Windows Setup Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ — Download
• Claude Code — npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Setup

1. Run the init wizard

Open PowerShell and run:

npx claude-account-switch init

2. Shell integration (automatic)

The init wizard auto-detects available shells and installs integration for each one. On Windows, this typically includes:

• PowerShell ($PROFILE) — auto-installed on Windows
• bash (~/.bashrc) — if Git Bash or WSL is detected
• zsh (~/.zshrc) — if WSL with zsh is detected

No manual shell selection needed.

3. Activate

# Reload your profile
. $PROFILE

# Or just open a new PowerShell window

4. Use

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

Optional: Enable Developer Mode

On Windows, the tool attempts to create symlinks for shared settings (settings.json). If symlink creation fails (Developer Mode not enabled), it falls back to copying the file with a one-time notice.

To enable symlinks:

1. Open Settings > For developers
2. Enable Developer Mode

Without Developer Mode, the tool works fine — shared directories (commands/) always use junctions (no special permissions needed), and shared files are copied instead of linked.

Alternative: Git Bash / WSL

Shell integration is auto-installed for all detected shells. If Git Bash or WSL is available, it will be set up automatically during init.

Git Bash

npx claude-account-switch init
source ~/.bashrc

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

WSL behaves as a full Linux environment. See the Linux Setup Guide.

Troubleshooting

running scripts is disabled on this system

PowerShell's execution policy may block the profile script. Fix:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned

claude: The term 'claude' is not recognized

Make sure Claude Code is installed globally and in your PATH:

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

Profile script not loading

Verify your profile path and that the integration line exists:

echo $PROFILE
Get-Content $PROFILE | Select-String "shell-integration"