Instagit Free Tier vs Pro and Max Tiers: Repository Analysis Limits Explained

Instagit's Free tier restricts users to 2 GB repositories and a limited monthly pool of AI tokens, while Pro (~$20/month) and Max tiers remove size limits, provide approximately 10× more tokens, and prioritize analysis speed.

Instagit is an AI-driven repository analysis tool developed by instalabsAI that integrates with MCP (Model Context Protocol) clients to provide intelligent code insights. While the Free tier offers a risk-free entry point for small-scale evaluations, the Pro and Max tiers unlock enterprise-grade capacity for analyzing large monorepos and handling high-volume workflows.

Token Credit Limits

The primary distinction between tiers lies in how many AI tokens—the currency for model inference—you can consume monthly.

Free Tier Restrictions

Free accounts receive a modest monthly allocation of AI tokens. Once exhausted, the API returns a 429 Rate-limit response, and Instagit displays the message: "Rate limit exceeded. Your free credits have been exhausted." This logic is implemented in src/index.ts at lines 58-66, where the tool checks the response status and appends upgrade suggestions to the error output.

Pro and Max Tier Benefits

Paid plans receive roughly 10× more tokens per month compared to the Free tier. The API response includes tokens_remaining and tier fields (parsed in src/api.ts at lines 34-42), allowing the client to display a footer such as Credits remaining: 12345. The 429 error only appears after this larger quota is spent.

Repository Size Limits

2 GB Cap on Free Accounts

The Free tier cannot analyze repositories exceeding 2 GB. When attempting to process a larger repo, the server returns a 413 Payload Too Large error. In src/index.ts at lines 49-52, Instagit catches this status and explicitly suggests upgrading for "unlimited repo size."

Unlimited Size for Pro and Max

Pro and Max subscribers face no artificial size restrictions. According to the source code in src/index.ts, paid tiers can analyze "any public repository," including multi-gigabyte monorepos like microsoft/vscode or torvalds/linux.

Analysis Speed and Priority Queue

Pro tier users receive "faster analysis" according to the upgrade message in src/index.ts at lines 64-67. Internally, the backend assigns higher-priority queues to paid accounts, reducing latency for streaming responses. While the AI model quality remains identical across tiers (providing the same citation-backed answers), paid users experience shorter wait times during high-traffic periods.

API Response Differences

Upgrade Hints

When a Free tier user approaches or hits a limit, the API includes an upgrade_hint field in the usage payload. As implemented in src/api.ts at lines 34-42, Instagit appends this hint to the response text (responseText += "\n\n${result!.upgradeHint}"). This field is omitted for Pro and Max users who do not require upgrade prompts.

Token Usage Reporting

Both tiers receive a footer reporting input tokens, output tokens, and total tokens used. Additionally, the footer displays the current tier (Tier: free or Tier: pro/max), as constructed in src/index.ts at lines 44-46. Paid plans show the upgraded tier name and remaining credits, while Free plans show the default "free" label.

Practical Code Examples

Configuring the MCP Client

Add Instagit to your MCP settings to enable repository analysis in compatible agents:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Basic Repository Query

// In a MCP-enabled agent (e.g., Claude, Cursor)
await client.ask_repo({
  repo: "facebook/react",
  prompt: "Summarize the core architecture of the React reconciler"
});

Handling Rate Limits on Free Tier

When token credits are exhausted, Instagit returns:

Rate limit exceeded. Your free credits have been exhausted.
- Upgrade to Pro ($20/mo) for 10x more credits and faster analysis
- Visit: https://app.instagit.com/pricing

Your application can parse this response to trigger upgrade flows automatically.

Analyzing Large Repositories (Pro/Max Required)

await client.ask_repo({
  repo: "microsoft/vscode",
  prompt: "Explain the extension activation flow"
});

If executed on a Free tier account with a repository exceeding 2 GB, the tool returns:

The repository is too large for the free tier (limit 2 GB). Upgrade to Pro or Max for unlimited repo size.

Accessing Tier Information Programmatically

const result = await client.ask_repo({ 
  repo: "torvalds/linux", 
  prompt: "What is the role of the scheduler?" 
});

console.log(result.footer); 
// Output: "... | Tier: free | Credits remaining: 12345"

The footer string is constructed from the tier, tokensRemaining, and upgradeHint fields returned by the backend API, as defined in src/api.ts and rendered in src/index.ts.

Key Implementation Files

The tier differentiation logic is distributed across the following source files in the instalabsAI/instagit repository:

• src/index.ts – Defines the ask_repo MCP tool, handles HTTP status codes (413, 429), and constructs tier-specific error messages and footers.
• src/api.ts – Manages streaming API calls to the Instagit backend and parses usage metadata including tokens_remaining, tier, and upgrade_hint.
• src/types.ts – Declares the AnalysisResult interface containing tier and credit information.
• src/token.ts – Handles API key and anonymous token registration, determining plan eligibility.
• src/kitt.ts – Provides the CLI progress UI for token registration and connection status.

Summary

• Token Limits: Free tier offers a small monthly AI token pool that triggers a 429 error when exhausted; Pro/Max provide ~10× more credits with remaining balance reporting.
• Repository Size: Free accounts are capped at 2 GB (returning 413 Payload Too Large for bigger repos); paid tiers support unlimited repository sizes.
• Performance: Pro and Max users receive higher-priority queue placement for faster streaming responses compared to Free tier users.
• API Metadata: Free tier responses include upgrade_hint fields and generic "free" tier labels; paid responses display actual tier names (pro/max) and remaining credit counts.
• Code Integration: The tier system is implemented in src/index.ts (error handling), src/api.ts (metadata parsing), and src/token.ts (plan determination).

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when I hit the token limit on Instagit's Free tier?

When your monthly AI token allocation is exhausted, the Instagit API returns a 429 Rate-limit response. The tool displays the message "Rate limit exceeded. Your free credits have been exhausted" and appends an upgrade suggestion pointing to the Pro tier for 10× more credits. Your MCP client will receive this as a standard error response that can be parsed to trigger automatic upgrade flows.

What is the repository size limit on the Free tier?

Free tier accounts are restricted to repositories smaller than 2 GB. If you attempt to analyze a larger repository, the server responds with a 413 Payload Too Large error, and Instagit surfaces a message explicitly stating that the repository exceeds the free tier limit and suggests upgrading to Pro or Max for unlimited repository size support.

How do I know which tier I am currently using?

Every API response includes a footer string that reports your current tier status. As implemented in src/index.ts at lines 44-46, the footer displays Tier: free for free accounts or Tier: pro/Tier: max for paid subscriptions. Additionally, paid tier responses include a Credits remaining count parsed from the tokens_remaining field in src/api.ts, while free tier responses may include an upgrade_hint field when approaching limits.

Does upgrading to Pro or Max affect the quality of AI analysis?

No, the AI model quality and citation accuracy remain identical across all tiers. According to the source code in src/index.ts, both free and paid users receive the same "rich, citation-backed AI answers." The upgrade benefits are strictly related to capacity (token quotas, repository size), performance (priority queue placement for faster responses), and usage reporting (detailed credit tracking), not the underlying intelligence of the analysis.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}