Multiple Claude Code Accounts: Best Tools (2026)

Short answer: for more than one Claude Code account on a Mac, the free, built-in way is a CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR per account with shell aliases. For switching the default login instead, claude-swap is the free, open-source, cross-platform pick with auto-switching; CodexBar puts it in the Mac menu bar and adds Codex; FavTray Pro does Claude Code and Codex from the menu bar with no extra install.

Checked 29 September 2026 on each tool’s GitHub page, docs and PyPI listing. We make FavTray; we’ve tried to be fair to the others, and they’re good tools.

TL;DR

	FavTray	claude-swap	CodexBar	CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR aliases
Price	Pro, one-time Lifetime licence (pricing)	Free	Free	Free
Open source	No	Yes (MIT)	Yes (MIT)	Built into Claude Code
Claude Code	Yes	Yes	Through claude-swap	Yes
Codex	Yes	No	Yes, built in	Use CODEX_HOME the same way
Keeps MCP logins on switch	Yes	Yes	Through claude-swap	Separate per directory
Renews saved logins	No; the CLI renews a login itself when you switch back	Yes, refreshes the account it switches to	No	Each directory’s Claude Code renews its own
Auto-switch	No; suggests near 90%	Yes, opt-in (cswap auto, 90% default)	No	No
Needs a terminal	Only for a new Claude sign-in, which FavTray opens	Yes to install; TUI or optional menu bar app	For Claude, to install claude-swap	Yes
Platforms	macOS	macOS, Linux, Windows	macOS 14+, Linux	Wherever Claude Code runs

Whichever you pick: switching changes which of your own accounts Claude Code uses. It doesn’t pool or extend anyone’s limits, and Anthropic’s terms and usage policy apply to each account. The same goes for OpenAI and Codex.

What does a Claude Code account switcher actually do?

On a Mac, Claude Code keeps its login in the Keychain item “Claude Code-credentials” and the signed-in account’s identity as oauthAccount in ~/.claude.json (how the storage works). A switcher saves a copy of each account’s login and, on a switch, writes the chosen one back into both places. Open Claude Code sessions notice within about 30 seconds (observed in Claude Code 2.1.284; not documented).

The details that separate a careful switcher from a script:

• Timing with Claude Code’s own refresh. Claude Code refreshes and rotates its tokens under a lock. A switch that ignores the lock can collide with a refresh and leave a stale login.
• A fresh copy of the outgoing account. Because tokens rotate, the copy saved last week may already be dead.
• Leaving everything else alone, especially MCP server logins stored in the same Keychain item.

The alternative is not switching at all: a separate config directory per account, chosen when you start claude.

claude-swap: the free, cross-platform choice

claude-swap (cswap) by Onur Cetinkol is the most complete open-source Claude Code switcher. Version 0.26.0 was published on PyPI on 2 September 2026.

What it does well:

• Free and MIT-licensed, on macOS, Linux and Windows; works with the Claude Code CLI and the VS Code extension.
• A full-screen terminal dashboard (cswap) with live usage for every account, and an optional macOS menu bar app (claude-swap[menubar], then cswap menubar).
• Automatic switching if you want it: cswap auto watches the active account’s 5-hour and 7-day windows and, at a threshold (90% by default), moves to the account with the most quota left. A 5-minute default cooldown and a hysteresis margin stop it flip-flopping.
• Parallel sessions: cswap run starts Claude Code as a specific account in one terminal while the rest stay on your default.
• Careful writes: it holds Claude Code’s own credential locks while switching, and preserves “live account-independent OAuth state (such as MCP server logins)”.

Trade-offs: it’s Claude Code only, and it needs Python 3.12+ and a terminal to install (uv tool install claude-swap or pipx install claude-swap).

CodexBar: free menu bar app, Codex built in

CodexBar by Peter Steinberger is a free, MIT-licensed menu bar app (macOS 14+, with a Linux desktop app and CLI) that tracks usage for a very long list of AI providers. Release 0.69.0 shipped on 28 September 2026.

For multiple accounts:

• Codex, natively. CodexBar keeps managed Codex accounts in their own homes and switches the “System Account” your Codex CLI uses. After a switch it restarts Codex’s running background app server.
• Claude, through claude-swap. Turn on “Read accounts from claude-swap” and point it at cswap. CodexBar then shows every claude-swap account with its limits, and Switch Account… runs cswap --switch-to <slot>. Per its Claude docs, CodexBar never reads the credentials itself and “no automatic switching occurs”.

It’s the natural pick if you already use CodexBar for usage tracking and don’t mind installing claude-swap for the Claude side. Side by side on usage tracking: FavTray vs CodexBar.

FavTray: Claude Code and Codex from one menu bar chip

FavTray’s AI usage tracker shows Claude and Codex limits in the menu bar for free. From 2.0.5, FavTray Pro adds account switching for both:

• Save each login once. “Save current login” keeps the account you’re signed in with; “Add account…” signs another one in through Claude Code’s own sign-in (or codex login) in a temporary directory, without touching your current login.
• One click to switch from the account chip on the AI Usage card. Open Claude Code sessions follow within about 30 seconds; open Codex sessions need a restart, and the confirmation says so.
• Last-known limits for every account in the chip’s menu: inactive accounts show their numbers as of when you last used them. FavTray never signs in or renews a login; the CLI renews it when you switch back. An account unused for a long time may need one more sign-in, and FavTray flags one only when the login has actually expired.
• Suggests, never auto-switches. Near about 90% of the active account’s session or weekly limit, a notification names the saved account with the most room; click to switch.
• Keeps MCP logins. Only the Claude account’s own login in the Keychain item is replaced.
• Safety net. It takes Claude Code’s refresh lock, saves a fresh copy of the outgoing account, reads the result back and rolls back on a mismatch. It warns when CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, an API key or an apiKeyHelper means a terminal won’t follow the switch.

Trade-offs: it’s paid (Pro), closed source and Mac-only; there’s no auto-switch or per-terminal parallel mode; inactive accounts show last-known limits rather than live ones; and for Codex it handles ChatGPT logins stored in auth.json, not API keys or the keyring store. Step by step: switch Claude Code accounts and switch Codex CLI accounts.

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR aliases: no tool at all

Anthropic’s authentication docs recommend a configuration directory per account for “work and personal accounts”:

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

Each directory has its own settings, session history and login, and each gets its own Keychain entry, so two terminals can run two accounts at once. Nothing to install, nothing to trust.

The costs: you choose the account when you start claude (a running session never moves), everything from MCP servers to /resume history is separate per directory, and you can’t see all your accounts’ limits in one place. Codex has the same pattern with CODEX_HOME.

What about ccswitch and the other small switchers?

Search GitHub for “Claude Code account switcher” and you’ll find many small scripts and menu bar apps, several of them called ccswitch or CCSwitcher, and some unrelated projects with similar names. Most do the core swap of the Keychain entry and oauthAccount. Before trusting one with your logins, check that it’s maintained, respects Claude Code’s refresh lock, keeps a fresh copy of the outgoing account and leaves MCP logins alone.

Which should you choose?

• You live in the terminal, use Linux or Windows too, or want auto-switching: claude-swap.
• You already use CodexBar, or want a free Mac menu bar app with native Codex switching: CodexBar, with claude-swap for Claude.
• You want Claude Code and Codex switching in the Mac menu bar with nothing else to install, next to your usage limits: FavTray Pro.
• You want strict separation or two accounts running at once, with no third-party tool: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR (and CODEX_HOME).

To keep an eye on how close each account is to its limit, see how to see Claude Code usage limits on Mac and how Claude plans and resets work.

Sources (checked 29 September 2026): claude-swap on GitHub and PyPI; CodexBar on GitHub, its Claude and Codex docs and releases; Claude Code authentication and legal and compliance.