Zero setup detection
The desktop application looks for provider tools and logins already present on this device. It can begin with no OpenLimiter account and no copied credential. A provider it cannot measure right now is hidden rather than guessed, and waits on Connections under Needs attention with one fix.
What OpenLimiter does
OpenLimiter combines every quota window a supported provider exposes, shows how much is used and when it resets, and gives bounded routing advice to you and your coding agent. It is a meter and adviser. It never spends quota, changes a plan, or chooses a provider without you.
How discovery works
At launch, the desktop application performs a bounded scan of known locations. It does not crawl the disk, follow symbolic links, or send a discovery result anywhere.
- Windows checks AppData Roaming and Local. macOS checks Application Support and provider folders in the home directory. Linux checks XDG locations and provider folders in the home directory.
- Each provider becomes
present,installed_logged_outorabsent. Unknown quota is separate from detection and never becomes zero. - Distinct local profiles become distinct accounts. The interface exposes an opaque identity and never exposes a token, raw account identifier or credential path.
- A provider token is read again from its original file immediately before a provider request. A stale login tells you to reopen that provider CLI. OpenLimiter never mints or refreshes it.
- The automatic scan does not read Keychain. If a macOS tool keeps its login only there, it can appear installed but logged out. Manual entry remains available.
Supported providers and readings
The desktop application supports eight provider connectors. Every row below names the reading and the source honestly.
| provider | what it reports | how it is read |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Five hour session usage and seven day usage, with reset times. | The Claude Code status line, automatically, whenever Claude Code renders. On a new desktop install, a disclosed direct usage request with your local Claude credentials starts on. Existing desktop installs without a choice are asked first. |
| Codex | The primary quota window, percent used, and its reset when the provider supplies one. | The local Codex login and an unsupported OpenAI usage endpoint. |
| Antigravity | The most binding quota bucket, percent used, and its reset. | The documented Antigravity CLI status line. Use /usage in Antigravity CLI to refresh quota. |
| OpenCode | The most binding rolling usage window and its reset countdown. | An existing browser session and an authenticated workspace page scrape. |
| OpenRouter | Credits used against total credits, including the amount in US dollars and no reset. | A key you supply and the documented OpenRouter credits API. |
Privacy boundary
Local mode is designed so OpenLimiter can advise without becoming another holder of your provider identity.
- Detection reads only bounded files in known provider locations on this device.
- A provider credential is sent only to the endpoint of the provider that issued it. It is never sent to OpenLimiter or another provider.
- Local mode sends zero telemetry, quota snapshots, diagnostics, prompts or identifiers to OpenLimiter.
- OpenLimiter only advises. It does not submit prompts, change subscriptions or route work by itself.
- OpenLimiter never creates, renews or silently repairs a provider token.
When a provider needs attention
A provider that cannot be measured right now is hidden from Home, the edge panel and the terminal line, and listed on Connections under Needs attention with one fix. Hidden is not zero usage, and it is not proof that the subscription is empty.
- 1Signed out: choose Sign in. When the sign in belongs to the provider's own tool, sign in there on this computer, then choose Check again.
- 2Connection lost: choose Reconnect. When the connection belongs to the provider's own tool, sign in there again, then choose Check again.
- 3Sign in needs a refresh: open the provider's tool once so it refreshes its own sign in, then choose Check again. OpenLimiter never refreshes a vendor's sign in itself.
- 4Not measurable yet: the provider reports no quota OpenLimiter can read, or its reply changed shape. There is nothing to press, the row says so, and the provider stays hidden until its connector is updated.
- 5Use manual entry when automatic collection is unavailable. One provider that needs attention never hides the others.