ccam: switch between multiple Claude Code accounts

ccam (Claude Code account manager) lets you use multiple Claude Code accounts on one machine and switch between them with one command. Keep a work login and a personal login side by side, and choose which one claude uses per terminal, per project or globally. It is like nvm, but for Claude Code logins.

ccam account add work   # a second Claude Code login
ccam login work         # sign in once
ccam use work           # plain `claude` now runs as work

• No more logging out and back in. Every account stays signed in, with its own history.
• Per-project accounts. Drop a .ccamrc in a repository and claude picks the right account there.
• One-word commands. ccam alias cw work makes cw start Claude Code as your work account.
• Shared setup. Skills, agents, commands, plugins and settings are shared across accounts.
• Cross-platform. One small Rust binary for Windows, macOS and Linux; no runtime needed.

ccam puts a claude shim on your PATH. Every time you run claude, the shim picks an account, then starts the real Claude Code with that account's config folder (CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR).

Status: early release, CLI only. Not affiliated with Anthropic.

An account is one Claude Code login. Each has its own config folder (CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR), so its own sign-in and history. Your existing ~/.claude is the built-in default account; ccam never modifies or deletes it.

ccam profile is an alias for ccam account, if you prefer that word.

macOS and Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/ccam/main/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/ccam/main/install.ps1 | iex

Both download the latest release, verify its checksum, install into ~/.ccam/bin and put that folder at the front of your PATH. Open a new terminal afterwards.

Other ways

ccam setup copies ccam, the claude shim and your alias commands into ~/.ccam/bin, and prints the PATH line for your shell. That folder must come before the real claude on PATH; ccam doctor --fix sets that up for you. Run ccam setup again after upgrading.

You need Claude Code itself installed first; ccam switches accounts, it does not install Claude Code.

ccam account add work    # new account; shares skills, plugins, settings from ~/.claude
ccam login work          # sign in once
ccam use work            # global choice for plain `claude`
ccam alias cw work       # `cw` now starts Claude Code as work
ccam list                # accounts, who is signed in, aliases
ccam current             # what `claude` would use here, and why
ccam doctor              # check the setup; `ccam doctor --fix` repairs it

  default          you@example.com
* work             you@work.example   aliases: cw

ccam run work -- --continue runs one command as an account without changing anything.

The first source that names an account wins:

If CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR is already set and nothing in rows 1 or 2 names an account, ccam leaves it alone.

One file per project, like .nvmrc or .sdkmanrc.

# .ccamrc
account = work

An account that does not exist on this machine is skipped with a warning, and the next source is used. A shared repository can commit a .ccamrc without breaking teammates who name their accounts differently.

ccam alias cw work   # create
ccam alias           # list
ccam unalias cw      # delete

An alias is a saved choice and also a command. Its name works anywhere an account name does (ccam use cw). ccam refuses a name that would hide another command on your PATH unless you pass --force.

ccam account add links these from ~/.claude (or --from <dir>) into the new account, when they exist: skills, agents, commands, plugins, CLAUDE.md, settings.json, keybindings.json. Folders are symlinks on macOS/Linux and junctions on Windows (no admin rights needed). Use --isolated for an empty account.

Not shared: login, history, and anything in .claude.json, which includes MCP servers added at user scope. Add those once per account.

The shim exports CCAM_ACTIVE_ACCOUNT to Claude Code, so a status line script or shell prompt can show it.

Off by default. Claude Code updates itself and projects do not depend on a particular build, so normally every account runs whatever is installed. Pinning exists for rolling back a bad release or reproducing a bug on a specific build.

ccam version on                  # enable (ccam version off to disable)
ccam version list                # installed builds and tags
ccam version install 2.1.311     # runs `claude install`, then keeps the build
ccam version tag stable 2.1.311  # name a build

While it is on, a selector can carry a version, anywhere an account name is accepted:

• .ccamrc accepts a second line, version = 2.1.311.
• Account and version resolve separately through the same five sources; ccam use and ccam local change only the parts the selector names.
• ccam list becomes a grid of accounts against versions, with alias names in the cells.
• Selected builds are kept in ~/.ccam/versions (hard-linked, so no extra disk space) and run with auto-update off.
• CCAM_VERSIONS=1 turns it on for one terminal.

While it is off, version pins in .ccamrc, the global choice and aliases are kept but ignored, and ccam current says so. Tags and kept builds are not deleted.

ccam doctor

ccam doctor checks the whole setup and says what to do about anything that is wrong:

• ccam and the claude shim are installed and up to date
• ~/.ccam/bin is on PATH, ahead of the real claude
• Claude Code itself is installed
• each account is signed in and its shared folders still exist
• aliases and the nearest .ccamrc point at accounts that exist

  ok    ccam is installed in /home/you/.ccam/bin
  ok    the `claude` shim is in place
  FAIL  PATH: /usr/local/bin has a `claude` and comes before /home/you/.ccam/bin
        fix it with: ccam doctor --fix
  ok    Claude Code 2.1.316 at /usr/local/bin/claude
  ok    account default: signed in as you@example.com
  warn  account work: not signed in
        run: ccam login work

ccam doctor --fix repairs what it can: it reinstalls the shim and alias commands, and puts ~/.ccam/bin at the front of PATH. On Windows it changes your user PATH; on macOS and Linux it adds one line to your shell's startup file (.zshrc, .bashrc, .bash_profile, fish's config.fish, or .profile). Plain ccam doctor never changes anything.

Install ccam, then run ccam account add work and ccam login work. Your original login stays as the default account. Switch with ccam use work and ccam use default, or give each one a command with ccam alias.

Yes. Each terminal can use a different account: run cw in one and claude in another, or use ccam run work for a single session. A running session keeps the account it started with.

Run ccam local work in the project folder. It writes a .ccamrc file, and claude uses that account in the folder and everything below it.

No. ccam only sets CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, the setting Claude Code itself provides for moving its config folder. Sign-in is done by Claude Code, and the credentials stay where Claude Code keeps them.

No. The desktop app keeps its own sign-in and does not go through the claude command. ccam manages the Claude Code CLI.

Remove ~/.ccam/bin from your PATH and delete ~/.ccam. That also deletes the logins and history of the accounts you added with ccam. Your ~/.claude is untouched.

• A switch affects new sessions only. A running session keeps its account.
• ccam manages the claude CLI. The Claude desktop app keeps its own sign-in and its own Claude Code build and does not go through the shim.
• On Windows without Developer Mode, settings.json is shared as a hard link. If Claude Code replaces the file instead of editing it in place, the accounts' copies drift apart.
• ccam version install uses Claude Code's installer, which may also change the installed build.
• Used day to day on Windows only so far. macOS and Linux are built and tested automatically, but have had little real use; please report problems.
• ccam account remove deletes that account's login and history, and any aliases pointing at it. It never follows links into the shared folders.

~/.ccam/
  global            global choice, same format as .ccamrc
  bin/              ccam, the claude shim, alias commands
  accounts/<name>/  one Claude Code config folder per account
  aliases/<name>    saved choices
  versions-on       present when version pinning is on
  versions/<v>/     kept Claude Code builds
  tags/<name>       version tags

Set CCAM_HOME to move it.

Build from source with Rust:

cargo build --release

cargo test

On macOS and Linux, the end-to-end test runs every command against a throwaway home folder, with a stand-in for Claude Code:

bash tests/e2e.sh target/release/ccam

On Windows, if a build fails with LNK1104, the project path is too long; set CARGO_TARGET_DIR to a short folder.

1. Set the same new version in Cargo.toml and npm/package.json, run cargo build to refresh Cargo.lock, and merge that to main.
2. Create the release as a pre-release: gh release create vX.Y.Z --prerelease --target main --title "ccam X.Y.Z" --notes-file notes.md.

The release workflow then builds and attaches the binaries, publishes to crates.io and npm, and marks the release as latest. Starting as a pre-release keeps the installers on the previous version until the new binaries are attached. The Homebrew tap picks the new release up within an hour.