Multi-account launcher for Claude Code. Keeps any number of independent Claude Code configurations (accounts, settings, history) in ~/.claude-<name> folders and launches claude with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR pointing at the one you pick.
npm install -g @korkje/claudesRequires Node 20+ and claude on your PATH. Supports macOS and Linux (including WSL); native Windows is untested and unsupported.
claudes # interactive UI
claudes -- -r # interactive UI, passing -r through to claude on launchEverything is managed from the interactive UI:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑/↓ or j/k |
move |
enter |
launch the selected account; on + new account / + add path rows it opens an inline input (enter applies, esc cancels) |
d |
delete account (asks for confirmation), or a base path mapping |
p |
show/hide the account's base paths |
esc |
back — quits from the account list |
Deleting an account removes its ~/.claude-<name> folder. On macOS, Claude Code keeps the login token in the Keychain rather than in that folder, so run /logout inside the account before deleting it if you want that cleared as well.
Each account row shows who it is logged in as (email, plus organization when there is one), read from Claude Code's own state file, or not logged in for a fresh folder.
Your regular ~/.claude appears as default (~/.claude) — listed first (when the folder exists) and impossible to delete. The list preselects the base path match for your working directory, or else the top entry.
On startup the UI checks npm for a newer claudes release in the background and shows a one-line notice when there is one. The answer is cached for a day in ~/.cache/claudes/ (or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/claudes/), so most launches make no request at all; the check never blocks and failures (e.g. offline) are silent.
Base paths map directories to accounts: starting claudes inside a mapped directory preselects that account (longest match wins) and auto-launches it after a short countdown — navigating or using a shortcut cancels (unbound keys are ignored).
They're managed inline: press p on an account to expand its paths as an indented list below it (press again to collapse). d on a path removes the mapping, and the indented + add path row turns into an input right in the list (prefilled with your cwd) that maps a new directory to that account. A directory maps to one account only, so adding one that's already mapped elsewhere moves it (the notice says from where).
If an account's folder disappears, its mappings still show up under a (folder missing) row: d there drops them, or recreate the account under the same name to revive them.
To route plain claude through claudes, press a in the UI — an interactive toggle that adds/removes the alias in the startup file of your shell (zsh, bash, or fish).
It's equivalent to adding this to your .zshrc/.bashrc yourself:
alias claude="claudes --"claude, claude -r, claude --model opus, etc. all open the UI, and any arguments are passed through to claude when an account launches — so claude -r inside a mapped directory shows the selector for a moment, then resumes with the right account (or immediately, with enter). Since aliases only exist in your interactive shell, IDE integrations and scripts that spawn claude still get the real CLI (as does claudes itself — no recursion). For claudes' own help/version, call the unaliased claudes -h.
When stdin is not a TTY (pipes, scripts), claudes skips the UI and auto-resolves the account (base path match → default), passing any arguments through.
npm test builds the CLI and runs the vitest suite: unit tests for the config/account/shell logic, Ink component tests that drive the real UI through a fake terminal, and CLI tests against the built bundle with a stubbed claude.
Releases are cut from the GitHub UI, never from a local npm version: draft a release on main with a v<major>.<minor>.<patch> tag and publish it. The Publish workflow derives the version from the tag, runs typecheck and the suite, and publishes to npm via trusted publishing (with provenance). package.json stays at 0.0.0-dev in git — the tag is the only source of truth, and dev builds skip the update check.
For a pre-release, tag with a suffix (v0.2.0-next.0) and tick "Set as a pre-release": anything marked pre-release publishes under the next dist-tag without moving latest, so npm i -g @korkje/claudes@next gets it.
The README demos are scripted with VHS: npm run demo regenerates all three GIFs inside throwaway HOMEs, so they never touch real accounts. The claude that "launches" at the end of the main demo is demo/fake-claude.tsx, a stand-in Ink screen.
Base path mappings live in ~/.claudes.json:
{
"basePaths": {
"~/Documents/dev/personal": "personal"
}
}