Codex app users question higher usage than the CLI

Codex users are seeing confusing differences between the desktop app and the CLI. On the Mac app, even a low or light usage setting appeared to burn through the 5-hour limit after only 2 or 3 prompts, while the same kind of work in the CLI did not seem to reduce the limit as quickly. Codebase reading tools, memory setup, and MCP were present in both places, so the difference cannot be clearly blamed on one helper tool from the available information.

The same discussion connects to wider uncertainty about Codex resets, whether limits are counted over 5 hours or by week, and whether writing-heavy workflows should spend Codex quota at all. Some developers are also comparing this with Claude Code through Microsoft Foundry, where usage can be paid from credits instead of a normal subscription cap.