# We were tired of logging in and out of Claude > Limit reached, /logout, /login, paste the context back. We did it so often we built Shuriken: chats move to an account with room by themselves. Source: https://shuriken.sh/blog/why-we-built-shuriken Limit reached, /logout, /login, paste the context back. We did it so often we built Shuriken: chats move to an account with room by themselves. Story By Shuriken Updated 27 October 2026 3 min read **Contents** We built Shuriken because we were tired of one loop, the one you hit with Claude Code when an account runs out. ## The loop # You're two hours into a refactor. The agent has a plan, half the files are done, the tests are close. Then: you've hit your limit, it resets at 6 pm. You have a second Claude account. Yours, paid for, sitting there with plenty of room. So: - /logout. - /login, pick the other account in the browser, come back. - Start a new session, or try to find the old one. - Paste the context back in: "We were moving the billing code into its own module, here's the plan, these files are done, these aren't." - Wait while the agent reads the same files again. Twenty minutes later you're roughly where you were. Then tomorrow you do it again, the other way round. ## What stays behind # Handing a project to another account by hand costs more than the five steps. The usual trick is to keep each account in its own config folder, so you don't have to log out at all. It works, and lots of people do it. But then each folder has its own chat history and its own MCP sign-ins. Move to the other folder and your Notion, Linear and GitHub servers may ask you to sign in again. The chat you were in isn't there. And the momentum stays behind. The agent's picture of what it was doing, the half-finished thought, the plan it was following. You can paste a summary, but a summary isn't the chat. ## What we wanted # Something simple to say and annoying to build: - When an account gets close to its limit, the chat moves to an account that still has room. By itself. - The chat stays the same chat. Same history, same plan, same subagents still running. - It happens on every device at once, so the laptop, the desktop and the server never disagree about which account is in use. That's automatic source switching. A source is any account or API key you add: Claude, ChatGPT for Codex, Gemini and more, several per provider if you have them. ([Source switching](https://shuriken.sh/features/source-switching) has the details.) Shuriken moves a running chat to another of your own accounts when one reaches its limit, on every device. [Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) ## Why an app, not a swap script # We looked at the scripts first. There are good ones, and if all you want is to flip the active account in your terminal, use one. We [compared the account switchers](https://shuriken.sh/compare/claude-account-switchers) we know of. But the loop was only half the problem. Five chats running at once all need the right account at the same moment, and they all run out together. We wanted to sign in to an MCP server once and have it work in every project, on every account, so in Shuriken the sign-in belongs to the server, not to your AI account ([Global MCPs](https://shuriken.sh/features/global-mcps)). We wanted to check on a chat from the couch and see which account it was on. And Claude's 5-hour window starts when an account is first used, so using it well means knowing every account's state at once. That became [5-hour clocks](https://shuriken.sh/features/session-clock). All of that needs one place that sees every account, every chat and every device. A script can't. So it became an app. ## The rules # Use accounts you own and pay for, and that you're entitled to use. Shuriken only uses the plans and keys you add. Providers' terms may not allow sharing a subscription sign-in, so don't share yours, and don't buy accounts to get around limits. We wrote up what the rules say in [Can you have more than one Claude account?](https://shuriken.sh/guides/multiple-claude-accounts-rules). ## How it looks now # When a chat moves, a small card in the chat says which account took over and why. No pop-up, no interruption, nothing to click. Settings › Sources: when a chat leaves an account, and which one it goes to next. You choose when chats leave an account. The switch point is 99% of a window by default, and you can set it anywhere from 50% to 100%. Shuriken also switches the moment a provider reports a limit, before your switch point. API keys come last, and only if you turn on "Switch to API keys" (it starts off). Then they take chats once every subscription is out, and a spend cap per fallback run, $25 by default, stops the run. The step-by-step version, with the free and manual options too, is in [How to switch Claude accounts without logging out](https://shuriken.sh/guides/switch-claude-accounts-without-logging-out). And if what you care about is not losing the thread, read [Keep the same chat when you switch Claude accounts](https://shuriken.sh/guides/keep-the-same-chat-across-claude-accounts). We stopped typing /logout. [Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) and stop typing it too. Try the free tool: [Claude limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/claude) Share [X](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fblog%2Fwhy-we-built-shuriken&text=We%20were%20tired%20of%20logging%20in%20and%20out%20of%20Claude)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fblog%2Fwhy-we-built-shuriken)[Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fblog%2Fwhy-we-built-shuriken&t=We%20were%20tired%20of%20logging%20in%20and%20out%20of%20Claude)[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fblog%2Fwhy-we-built-shuriken&title=We%20were%20tired%20of%20logging%20in%20and%20out%20of%20Claude)[E-mail](mailto:?subject=We%20were%20tired%20of%20logging%20in%20and%20out%20of%20Claude&body=https%3A%2F%2Fshuriken.sh%2Fblog%2Fwhy-we-built-shuriken) ## Frequently asked questions **Do I need to log out of Claude Code to use another account?** Not with Shuriken. You add each account once as a source, and your chats move to the one with the most room when the account in use reaches your switch point. **Does the chat keep its history when it moves?** Yes. It's the same chat. A Claude Code chat moves on its next request, with its subagents and workflows. Other agents move when their current turn ends. **When does a chat switch accounts?** At your switch point, which is 99% of a window by default and adjustable from 50% to 100%, or the moment a provider reports a limit. **Is it allowed to use more than one Claude account?** Only use accounts you own and are entitled to use. Providers' terms may not allow sharing a subscription sign-in. Our guide on the rules covers it. Source switching One account runs dry. The next one takes over. Add the Claude, Codex and Gemini accounts you own. At your switch point, your chats move to another of them and keep going. [Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) [How it works](https://shuriken.sh/features/source-switching) ## Keep reading - [The 5-hour clock starts when you do. So we start it.: Story 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Claude's 5-hour window only starts when you use an account, so an idle one wastes time. Shuriken starts its clock with one tiny background request.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/the-5-hour-clock-starts-when-you-do) - [Hot swapping: chats that move when an account runs out: Story 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Hot swapping AI accounts, the way Shuriken does it: your running chats move to another of your accounts when one nears its limit. What happens at 99%.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/hot-swapping-accounts) - [How Shuriken picks the next account: Story 27 Oct 2026 5 min read At your switch point (99% by default) or a limit, Shuriken moves your chats to the source with the most room. Expiring capacity goes first, API keys last.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/how-switching-picks-the-next-account) - [Every plan and key you own, working as one: Story 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Add your Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other plans and API keys to Shuriken as sources. When one runs out, your chats move to the next.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/what-is-a-source) - [Codex with more than one ChatGPT account: Update 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Add each ChatGPT sign-in you own as a source. When one reaches its Codex limit, Shuriken moves your Codex chats to the next and they carry on.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/codex-multiple-chatgpt-accounts) - [Distribute: spread work across accounts on a clock: Update 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Two modes: Rotation moves your chats only when an account runs out; Distribute moves them every 15 to 60 minutes to the one with the most left.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/distribute-mode) - [Shuriken is officially launched, in beta: Story 27 Oct 2026 5 min read The harness for Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents is open to everyone. It began as our internal tool; here is what it does and what beta means.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/shuriken-is-now-in-beta) - [Bring your own plans: we never bill model usage: Story 27 Oct 2026 3 min read Shuriken runs Claude Code, Codex and other agents with your own subscriptions and keys. We never resell tokens or add a margin.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/we-dont-bill-model-usage) ## Free tools - [Claude limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/claude) - [Codex limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/codex)