I cannot export my codespace to branch after hitting 120 core hour limit

[milesfuller]

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I cannot export my codespace to branch after hitting 120 core hour limit. I click to export to a branch. It takes a couple of minutes doing nothing, then displays an error message that says "Your codespace export did not complete. Please try again." I've tried using the Brave, Firefox, and Chrome.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[Amirreza-Jabbari]

When you exhaust your free 120 core‑hour quota on GitHub Codespaces (or hit your organization’s quota), the service will block normal operations—including the “Export changes to a branch” feature—until you either wait for the next billing cycle, add a payment method, or upgrade to a paid plan ([GitHub Docs]1). However, if you’ve got work sitting in that codespace that you can’t afford to lose, you can still recover it. Below are several “hero‑style” workarounds:

---

1. Push directly from the Codespace (if the terminal still works)

1. Open the terminal in your codespace (even if the VS Code UI won’t start, you often can still run a shell).

2. Check your remotes:

   git remote -v

3. Stage, commit, and push your changes to any branch you choose:

   git add .
   git commit -m "⚔️ Backup before quota hit"
   git push origin your-branch-name

4. Clone that branch locally (or in a new codespace) to continue working ([GitHub]2).

---

2. SSH into your Codespace via GitHub CLI

If the web UI is blocked, you can often still connect over SSH:

gh codespace list
gh codespace ssh -c <CODESPACE_NAME>

Once connected, you can either:

• Git push as above, or

• Use scp to pull files down:

  scp -r user@<codespace-host>:~/path/to/your/project ~/local/backup
  ``` :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.

---

3. Manual copy via the Codespaces dashboard

1. Go to your Codespaces dashboard: https://github.com/codespaces
2. Click your codespace and open the file tree. Even if the editor won’t load, you can often right‑click → “Download” on individual files or folders to pull them down manually ([GitHub]2).

---

4. Use gh codespace export (CLI)

gh codespace export -c <CODESPACE_NAME> --branch backup-branch

Sometimes the CLI will succeed where the UI fails, or at least give you more detailed error output ([GitHub]2).

---

5. As a last resort, open a GitHub Support ticket

If none of the above work and you urgently need your work back, you can request a temporary override of the quota:

• Visit https://support.github.com/
• Choose Codespaces, explain that your free quota lapsed mid‑task, and ask for export access (they’ve been known to help in critical cases) ([GitHub]2).

---

Beyond recovery: avoid future lockouts

• Monitor your usage on your [Billing → Codespaces](https://github.com/settings/billing) page.
• Set a spending limit or add a payment method so you can continue running (and exporting) even after the free quota runs out.
• Delete inactive codespaces as soon as you’ve pushed your work, to conserve core‑hours and storage.

With these tactics you’ll never again find yourself stranded mid‑project—may your dev environment remain ever under your command!