The American artificial intelligence company Anthropic has ended support for utilizing Claude consumer and Pro subscriptions through third-party agentic frameworks, including the open-source tool OpenClaw.
Boris Cherny, Head of Claude Code at Anthropic, attributed the decision to the significant system strain caused by those tools, noting that the company’s flat-rate subscription models were not designed for such high-intensity usage patterns.
“We’ve been working hard to meet the increase in demand for Claude, and our subscriptions weren’t built for the usage patterns of these third-party tools. Capacity is a resource we manage thoughtfully and we are prioritizing our customers using our products and API”, he shared on X.
The policy shift is intended to prioritize infrastructure capacity for users accessing Claude via official channels, such as the Claude.ai web interface, the Claude Code terminal, and the paid API.
OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger has publicly challenged the move, suggesting the restriction serves to limit open-source competition following the release of similar internal features within Anthropic’s own ecosystem.
“Funny how timings match up, first they copy some popular features into their closed harness, then they lock out open source”, posted Steinberger on X.
Users are finding out through email about this shift, and to facilitate the transition, Anthropic is providing subscribers with a one-time credit equivalent to their monthly plan price along with discounted usage packages, expiring April 17, 2026. The company has also made full refunds available upon request via email.
