Usage limits & quotas explained

Every Contral plan has usage limits: some reset daily, some monthly, and a few are a running total for your account. This page lists the exact limits Contral's servers enforce for each plan, when they reset, and what counts toward each one.

Contral usage limits by plan#

"Unlimited" means Contral doesn't cap that feature on that plan.

Without signing in, the extension allows 3 free builds so you can try it.

When Contral usage limits reset#

• Daily limits reset at 00:00 UTC every day. That's the same moment worldwide: for example 5:30 AM in India (IST), 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM in central Europe, and the previous afternoon or evening in the Americas (8:00 PM in New York and 5:00 PM in San Francisco during daylight saving time).
• Monthly limits (codebase analyses and extension web searches) reset on the 1st of each month at 00:00 UTC. They follow the calendar month, not your purchase date.
• "In total" limits (the Free plan's 1 codebase analysis and 3 codebase questions) never reset. Upgrading lifts them.
• Sessions are a running total of Build sessions created on your account. They don't reset daily or monthly.

Your dashboard↗ shows today's counts under Today's Usage. These are the same counters the server uses to enforce your limits.

What counts as an AI message#

An AI message is one message you send to the Contral Build agent using Contral's hosted models, in any agent mode. On AppSumo tiers this is the "AI messages per day" number.

• A Recursive mode turn uses one AI message and one recursive run.
• Messages sent with your own API key count as BYOK messages instead, not AI messages.
• Slash commands (/status, /help, /mcp …) are free.
• Running a skill is a normal message.

What counts as a code explanation#

A code explanation is any explanation Contral writes on request outside Build chat: Explain selection, Learn this file, the daily concept card, re-explaining a card, Learn mode hints and AI feedback, and Ask Tutor follow-up questions on a card.

What counts as an auto-teach card#

An auto-teach card is a teaching card Contral generates automatically when code changes: for edits by other AI agents (Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code and others), for the Contral Build agent's own edits, and for Catch me up on git changes and Rewind explanations.

What counts as a deep dive#

A deep dive is a longer, more thorough explanation you open with the Deep dive button on a teaching card. Deep dives aren't available on the Free plan.

What counts as a codebase analysis#

A codebase analysis is one run of Learn this codebase: Contral scans the repository and produces a guided tour and learning path. Asking questions afterwards is codebase chat, which is counted separately and is unlimited on paid plans and all AppSumo tiers. The quick /map command doesn't use a codebase analysis. See Codebase tours & codebase chat.

What counts as a session#

A session is a Build chat thread with its own history, memory and plan. Starting a new conversation with /new creates a session. Your plan's session number is how many sessions your account can create.

What counts as an extension web search#

Each /web, /search or /research command, and each automatic search the agent runs, uses one extension web search. See Web search.

Limits are per account, not per device#

All limits belong to your Contral account and are enforced on Contral's servers. Using several editors or computers doesn't give you extra allowance, and reinstalling the extension doesn't reset it.

What happens when you reach a Contral limit#

Contral shows a message and stops that one feature until it resets. Everything else keeps working. For example:

• "Daily message limit reached ({used}/{limit}). Upgrade to Pro for 250 messages/day, or Pro+ for unlimited."
• "Codebase analysis limit reached ({used}/{limit}). Upgrade to Pro for more."
• "You've used this period's explanations. Upgrade, or wait for the reset."
• "Monthly web search quota reached."

The usual ways forward are waiting for the reset, switching to your own API key with BYOK, or upgrading. On the AppSumo deal, upgrade your tier on AppSumo; see Upgrade or change your tier. For every limit message and its fix, see Limits reached & quota errors.