[Bug]: Account switch writes oauthAccount to ~/.claude/.claude.json, so new Claude terminals show the previous account #22667

Operating system

macOS

Orca version

v1.4.203

Details

After switching the managed Claude account, new claude terminals still report the previous account (claude auth status, /status), even though Orca switched the credentials correctly. Orca writes oauthAccount to ~/.claude/.claude.json whenever that file exists. Claude Code only reads that file when CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR is set. Without it, Claude Code reads ~/.claude.json, which Orca leaves untouched.

Environment

• Orca 1.4.203, macOS (native host runtime, managed Claude accounts)
• Claude Code 2.1.281
• CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR not set in Orca terminals

Root cause

ClaudeRuntimePathResolver.resolveConfigPath (src/main/claude-accounts/runtime-paths.ts, since #1050):

if (inheritedConfigDir || existsSync(colocatedConfigPath)) {
  return colocatedConfigPath
}
return join(homedir(), '.claude.json')

Claude Code chooses its config file by whether CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR is set, not by which file exists. Any tool that has ever run Claude with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude leaves a ~/.claude/.claude.json behind. One example is the claude-mem plugin's observer, as reported in thedotmack/claude-mem#4149. From then on, every account switch updates the Keychain and .credentials.json, but writes the account metadata to a file the CLI never reads.

Reproduction

1. Create ~/.claude/.claude.json, for example by running CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude claude auth status once.
2. In Orca, switch the managed Claude account from A to B.
3. In a new Orca terminal, run claude auth status.
   • Expected: account B.
   • Actual: account A. ~/.claude/.claude.json contains B, ~/.claude.json still contains A, and the Keychain holds B's token.

This probe on the same machine confirms which file the CLI reads:

Secondary effect

The system-default snapshot (claude-runtime-auth/system-default-auth.json) captures configOauthAccount through the same resolver. After a fix, a snapshot taken under the old logic can still hold the identity from ~/.claude/.claude.json. Deselecting the managed account would then write that stale identity into ~/.claude.json.