How to Switch Claude Code Accounts

Claude Code stores its active account in the macOS Keychain or in local files, depending on how it was installed. There’s no built-in way to save a second account and switch back later — you’d normally have to sign out, sign back in, or manually copy credential files. aisw turns each account into a named profile so switching is one command.

Before you start

Install aisw if you haven’t already:

brew tap burakdede/tap && brew install aisw

CLI method

1. Save the account you’re currently signed into.

aisw init
aisw add claude work --from-live

--from-live captures whatever Claude Code account is currently active, without a fresh sign-in.

2. Add a second account.

If you want to add another account interactively (this opens Claude Code’s native OAuth flow):

aisw add claude personal

Or save an API key directly:

aisw add claude work --api-key "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"

3. Switch between them.

aisw use claude work
aisw use claude personal

Each use call writes the named profile’s credentials to Claude Code’s live location and records it as the active profile for that tool.

4. Verify which account is active.

aisw status

This reports the recorded profile and cross-checks it against Claude Code’s live credential state.

Desktop method (coming soon)

AI Switcher Desktop is currently in private testing and not yet available for public download. The steps below reflect the current build; use the CLI method above until it ships.

1. Open AI Switcher Desktop and go to Overview.
2. In the Claude Code column, select the profile you want active.
3. Click Open Profile, then Activate — or use Quick Switch (⌘K) and type the profile name.

Common problems

If aisw use succeeds but Claude Code still shows the old account, quit and relaunch Claude Code — some installs cache credentials in memory for the running session. If aisw status reports a mismatch between the recorded and live profile, run aisw verify for a full diagnosis and repair path.