Account Switcher for Claude Code

Run multiple Claude Code accounts at the same time in VS Code / code-server. Every account stays logged in permanently. Each folder — and each new chat — can use its own account. Switching never logs anything out and never interrupts a running session.

What changed in v1.0

v0.x kept one account live at a time and swapped ~/.claude snapshots on every switch: window reloads, stale chat tabs, and snapshots whose tokens expired while another account was live.

v1.0 removes the swapping entirely:

• Every account is permanently live in its own isolated config directory (CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR). Logins are never moved, copied or replaced, so they cannot go stale and there is no logout code path at all — a reboot or VM shutdown cannot sign any account out.
• "Switching" is just routing: you choose which account new chats in a folder use. Chats that are already running keep their process and their account — different accounts genuinely run concurrently, side by side.
• No window reloads. Open a new chat and it's on the other account.
• Works for the Claude panel (GUI), the claude CLI in terminals, and both at once.

Profiles created with v0.x are migrated automatically on first activation (details below) — stored logins are preserved.

⚠️ Warning — unofficial tool

This extension is not made or endorsed by Anthropic. It works with the official Claude Code extension's documented CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR mechanism and its claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting. It never edits, prints or logs tokens, and it never modifies the Anthropic extension itself.

Profile directories contain login credentials (exactly like ~/.claude does). The profiles folder is created with 700 permissions — do not commit it, sync it, or loosen it.

How it works

~/.claude                       # your original account — untouched, now the
~/.claude.json                  # "default" profile
~/.claude-profiles/
├── map.conf                    # folder → account routing (longest prefix wins)
├── _default.label              # optional display name for the default account
├── Work/                       # a complete, live CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:
│   ├── .credentials.json       #   this account's own login (never moved)
│   ├── .claude.json            #   its own account state & workspace trust
│   ├── settings.json           #   its own settings (seeded from default)
│   ├── profile.json            #   metadata for this extension
│   └── projects/ sessions/ …   #   its own history, fully isolated
├── Personal/
│   └── ...
├── _bin/
│   ├── claude-wrapper.sh       # tiny launcher the official extension calls
│   ├── profile-env.sh          # the routing logic (also usable in terminals)
│   └── resolve.log             # routing breadcrumbs (paths only, no secrets)
└── _backups/                   # login snapshots & legacy v0.x backups

When the official Claude extension (or a terminal launcher) starts a new Claude process, the wrapper picks the account for it:

1. CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR already set in the environment → respected untouched
2. CLAUDE_PROFILE=<name> in the environment → that profile
3. a .claude-profile file in the folder (or any parent up to ~) → that profile
4. longest matching folder prefix in map.conf → that profile
5. otherwise → the default account (~/.claude)

Routing picks a directory for a new process and nothing else: no files move, no tokens are read, nothing is logged in or out. That is why a switch can never break a session that is already running — that session's process keeps its own config directory until it exits.

Full usage guide

First-time setup (adding a second account)

1. Ctrl+Shift+P → Claude Accounts: Add Account → name it (e.g. Work).
2. A terminal opens for that profile — complete the login there with the second account (type /login if not prompted). Close the terminal when done. That's the only login this profile will ever need: it survives switches, reboots and shutdowns.
3. When asked, enable folder routing (one-time consent — it sets the official extension's claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting to the wrapper script above).

Day-to-day switching

• Click the status bar item (👤 Claude: <account>, bottom left) or run Claude Accounts: Use Account for This Folder, and pick the account.
• New chats in that folder now use it. Chats already running are not touched — they finish on the account they started with. No reload.
• Route different folders to different accounts and they all run at the same time, each with its own history and its own login.

Per-project pinning (optional)

Put a .claude-profile file containing a profile name in any project folder:

Work

That folder (and everything under it) uses the Work account, overriding map.conf. Commit it to the repo if the whole team convention is yours alone; otherwise gitignore it.

Terminals / CLI

The same routing works for the claude CLI if your launcher sources the helper (add once to .bashrc or a launcher script):

[ -f ~/.claude-profiles/_bin/profile-env.sh ] && . ~/.claude-profiles/_bin/profile-env.sh && claude_profile_apply
exec claude "$@"   # or just run `claude` after the two lines above

Or bypass routing explicitly for one command / one shell:

CLAUDE_PROFILE=Work claude          # one command on the Work account
export CLAUDE_PROFILE=Work          # whole shell on the Work account

Ongoing terminal sessions are processes too — starting a new one on another account never disturbs them.

Knowing which account you're on

• The status bar shows the account that new chats in the current folder will use: 👤 Claude: Work.
• Claude Accounts: Show Status lists every account, its email, login state, and which folders route to it.
• ~/.claude-profiles/_bin/resolve.log records the last few hundred routing decisions (folder → profile; never any secrets) if you want to verify.

Migration from v0.x

On first activation v1.0 automatically:

• Detects v0.x snapshot profiles (<profile>/.claude/…).
• The profile that was active keeps living at ~/.claude (that was always its real, current state). Its name becomes the default account's display label; its stale snapshot is archived under _backups/.
• Every other profile is converted in place into a live config dir — its stored login is preserved (login files are backed up under _backups/ first). If the stored token already expired while it sat unused, one /login in its login terminal fixes it permanently.
• Names with spaces are renamed (My Account → My-Account), since v1 names travel through environment variables and the map file.

Old v0.x full backups remain usable via Claude Accounts: Restore Legacy (v0.x) Backup.

Commands (Command Palette)

Recovery instructions

• A profile lost its login? Run Open Login Terminal for Account and /login once. Nothing else is affected.
• Accidentally deleted a profile? Every deletion is preceded by a login snapshot: copy .credentials.json and .claude.json from the newest _backups/<timestamp>-logins/<name>/ back into a re-created profile folder.
• Routing misbehaving? Check ~/.claude-profiles/_bin/resolve.log, or run Disable Folder Routing — everything falls back to the default account exactly as if the extension were not installed.
• v0.x state needed back? Restore Legacy (v0.x) Backup restores a full old snapshot into ~/.claude (with a fresh safety backup first).

Settings

Build from source

npm install
npm test          # compiles + runs the core test suite in a temp sandbox
npm run package   # produces account-switcher-for-claude-code-<version>.vsix

Install with: code-server --install-extension account-switcher-for-claude-code-<version>.vsix (or VS Code: Extensions: Install from VSIX…).

Support this project

This tool is free and open source. If it saves you time, you can sponsor me on GitHub or buy me a coffee — it keeps the extension maintained as Claude Code evolves. Stars on the repo help others find it too. ⭐

Notes & limitations

• Routing needs a POSIX shell: Linux, macOS, code-server, or WSL. On plain Windows, set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR per environment manually (profiles still work — only the automatic per-folder routing needs the wrapper script).
• A chat keeps the account it was started with; switching affects new chats only (that's the feature — nothing running is ever interrupted).
• Each profile has its own workspace-trust state. New profiles copy your existing trust decisions and onboarding state (never credentials), so first runs skip the dialogs.
• Conversation history is per account by design. A folder's old conversations reappear when its routing points back at the account that created them.
• Usage limits, plans and rate limits are per account, as Anthropic defines them. This tool only manages where each account's files live; make sure your use of multiple accounts complies with Anthropic's terms of service.