Claude Config Switcher

A tiny companion VS Code extension that adds the profile-switching feature the official Claude Code extension doesn't have. It picks which CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR Claude Code uses, so you can keep separate config directories / accounts and use a different one in each window or project.

The profile switcher with "work" pinned to the project, and the status bar tinted red for that profile

Install

From the VS Code Marketplace: search for Claude Config Switcher in the Extensions view, or run

code --install-extension tysoncung.cc-config-switcher

What it adds

A status bar item (bottom-right) showing this window's profile and why: $(account) global default, $(pinned) pinned to the project, $(window) this window only. $(sync) means a change is waiting for a reload.
Claude Code: Switch Profile (also the status bar click). Clicking a profile changes whichever setting decides this window. The buttons on each row choose instead: pin to this project, use in this window only, or make the global default.
Claude Code: Pin Profile to This Project, Use Profile in This Window Only and Set Global Default Profile for the same thing from the Command Palette.
Claude Code: Create Profile, Set Profile Color and Delete Profile, also at the bottom of the switcher picker.
An optional color per profile: while that profile is active the whole status bar is tinted, so you always know which account you are on.
The integrated terminal follows along: claude run in a new terminal uses the same profile as the Claude Code panel in that window.

Which profile a window uses

The first of these that is set wins:

This window only. Remembered for this workspace on this machine, not written to the project.
Pinned to this project. Saved as claudeConfigSwitcher.profile in the project's .vscode/settings.json, so it can be committed. It is the profile label, so teammates need a profile with the same name. Ignored until the folder is trusted.
Global default. claudeConfigSwitcher.defaultProfile in your User settings.

If none is set, Claude Code keeps whatever CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR VS Code was started with (normally none, which means ~/.claude).

How it works

The Claude Code extension starts claude with this window's environment plus its claudeCode.environmentVariables setting. Every window has its own extension host, so this extension sets CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in that environment for its own window, and in the environment for new integrated terminals. It starts early (activation event *) so the value is in place before Claude Code reads it.

Reload after switching. Claude Code reads some of its config location when it starts, so the picker offers to reload the window.
Keep CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR out of claudeCode.environmentVariables. That setting applies to every window and overrides this extension. Versions before 1.2 stored the profile there; it is moved into the global default automatically. The status bar warns if it shows up again.
The default profile leaves the variable unset rather than pointing it at ~/.claude, because Claude Code stores the login under a different name whenever the variable is set.
Paths. A leading ~ is expanded for you. Relative paths are refused.

How it differs from symlink-based switchers

Some switchers repoint ~/.claude as a symlink. That changes the config for every terminal and every Claude session on the machine, and does not work on Windows. This extension never touches ~/.claude or your shell files:

each window can use a different account at the same time;
it works on macOS, Linux and Windows;
it asks before reloading the window, and only removes status bar colors it wrote itself.

Why a separate extension (not a patch)

The official anthropic.claude-code extension is a closed-source, minified bundle that VS Code replaces on every update. Any hand-edit would be lost. This extension sits beside it and only sets environment variables it already reads.

Create a new profile

A profile is just a separate Claude Code config directory. Each directory keeps its own login, settings, history, and CLAUDE.md, so you can run a personal account and a work account side by side.

From VS Code

Run Claude Code: Create Profile (or pick Create new profile... in the switcher) and enter a name such as work. The extension:

creates ~/.claude-work,
offers to copy settings.json, CLAUDE.md, agents, commands and skills from ~/.claude (login and history are never copied),
offers Log In, which opens a terminal running claude with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR set so you can run /login, or Switch Now.

To remove one, run Claude Code: Delete Profile. After confirmation the folder is moved to the Trash (so it can be recovered), and if it was the active profile the switcher goes back to default. The default ~/.claude is never offered for deletion.

By hand

1. Create the config directory

Pick a name and create the folder as ~/.claude-<name>. The extension finds these automatically.

mkdir -p ~/.claude-work

2. Log in to that profile

Start the Claude Code CLI with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR pointing at the new folder, then sign in with the account you want for this profile.

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-work" claude
# inside Claude Code, run:
/login

The login is stored inside ~/.claude-work, so it does not affect your default ~/.claude profile. Type /exit when done.

Optional: copy over settings you want to share between profiles.

cp ~/.claude/settings.json ~/.claude-work/   # global settings
cp ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md     ~/.claude-work/   # global instructions

3. (Optional) Add the profile to VS Code

~/.claude-work already appears in the picker as work. Only do this step if you want a different label or your folder lives somewhere other than ~/.claude-<name>. Open your User settings JSON (Cmd+Shift+P then Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)) and add the profile to claudeConfigSwitcher.profiles:

"claudeConfigSwitcher.profiles": [
  { "label": "default", "configDir": "" },
  { "label": "work",    "configDir": "~/.claude-work" }
]

A leading ~ is expanded to your home folder.

4. Switch to it

Click Claude: ... in the status bar (or run Claude Code: Switch Profile), pick work, and choose Reload Window. Claude Code now runs with the work login and settings. Switch back to default the same way.

To use work only in one project, click the pin button on its row instead. Other windows keep their own profile.

Tip: matching terminal aliases

To use the same profiles from the terminal, add aliases to ~/.zshrc:

alias claude-work='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-work" claude'
alias claude-personal='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-personal" claude'

Configure your profiles

Out of the box the picker shows default plus every ~/.claude-<name> directory in your home folder, labelled <name>. So ~/.claude-work shows up as work with no setup.

To rename a profile or point at a directory somewhere else, list it in claudeConfigSwitcher.profiles:

"claudeConfigSwitcher.profiles": [
  { "label": "default",  "configDir": "" },
  { "label": "personal", "configDir": "/Users/you/.claude-personal" },
  { "label": "work",     "configDir": "/Volumes/Work/claude-config" }
]

Empty configDir means the built-in default (~/.claude). Discovered directories already listed here are not shown twice. Set claudeConfigSwitcher.autoDiscover to false to show only the profiles you list.

New integrated terminals get the window's CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR too, and VS Code offers to relaunch terminals that are already open. Set claudeConfigSwitcher.syncTerminal to false if you manage that variable yourself.

Profiles, colors and the global default are User-level settings only, so a project's .vscode/settings.json cannot add a profile or point one at another directory. It can only pin one of your existing profiles by label.

Settings were named claudeProfileSwitcher.* before 1.1.0. They are copied to claudeConfigSwitcher.* automatically on first start.

Profile colors

Run Claude Code: Set Profile Color (or Set profile color... in the switcher), pick a profile, then a preset, a custom hex value, or No color. New profiles are also asked for a color when created. Colors are stored in claudeConfigSwitcher.colors, keyed by profile label:

"claudeConfigSwitcher.colors": { "work": "#c62828", "personal": "#2e7d32" }

The extension writes statusBar.background and a readable text color into workbench.colorCustomizations: the global default's color in your User settings, so all windows agree, and a pinned or window-only profile's color in the workspace settings. It only ever removes values it wrote itself, so your own color customizations are left alone. Give pinned profiles a color of their own: a pinned profile with no color shows the global default's tint. A theme-specific block such as "[Default Dark Modern]": { ... } in that setting takes priority over the tint.

Run it (development)

Open this folder in VS Code.
Press F5 → an "Extension Development Host" window launches with the extension loaded. The extension has zero runtime dependencies, so this works without installing anything.
Look for Claude: … in the status bar; click it to switch.

Tooling uses pnpm. Run pnpm install once, then:

pnpm lint        # Biome lint + format check
pnpm format      # apply Biome fixes
pnpm run package # build the .vsix

CI runs Biome and packaging on every push and pull request, and audits the GitHub workflows with zizmor. Dependency and action updates come from Renovate (renovate.json).

Install it permanently

Package to a .vsix and install:

git clone https://github.com/tysoncung/claude-config-switcher.git
cd claude-config-switcher
pnpm install
pnpm run package                  # produces cc-config-switcher-<version>.vsix
code --install-extension cc-config-switcher-<version>.vsix

Then reload VS Code. (vsce may ask you to set a real publisher; any string works for a local-only install.)

Publish a release

A GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/release.yml) builds the .vsix and attaches it to a GitHub Release whenever you push a version tag.

Bump version in package.json (e.g. 0.1.0 to 0.2.0) and commit.
Tag the commit with the same version, prefixed with v, and push the tag:
```
git tag v0.2.0
git push origin main --tags
```
The workflow checks that the tag matches package.json, packages the extension with pnpm run package, and creates a release with the .vsix attached and auto-generated notes. If the VSCE_PAT repository secret is set, it also publishes the same .vsix to the VS Code Marketplace.

Users can install from the Marketplace, or download the .vsix from the Releases page and install it:

code --install-extension cc-config-switcher-1.2.2.vsix

You can also run the workflow by hand from the Actions tab. That builds the .vsix as a downloadable artifact without creating a release.

Claude Config Switcher

Tyson Cung

Claude Config Switcher

Install

What it adds

Which profile a window uses

How it works

How it differs from symlink-based switchers

Why a separate extension (not a patch)

Create a new profile

From VS Code

By hand

1. Create the config directory

2. Log in to that profile

3. (Optional) Add the profile to VS Code

4. Switch to it

Tip: matching terminal aliases

Configure your profiles

Profile colors

Run it (development)

Install it permanently

Publish a release