Two Claude Code accounts on one Mac
Claude Code can run with two accounts at once, and it needs no extra app to do it. It keeps its settings, history and sign-in in a config folder, ~/.claude unless CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR names another, and on a Mac it keys its Keychain entry to that folder too. Give each account a folder of its own and both stay signed in, in two terminals at once.
Facts about other apps checked against their own sites on October 4, 2026.
In Terminal, with nothing else installed
- Add an alias for the second account to
~/.zshrc:alias claude-work='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-work claude'. - Open a new terminal, run
claude-work, and sign in with/loginusing the work account. Its sign-in is kept for that folder. - Run
claudein another terminal for your own account. Both run at once, each with its own settings, history and sign-in.
Anthropic's own docs suggest this alias, and say that with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR set, Claude Code keeps its sign-in in a Keychain entry of that folder's own, so the two sessions don't sign each other out.
Keep plain claude, with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR unset, for your usual account rather than pointing the variable at ~/.claude: Claude Code goes by the path as you wrote it, so an explicit ~/.claude can read as a different, signed-out account.
What each folder keeps
- Separate: the sign-in, settings, CLAUDE.md, skills, plugins, MCP servers, memory and session history.
- Shared: your projects and files, and everything outside the folder: your git identity, SSH keys, gh sign-in and cloud credentials.
- Usage: each account uses its own plan's limits.
Nothing carries over to a new folder by itself, so copy in the settings, skills or MCP servers you want the second account to have.
Where Parallex helps
The Claude app, twice. The Claude desktop app has Claude Code built in, and it reads ~/.claude too. A second Claude made by Parallex signs in to your other account; turn on Separate Claude Code settings for it and its Claude Code gets a folder of its own, so skills, CLAUDE.md, memory and history stay with that account. Two Claude accounts on one Mac has the details.
A terminal that's always the work account. If you'd rather not remember which alias to type, give work a terminal of its own: a second Ghostty with its own Dock icon and color, with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR set in its environment (parallex edit "Ghostty Work" --env CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.claude-work). Every claude started in it is the work account. Don't also export the variable in ~/.zshrc, or that one wins. Two Ghostty terminals.
Git and gh as the work account too. Put that terminal in a Parallex workspace with an identity of its own, and the shells it starts commit and push with the workspace's git name and gh sign-in, while your own terminal stays you.
Questions
Can two Claude Code accounts run at the same time?
Yes. With a different CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, each session reads its own settings and sign-in, so a work and a personal session can run side by side in two terminals.
Do I need Parallex for this?
No. For Claude Code in Terminal, the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR alias is all it takes. Parallex helps when you also want the Claude desktop app twice, or a terminal that's always the work account, with its own Dock icon.
Why does the second account ask me to sign in again?
Its folder is new, so it has no sign-in yet: run /login once in it. If plain claude asks too, check that CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR isn't set in your shell for your usual account.
Get Parallex
Free to try, for macOS 14 and later. In Terminal:
curl -fsSL https://parallex.mandip.dev/install | shOr download the disk image, or with Homebrew: brew install --cask mandipadk/parallex/parallex.