By sending a minimal-cost Haiku message early, you control when the window starts without consuming significant tokens from your allocation. This works on Pro, Max 5x, and Max 20x plans because the window logic is consistent across tiers.
How To Apply It — Two Methods
Method 1: GitHub Actions Cron (Victor's Original Solution)
Fork Victor's repository at https://github.com/vdsmon/claude-warmup:
- Add your Claude OAuth token as a repository secret named
CLAUDE_OAUTH_TOKEN - Configure the schedule in
.github/workflows/warmup.yml:
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 6 * * *' # Runs at 6 AM UTC daily
- Customize the message if desired (default is just "hi")
The workflow uses the official Claude API to send a single Haiku message, costing virtually nothing while triggering your window start.
Method 2: Claude Code Web Scheduled Tasks (Simpler Alternative)
As noted in the Reddit discussion, Claude Code Web now offers built-in scheduling at https://claude.ai/code/scheduled. While untested by Victor, this native approach should work similarly:
- Navigate to the scheduled tasks page
- Create a new task set to run at your desired morning time
- Configure it to send a minimal message via Claude Code
- No OAuth token management required
Important Considerations
- Time zones matter: Ensure your cron job or scheduled task runs at the correct local time for your work schedule
- Token cost is negligible: A single Haiku "hi" costs fractions of a cent
- No workflow changes: Your actual Claude Code usage pattern remains unchanged—you just gain earlier reset availability
- Works with any model: The window anchors on first usage, regardless of which Claude model you use
This follows Anthropic's recent promotion of new features and best practices for Claude Code, including the usage dashboard that makes tracking these windows easier. The technique leverages the existing billing infrastructure rather than requiring any policy changes from Anthropic.
