How to switch Claude accounts without logging out

Short answer: give each Claude account its own Claude Code config folder (free, by hand), use a switcher CLI that swaps the signed-in account for you, or let a harness switch for you. Of these, Shuriken is the one that moves your running chats to another account by itself, on every computer you've linked, and replays the request that hit the limit.

The rest of this guide shows each option, what it costs you, and where it stops.

Why /logout and /login gets old fast#

If you have two Claude accounts (personal and work, or a Pro and a Max), the built-in way to move between them is /logout, then /login, then a trip through the browser. It works. It also:

• Stops you mid-task. The turn that hit the limit is over. You sign in again, then ask Claude to pick up where it was.
• Is per machine, per switch. Your laptop and your build box each need the same dance.
• Repeats every few hours. Claude's limits come in 5-hour sessions plus a weekly cap, so if you're juggling accounts, you do this often.
• Mixes up what belongs to which account. Connectors you added on claude.ai belong to that claude.ai account, so they come and go as you swap.

Your conversation itself isn't lost: Claude Code saves sessions as files on your disk, and you can resume them (Claude Code docs: Manage sessions). Logging out doesn't delete them either (what /logout removes and what it leaves). The cost is the interruption, and doing it again tomorrow.

Option 1, free: one config folder per account#

Claude Code keeps your settings, session history and plugins in ~/.claude by default. The CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable points it somewhere else, and Claude Code then stores those things there instead (Claude Code docs: Settings files). In practice each folder also ends up with its own sign-in, which is why this is the usual way to run two accounts side by side: nobody logs anybody out.

How to set it up#

1. Pick a folder per account, for example ~/.claude-personal and ~/.claude-work.
2. Add two shell aliases:

alias claude-personal='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-personal claude'
alias claude-work='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-work claude'

3. Run each alias once and sign in to the matching account.

From then on, claude-work starts Claude Code on the work account and claude-personal on the personal one. Two terminals can run both at the same time.

Where it stops#

• Switching is still you. Nothing watches your usage. When one account hits its limit, you notice, stop, and start the other alias.
• Your chat doesn't follow you by itself. Each folder has its own session history. To carry a conversation over, you resume it in the other config by its transcript path. The steps, and what breaks, are in keeping the same chat across Claude accounts.
• Everything else is per folder too. Settings, plugins and MCP servers live in each config, so you set them up twice and keep them in step yourself.
• It's one machine. Repeat on every computer.

It's a good option if you switch rarely, on one computer, and like knowing exactly what's going on.

Option 2: a switcher CLI#

A small group of open-source tools does the swapping for you. They store each account's sign-in and switch the active one, so you never run /logout. Three popular ones, described from their own READMEs:

• claude-swap (cswap) stores each logged-in account and switches between them. cswap auto polls usage every 60 seconds and switches when the active account reaches a threshold, 90% by default. Its README says you can keep using the same Claude Code session after switching: on Linux and Windows the change applies on your next message, and on macOS the Keychain can delay it by about 30 seconds. It also works with the VS Code extension. (claude-swap)
• ccswitch switches by hand (ccswitch use, best, next) or with a background daemon that switches before the limit, also at 90% by default. Its README says a switch "takes effect on your next message or next Claude session, not in the middle of a reply that is already underway". The watcher runs only while its window stays open. (ccswitch)
• clauth saves profiles, runs a fallback chain and switches to the next account with headroom when the active one crosses its threshold. Auto-switch runs in its TUI or headless via clauth daemon. It can also start claude under a given account in its own config folder, and it supports Codex profiles. (clauth)

These are real, useful tools, and if you live in one terminal on one machine, one of them may be all you need.

Where they stop#

• They work on the machine they run on. Each computer needs its own install and its own watcher.
• The watcher has to be running. Close it, and switching stops.
• They swap the sign-in, not the request. A turn that already failed on the limit stays failed. The next message goes to the new account.
• They're Claude-first. Some support Codex. Other agents and providers are usually out of scope.

We compare them in more detail, with Shuriken, in Claude account switchers compared.

Option 3: Shuriken switches for you#

We built Shuriken because we were tired of all of the above. It's a harness: an app that runs Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and 60+ other coding agents on your own computers and servers. Every account or API key you add is a source.

Here's how switching works:

1. Add each account as a source. Every Claude account you own, with its own sign-in. No logging out to make room for another. Free includes two sources; Pro has no limit.
2. Shuriken reads each account's usage, the 5-hour window and the weekly limit, and shows them side by side.
3. When the account in use reaches your switch point, 99% by default and adjustable from 50% to 100%, or Claude reports a limit, your chats move to the source with the most room.
4. A Claude Code chat moves on its next request, mid-task. The request that hit the limit is replayed on the new account, and subagents and workflows move with it. Other agents move when their current turn ends.
5. Every computer and server you've linked moves at once. Shuriken keeps one account in use per provider, everywhere.
6. A small Switched to … card in the chat says who took over and why.

Your MCP sign-ins don't care either. In Shuriken, an MCP sign-in belongs to the server, not to your Claude account, so switching accounts never asks you to sign in to Linear or GitHub again. That's Global MCPs.

The full decision rules (who's skipped, who goes first, where API keys fit) are in How Shuriken picks the next account, and the feature page is automatic source switching.

Personal and work accounts, Pro and Max together#

Most people with two Claude accounts didn't plan it. There's the personal Pro you started with, and the Max your company pays for. Or two Max plans because one runs dry by Thursday.

All of the options above work with a mix. A few things to know:

• Limits are per account. Each account has its own 5-hour session and its own weekly limit. Using one doesn't touch the other.
• A Pro fills faster than a Max. Max 5x gives five times Pro's per-session allowance, Max 20x twenty times. If you're weighing plans, our Max 5x vs 20x guide does the maths.
• Shuriken reads the plan behind each account, so it never switches onto a free plan or a cancelled subscription, and it prefers the account with the most room, not the one you added first.
• Keep work work. If your employer's account is for company code only, don't point it at your side project. Shuriken only switches between the sources you add to it.

A word on the rules#

Anthropic's consumer terms say you may not share your account login or credentials with anyone else, or make your account available to anyone else (Anthropic Consumer Terms). They don't spell out a rule about one person holding more than one account.

So: use accounts you own and pay for. Don't share a sign-in, don't buy someone else's, and don't treat any tool (ours included) as a way around a provider's rules. We can't promise how a provider will treat any account, and nobody honest can. What we won't help with, and a checklist before you add a second account, are in having more than one Claude account.

Which one should you pick?#

• You switch once a week, on one laptop: one config folder per account. Free, simple, fully in your hands.
• You switch daily and live in one terminal: a switcher CLI with its watcher running.
• You run several chats, on more than one computer, and want the work to keep going without you: that's what we built Shuriken for. Add your accounts as sources and stop thinking about which one is signed in.

If that last one sounds like you, download Shuriken and add your first two sources.