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How to Run Two Claude Accounts at Once (Mac, Windows & Linux)

Emtiaz Hossain

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Emtiaz Hossain

Last Edit : Sep 4, 2026, 05:13:00 PM
How to Run Two Claude Accounts at Once (Mac, Windows & Linux)

TABLE OF CONTENTS▼
The problemOption 1: Browser profiles (easiest, works on every OS)Option 2: A second, isolated desktop app instanceOn macOSOn WindowsOn LinuxThe result (any OS)Bottom line

Contents

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The problemOption 1: Browser profiles (easiest, works on every OS)Option 2: A second, isolated desktop app instanceOn macOSOn WindowsOn LinuxThe result (any OS)Bottom line

If you use Claude for both personal projects and work, you've probably hit this wall: the Claude desktop app only lets you stay logged into one account at a time. Switch to your work account, and your personal one gets signed out and vice versa.

There's no official "switch accounts" button in the app yet - it's an open feature request on Anthropic's GitHub, similar to the workspace switcher in Slack or profile switcher in Chrome. Until that ships, here are two ways to get both accounts working at once, from the simplest (works identically everywhere) to the more "native" option (steps differ slightly by operating system).

The problem

I needed:

  • ▸A personal Claude account for personal use
  • ▸A work account under my company's Team plan, for actual work

Both needed to be logged in and usable at the same time - not one-or-the-other.

Option 1: Browser profiles (easiest, works on every OS)

This is the fastest fix and requires no terminal, no scripts, and no OS-specific steps at all - it works exactly the same on Mac, Windows, and Linux (or Chromebook, for that matter).

  1. Open Google Chrome (Edge and Firefox have an equivalent feature too).
  2. Click your profile icon in the top corner → Add profile.
  3. Name the new profile (e.g., "Work") and open it.
  4. In that new profile window, go to claude.ai and log in with your second account.
  5. Keep your original browser profile (or the desktop app) logged into your first account.

Now switching accounts is just switching browser profiles or windows - both stay permanently logged in, nothing signs out.

Use this if you're fine using the browser for one of the two accounts and want the desktop app for the other, or if you just want the least fiddly setup possible.

Option 2: A second, isolated desktop app instance

If you specifically want two desktop app windows (not one app + one browser tab), this works too - the underlying trick is the same on every OS, because the Claude desktop app is built on Electron, which supports launching multiple isolated copies of itself, each with its own separate login, by pointing each copy to a different data folder.

The command is nearly identical everywhere - only the file paths change slightly per OS. Pick your platform below.

On macOS

  1. Leave your main Claude app logged into your first account - don't touch it.
  2. Open Terminal (Cmd+Space → type "Terminal" → Enter).
  3. Run:
    bash
    "/Applications/Claude.app/Contents/MacOS/Claude" --user-data-dir="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude-Work"
  4. A brand-new, logged-out Claude window appears. Log into your second account there.
  5. To skip Terminal next time, wrap this into a double-clickable app:
    • ▸Open Automator → New Document → Application
    • ▸Search for "Run Shell Script", drag it into the workflow, and paste the command from step 3
    • ▸Save it as "Claude Work"
    💡 Save this into your Applications folder, not a personal folder like Desktop or Documents. Saving it elsewhere can trigger macOS Gatekeeper to silently block it after a restart.

If it stops opening after a restart: this is Gatekeeper, not a broken setup.

  • ▸Right-click (not double-click) the app → Open → confirm the warning dialog. This only needs to happen once.
  • ▸If nothing happens even then, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section, and click Open Anyway next to the blocked-app notice.

On Windows

  1. Leave your main Claude app logged into your first account.
  2. Find your Claude install folder. The exact location can vary by install method, but it's typically under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ or wherever your Claude desktop shortcut points to - right-click your existing Claude shortcut → Properties → check the Target field to confirm the exact path to Claude.exe on your machine.
  3. Open a Command Prompt or PowerShell window and run (replacing the path with your actual one):
    powershell
    & "C:\Path\To\Claude.exe" --user-data-dir="$env:APPDATA\Claude-Work"
  4. A separate, logged-out Claude window opens. Log into your second account there.
  5. To skip the command line next time, make a shortcut:
    • ▸Right-click your Desktop → New → Shortcut
    • ▸For the location, enter: "C:\Path\To\Claude.exe" --user-data-dir="%APPDATA%\Claude-Work"
    • ▸Name it "Claude Work"
    💡 Note: some Windows installs of Claude use a locked-down packaging format (MSIX/Windows Store style) that Windows won't let you launch this way directly from its original folder. If your shortcut doesn't work, look up your specific Claude Windows build online for the current workaround - this is the one part of the process that's less consistent across Windows installs than on Mac or Linux.

If Windows blocks the shortcut with a SmartScreen warning: click More info → Run anyway. This is Windows' equivalent of macOS Gatekeeper - it's cautious about unfamiliar shortcuts pointing at executables, not a sign anything is actually wrong.

On Linux

  1. Leave your main Claude app (typically run as an AppImage or a .deb/package install) logged into your first account.
  2. Open a terminal and run, pointing at wherever your Claude executable/AppImage actually lives: (If you installed via a package manager rather than AppImage, replace ./Claude.AppImage with the actual command you normally use to launch Claude, e.g. claude-desktop.)
    bash
    ./Claude.AppImage --user-data-dir="$HOME/.config/Claude-Work"
  3. A fresh, logged-out window opens. Log into your second account.
  4. To skip the terminal next time, duplicate your app's .desktop launcher file (usually in ~/.local/share/applications/), rename it, and add the --user-data-dir=... flag to its Exec= line.

Linux generally doesn't have a Gatekeeper/SmartScreen-style block for this, so it tends to be the smoothest of the three once you've found the right executable path.

The result (any OS)

Two Claude windows, two accounts, both logged in permanently - no more signing out of one to use the other:

  • ▸Claude (your regular app) → account #1
  • ▸Claude Work (your second instance) → account #2

Bottom line

Until Anthropic ships native multi-account switching in the desktop app, you've got two solid options: browser profiles if you want zero setup, or a second isolated app instance if you want two real desktop windows. The isolated-instance trick works the same way in principle everywhere - Electron's --user-data-dir flag - but expect Windows to be the fussiest about file paths and security prompts, Linux to be the most straightforward once you locate your executable, and Mac to sit right in the middle.

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