How to Use Multiple Claude Code Accounts on One Computer

Searches for multiple Claude Code accounts usually describe the same problem: a work account, a personal account, and sometimes a client account all need to live on one machine. Claude Code's native /login flow can change the current login, but repeating it for every context does not give you named profiles or a repository check. Manually renaming Claude files also makes it hard to know which identity a repository will use.

Save each Claude account as a named profile

Start by giving each account a stable name that describes its boundary. If you are already signed in, capture the current account first. Add other accounts through Claude's normal login flow while aisw keeps the profile-specific state separate.

aisw init
aisw add claude work --from-live
aisw add claude personal
aisw add claude client-acme
aisw list claude

The profile names are local labels, not provider accounts. AI Switcher does not create a Claude subscription, proxy requests, or upload credentials. It stores the managed profile locally and applies the credential and state that Claude Code expects when you select it.

Switch accounts before starting Claude Code

Activate the profile that matches the work you are about to do, then start a fresh Claude process. This is a deliberate switch, not a hot swap inside a process that is already running.

aisw use claude work
aisw status
claude

aisw use claude personal
claude

Use aisw verify when you want a read-only comparison between the selected profile and Claude's live state. If the result reports a mismatch, fix the active profile before opening the repository.

Keep Claude configuration isolated when the install supports it

Claude Code can use a profile-specific CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR on supported installations. aisw's default isolated mode points the new Claude process at the selected profile's config, history, and extensions. This is useful when work and personal setups should not share local state.

aisw use claude work --state-mode isolated
claude

aisw use claude personal --state-mode isolated
claude

Claude's legacy shared Keychain behavior is an important exception. If the installed build keeps the OAuth credential in a shared live Keychain entry, aisw reports that isolated switching is not durable for that credential. Use the supported shared mode for that profile, or use an API-key or file-backed path that can be isolated reliably.

Work and personal accounts on Windows

The workflow is the same on Windows. Install aisw and create named profiles. If you choose--credential-backend system-keyring, that setting controls aisw's managed profile storage; it does not change Claude Code's upstream authentication storage. The account boundary comes from the profile and Claude's supported configuration behavior, not from renaming hidden files in a PowerShell script.

aisw add claude work --credential-backend system-keyring
aisw add claude personal --credential-backend system-keyring
aisw use claude work
aisw verify

If you work in VS Code, remember that an already-running Claude process may keep its previous environment and session. Switch first, then start the new process or terminal session that will work on the repository.

Prevent the wrong account in the wrong repository

A profile switch depends on remembering to make it. For client or production repositories, bind the location to the expected context and let the shell hook warn or block before Claude Code launches.

aisw context create client-acme --claude client-acme
cd ~/src/client-acme-app
aisw workspace bind . --context client-acme
aisw workspace guard --mode strict

Start with warn mode while auditing an existing machine. Once the mapping is correct, strict mode turns an accidental work or personal account into an explicit stop instead of a credential mistake discovered later.

Account switching versus concurrent sessions

AI Switcher manages one active live Claude state at a time. It does not make two already running Claude processes change accounts in the middle of a session, and it does not bypass provider terms or account limits. Claude Code's documented worktree workflow isolates files and session context, but a worktree is not an account switch by itself. If concurrent sessions need different accounts, give each process its own provider-supported configuration and authentication boundary, then verify each one before launch.

For the command-by-command version, read How to Switch Claude Code Accounts. For a cross-tool setup, see how to manage multiple AI coding agent accounts and the guide to using the right Claude account per repository.