Legacy PRU Plan: Are “Underlying Requests” Now Being Deducted!?

[cason-wu]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot CLI

Body

On August 11, I had 234 Premium Requests remaining on my Copilot Pro plan(Legacy PRU). I submitted one prompt using Claude Sonnet 4.6, and my entire quota was immediately consumed.

I contacted GitHub Support and asked why a single prompt consumed 234 Premium Requests.

Their explanation was:

The number of Premium Requests deducted depends on the model used and the number of underlying requests generated during the interaction. Using Claude Sonnet 4.6, a single prompt may generate multiple requests if Copilot performs follow-up actions, processes a large amount of context, or completes a multistep task.

However, this appears to conflict with GitHub's own documentation Requests in GitHub Copilot (legacy):

For agentic features, only the prompts you send count as premium requests; actions Copilot takes autonomously to complete your task, such as tool calls, do not.

This is the part I cannot reconcile.

If autonomous actions, tool calls, and Copilot's internal execution do not count as Premium Requests, then what exactly are the “underlying requests” that Support says caused my single prompt to consume 234 Premium Requests?

Has anyone else encountered this “underlying requests” explanation from GitHub Support?

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐