Claude Desktop Switcher

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Claude Desktop Switcher is a macOS menu bar utility for separating the whole Claude Desktop App suite (chat, Projects, Claude Cowork, Artifacts, Claude Design, and Claude Code integration) by account and use case on a single Mac. Switching CLI profiles alone is already well served by existing tools like direnv and claude-swap. CSW's focus is keeping your whole desktop workspace separate, with the CLI linked when you want it. The Desktop App has no native multi-account switching, so CSW lets you switch environments without signing out each time. You can customize the isolation level per use case, and it also links the Claude Code (CLI) environment to your GUI selection. It works for non-engineers who never touch a terminal, as well as developers who want CLI integration.

Use Cases & Solutions

How should you partition your environments on a single PC? You can flexibly adjust the isolation level to suit your workflow.

• 01. Separate the whole suite per project/client When running multiple clients or projects in parallel, you want to avoid mixing chat history, Projects memory, Cowork working folders, and Artifacts. Selecting "Separate everything" allocates a separate data directory for each environment and keeps each login separate, structurally preventing information from leaking across the desktop suite.

• 02. Separate work and personal on one Mac (no terminal needed) Keep your business and personal accounts apart without touching the terminal. Just pick an environment and the Claude Desktop App switches without signing in again. It is complete in the GUI.

• 03. Separate by use case while sharing global rules When you want separate accounts but want to reuse global rules and settings. Pick "Separate conversations and memory too" to keep specific files (such as CLAUDE.md) shared across environments while keeping history and logins separate.

• 04. Link the CLI to your GUI separation (for developers) Link the environment you chose in the GUI to the CLI's CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR. Run eval $(csw env <env-name>) (replace <env-name> with your environment's name) in a separate terminal to use the CLI in the same isolated environment. This adds GUI consistency on top of what existing CLI-only switchers already solve.

Features

• Integrated Management for GUI & CLI: Centrally manages the environments behind the Claude Desktop App and Claude Code (CLI). Switch GUI environments by selecting one; sync the CLI to the same isolated environment by running a command in a separate terminal.
• Customizable Isolation: You can choose which settings to share and which data to separate based on your use case.
• Zero-Impact Isolation: It does not arbitrarily overwrite your Mac's global system settings. Settings are applied locally only to the apps or specific terminal tabs launched by this tool. It makes absolutely no changes to your existing default Claude environment.

Usage

GUI Workflow

Managing the desktop app requires no complex configuration. Everything is done in the settings window, with no terminal or scripts.

1. Install & Launch: Place Claude-Desktop-Switcher.app in your Applications folder and launch it. The settings window opens.
2. Create Environments: In the settings window, create independent environments such as "Work" or "Research" with a single click.
3. Launch in Isolated Environment: Select an environment and press "Launch this environment" (この環境を起動); that environment's Claude Desktop App launches against its own isolated directory. Environments that share settings open one at a time, so quit a running Claude before launching another. An environment set to "separate everything" shares nothing, so you can open it alongside a running Claude with "Launch alongside" (重複して起動), without quitting.

Terminal (Claude Code) Integration

There are two kinds of terminal, and they need different steps.

1. The terminal inside the Claude Desktop app you launched from CSW (built-in) When you switch to an environment and launch it from CSW, any terminal you open inside that app is already in that environment. No extra command is needed; just type claude to start working.

2. A separate terminal you open yourself (external, e.g. iTerm2) A terminal you open on your own stays in your usual environment. To use a specific environment, run the sync command below (it points the CLI's CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR at that environment's directory, applies to that tab only, and never affects your usual environment):

eval $(csw env <env-name>)

Get the csw CLI. The .dmg ships the menu-bar app only. Download the signed, notarized csw binary from the latest release, make it executable, and move it onto your PATH (chmod +x csw && mv csw /usr/local/bin/). With a Rust toolchain you can instead run cargo install --path crates/cli. Updating the app does not update csw; run csw --version to see which version you have. The GUI works without this step, except for repairing links with csw doctor --fix.

Build from Source (.dmg)

You can easily build the macOS installer (.dmg) using Tauri.

# Execute build (npm install is required beforehand)
npm run tauri build

# Or, if you use Cargo
cargo tauri build

Once the build is complete, the disk image (Claude-Desktop-Switcher_<version>_<arch>.dmg) is generated in target/release/bundle/dmg/.

Project Structure (For Developers)

crates/
  core/      # Core library (Profile management, file watching, etc.)
  cli/       # CLI tool (csw command)
  desktop/   # Tauri v2 menu bar app and settings UI

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