Running multiple claude accounts

running-multiple-claude-accounts.md

Running multiple claude accounts

1. Create a separate Claude configuration directory and copy your existing setup into it:

   mkdir -p ~/.claude-accounts/work
   cp -a ~/.claude/. ~/.claude-accounts/work/

   This gives your work account its own settings, skills, status line, history, etc.

2. Create the launcher:

   mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
   nano ~/.local/bin/claude-work

   Contents:

   #!/bin/zsh
   
   export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-accounts/work"
   export CLAUDE_SECURESTORAGE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-accounts/work"
   
   exec claude "$@"

   Then:

   chmod 700 ~/.local/bin/claude-work

3. Launch it:

   claude-work

   Claude Code presents the normal browser login:

   1. Claude account with subscription
   2. Anthropic Console account
   3. 3rd-party platform
   

   Choose 1 and authenticate with the second Claude Max account.

4. The important part is CLAUDE_SECURESTORAGE_CONFIG_DIR.

   CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR separates the Claude Code filesystem state:

   ~/.claude/
   ~/.claude-accounts/work/

   CLAUDE_SECURESTORAGE_CONFIG_DIR causes Claude Code to use a separate macOS Keychain credential for that configuration. The OAuth token is therefore not copied into the new directory; it remains in Keychain.

5. For account-local resources such as your status line, use $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:

   "statusLine": {
     "type": "command",
     "command": "python3 \"$CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/statusline.py\""
   }

   That successfully allowed the copied Skin Clique configuration to find its own statusline.py.

6. We did not use the custom Keychain token / CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN approach. That was the path that failed: Claude launched but still presented the login selector.

   Your final architecture is therefore:

   ~/.claude/
       Personal Claude Code configuration
             │
             └── macOS Keychain credential A
   
   ~/.claude-accounts/
   └── skin-clique/
       ├── settings.json
       ├── statusline.py
       ├── skills/
       └── ...
             │
             └── macOS Keychain credential B
   

   And you can run:

   claude
   

   for Account A and:

   claude-work
   

   for Account B simultaneously, even in separate macOS Spaces.

   For another account, repeat the same pattern with a new directory and a new CLAUDE_SECURESTORAGE_CONFIG_DIR value, then authenticate that instance once.