macOS Setup Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ — Install via Homebrew (brew install node) or nodejs.org
• Claude Code — npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Setup

1. Run the init wizard

npx claude-account-switch init

2. Shell integration (automatic)

The init wizard auto-detects all available shells on your system and installs integration for each one. On macOS, this typically includes:

• zsh (~/.zshrc) — default since Catalina
• bash (~/.bashrc) — if .bashrc exists
• fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish) — if fish is installed

No manual shell selection needed.

3. Activate

# For zsh
source ~/.zshrc

# For bash
source ~/.bashrc

# For fish
source ~/.config/fish/config.fish

# Or just open a new terminal window

4. Use

claude           # Launch Claude with the active profile
cpf <name>       # Quick switch
claude-pick      # Interactive picker

How Shared Settings Work

On macOS, shared files (settings.json, commands/) are symlinked from _shared/ into each profile. Changes to shared settings automatically apply to all profiles.

Troubleshooting

command not found: claude

Make sure Claude Code is installed and in your PATH:

npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
which claude

Shell integration not working after restart

Verify the source line was added to your rc file:

# For zsh
grep "shell-integration" ~/.zshrc

# For bash
grep "shell-integration" ~/.bashrc

If missing, run:

npx claude-account-switch install-shell