Running two isolated Claude Code setups on one Mac

I need two distinct Claude Code installs – one for my work account, one for my personal one – that never mix credentials, plugins, or history – but still share a few rules like git conventions and generic skills for various tech stacks. Here's my setup.

1. Separate config directories

mkdir -p ~/.claude-personal ~/.claude-work

Claude Code stores everything – auth, settings, plugins, project history – under a config directory (~/.claude by default). The CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable overrides it, giving each account a fully independent install.

2. Log in separately

Start the specific session:

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.claude-personal claude
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.claude-work claude

And launch the /login process in both. Each directory keeps its own credentials, isolated from the other.

3. Add shell shortcuts

# ~/.zshrc
alias claude-personal='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.claude-personal claude'
alias claude-work='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$HOME/.claude-work claude'

4. Share rules without sharing state

CLAUDE.md supports @path/to/file imports, so I keep shared rules in one canonical file:

mkdir -p ~/shared-claude-rules
# ~/shared-claude-rules/GLOBAL.md: git conventions, stack skills, etc.

Each account's own CLAUDE.md imports it with an absolute path:

@/Users/you/shared-claude-rules/GLOBAL.md

Avoid @~/shared-claude-rules/GLOBAL.md – home-directory-style imports are a known bug and may silently fail to load. Run /context after setup to confirm the file actually loaded.

Known limitations

A CLAUDE.md file sitting at the default path gets loaded in addition to your custom one (#30230)

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