Give each account its own folder
The separation happens in the data folders. Claude is an Electron app, so its login and settings live together. Starting it with a different data folder gives that copy its own login. My normal copy is A; B and C use Claude-B and Claude-C.
Opening the same app again is not enough: Claude can start duplicate copies on the same folder, which risks corrupting it. The launchers bring an existing copy forward instead, or start it if it is closed. I use those launchers to keep the folders separate.
Claude.app itself stays untouched, so it keeps its signature and normal updates. The extra copies use the same app with different data. Separate the account state and the application can carry on updating normally.
See the limit before the interruption
The only way to see the limits was Settings → Usage, one account at a time. My note in the Notch PRD put the problem plainly: “I find out an account is spent when it stops answering.” Claude Notch puts a double ring for every account beside the notch, so the comparison stays visible.
The outer ring shows the 5-hour window; the inner ring shows the fullest weekly window. A red cross means the account is out for the week. Resting the pointer on the notch opens the panel with bars, reset times and a row for each copy.
The film uses the real app with made-up usage data and scripted input.
Switch accounts and keep the monitor read-only
⌥⌘1, ⌥⌘2 and ⌥⌘3 bring A, B and C forward. The window in front gets that account’s blue, orange or green outline. A brief strip under the notch names the copy, so the switch has an immediate visual check.
Sign-in links need the same care. macOS normally sends every claude:// link to the copy that started first, but the Notch routes it to the copy used last. The destination matters when several accounts are open; a separate window alone does not solve that.
The Notch reads the usage and profile information that Claude Code’s /usage checks. It polls at launch and every five minutes, backing off on rate limits. It never refreshes a login or changes Claude’s files; refreshing could sign the owning copy out.
Profile names show by default, with emails hidden until I reveal them. A monitor I leave visible should give me enough information to work without putting account details on display. Screens without a notch get the same rings in a pill.
The tool followed the same method
The claude-multi-account repo was created on 15 October 2026. On 17 October, the Notch PRD was committed at 13:11 and v0.4 at 15:17. The page went live on GitHub Pages on 18 October. The plan, app and public page each have their own place in that record.
Counted on 18 October 2026, the app has 4,499 lines of Swift and 1,612 lines of tests, with no third-party dependencies. UsageCore handles the usage data, claude-usage brings it to the terminal and ClaudeNotch puts it beside the notch. The tool removes a recurring interruption from my own work.
Try it against your own working day
Claude Notch is free and public on GitHub as claude-multi-account. Its install.sh installer sets up the data folders, profiles, launchers and Notch.
git clone https://github.com/dougwithseismic/claude-multi-account.git ~/claude-multi-account
~/claude-multi-account/install.shIt needs macOS 26 or later and the Claude desktop app. The README tells a coding agent how to run it too. The installer takes no input and is safe to run again.
For terminal work, claude-usage reads the same numbers. Its --json flag gives structured output; --only B,C selects accounts; --verbose shows where each copy’s organisation in use was read from. Try the visible limits first. The useful change is seeing an interruption coming, rather than finding out when the answer stops.