Claude restricts third-party harness usage including OpenClaw starting April 4

Anthropic is implementing a policy change that affects developers using Claude with third-party harnesses like OpenClaw. Starting April 4 at 12pm PT / 8pm BST, Claude subscription limits will no longer cover usage through third-party harnesses.

Key Policy Changes

According to an email shared on r/openclaw, here are the specific details:

• Starting April 4, you cannot use your Claude subscription limits for third-party harnesses including OpenClaw
• You can still use third-party harnesses with your Claude account, but they will require extra usage billed separately from your subscription via pay-as-you-go
• Your subscription still covers all Claude products including Claude Code and Claude Cowork
• To keep using third-party harnesses with your Claude login, you must turn on extra usage for your account
• This policy will be enforced starting with OpenClaw on April 4, then rolled out to other third-party harnesses shortly

Transition Details

The email outlines several transition measures:

• A one-time credit for extra usage equal to your monthly subscription price
• Credit must be redeemed by April 17
• Discounts of up to 30% when pre-purchasing bundles of extra usage
• Users will receive another email tomorrow with the ability to refund their subscription if preferred

The policy change appears driven by capacity management concerns, with the email stating that third-party harnesses "put an outsized strain on our systems" and that Anthropic needs to "prioritize our customers using our core products."