diff --git a/packages/cli/src/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.ts b/packages/cli/src/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.ts
index 633b024f..185fd5b6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.ts
@@ -151,7 +151,26 @@ function expectedMcpServerNames(tools: KtxRuntimeToolSet | undefined): Set<strin
   return tools && Object.keys(tools).length > 0 ? new Set([KTX_MCP_SERVER_NAME]) : new Set();
 }
 
-const CLAUDE_RATE_LIMIT_ERROR_MARKERS = /\b429\b|rate limit|too many requests|quota exceeded|overloaded|max_retries/i;
+// "session limit" is the Claude Code subscription cap ("You've hit your session
+// limit · resets …"); the rest are transient 429-style throttling. All mean
+// Claude Code authenticated successfully, so they must not be read as auth
+// failures by the governor classifier or the auth probe.
+const CLAUDE_RATE_LIMIT_ERROR_MARKERS =
+  /\b429\b|rate limit|session limit|usage limit|too many requests|quota exceeded|overloaded|max_retries/i;
+
+// The subscription cap is its own case: re-authenticating and retrying both fail
+// until reset, so it gets a distinct message from transient rate limiting.
+const CLAUDE_SESSION_LIMIT_MARKERS = /session limit|usage limit/i;
+
+function describeClaudeProbeFailure(message: string): string {
+  if (CLAUDE_SESSION_LIMIT_MARKERS.test(message)) {
+    return `Claude Code session limit reached. Wait for the reset shown, then rerun setup or the command. Details: ${message}`;
+  }
+  if (CLAUDE_RATE_LIMIT_ERROR_MARKERS.test(message)) {
+    return `Claude Code is rate limited. Retry shortly, then rerun setup or the command. Details: ${message}`;
+  }
+  return `Claude Code authentication is not usable. Authenticate Claude Code locally with the Claude Code CLI, then rerun setup or the command. ${message}`;
+}
 
 function normalizeClaudeResetAtMs(value: unknown): number | undefined {
   if (typeof value === 'number' && Number.isFinite(value) && value > 0) {
@@ -497,7 +516,7 @@ export async function runClaudeCodeAuthProbe(input: {
     const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
     return {
       ok: false,
-      message: `Claude Code authentication is not usable. Authenticate Claude Code locally with the Claude Code CLI, then rerun setup or the command. ${message}`,
+      message: describeClaudeProbeFailure(message),
     };
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.test.ts
index 4e7a8e48..c070f44c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/context/llm/claude-code-runtime.test.ts
@@ -738,4 +738,70 @@ describe('ClaudeCodeKtxLlmRuntime', () => {
       message: 'Unsupported Claude Code model "gpt-5". Use sonnet, opus, haiku, or a claude-* model id.',
     });
   });
+
+  it('reports a Claude Code session limit as a session limit, not an auth or ktx failure', async () => {
+    const query = vi.fn((_input: any) =>
+      stream([
+        initMessage(),
+        resultMessage({
+          subtype: 'error_during_execution',
+          is_error: true,
+          errors: ["You've hit your session limit · resets 10:50pm (Asia/Saigon)"],
+        }),
+      ]),
+    );
+
+    const result = await runClaudeCodeAuthProbe({ projectDir: '/tmp/project', model: 'sonnet', query, env: {} });
+    const message = (result as { message: string }).message;
+
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    // Auth worked; the subscription is capped. Must not tell the user to re-authenticate.
+    expect(message).not.toContain('authentication is not usable');
+    // Frame it as Claude Code's session limit, tell them to wait, and preserve the reset text.
+    expect(message).toContain('Claude Code session limit reached');
+    expect(message).toContain('Wait for the reset shown');
+    expect(message).toContain('resets 10:50pm (Asia/Saigon)');
+  });
+
+  it('reports a Claude Code rate limit as a rate limit, not an auth failure', async () => {
+    const query = vi.fn((_input: any) =>
+      stream([
+        initMessage(),
+        resultMessage({
+          subtype: 'error_during_execution',
+          is_error: true,
+          errors: ['API Error: 429 Too Many Requests'],
+        }),
+      ]),
+    );
+
+    const result = await runClaudeCodeAuthProbe({ projectDir: '/tmp/project', model: 'sonnet', query, env: {} });
+    const message = (result as { message: string }).message;
+
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(message).not.toContain('authentication is not usable');
+    expect(message).toContain('Claude Code is rate limited');
+    expect(message).toContain('429 Too Many Requests');
+  });
+
+  it('still reports a genuine auth failure as an auth failure', async () => {
+    const query = vi.fn((_input: any) =>
+      stream([
+        initMessage(),
+        resultMessage({
+          subtype: 'error_during_execution',
+          is_error: true,
+          errors: ['Invalid API key · Please run `claude login`'],
+        }),
+      ]),
+    );
+
+    const result = await runClaudeCodeAuthProbe({ projectDir: '/tmp/project', model: 'sonnet', query, env: {} });
+    const message = (result as { message: string }).message;
+
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(message).toContain('authentication is not usable');
+    expect(message).not.toContain('session limit reached');
+    expect(message).not.toContain('rate limited');
+  });
 });