I wanted a separate Claude Desktop profile on my Mac, with a name I could type into Spotlight. My first thought was to make a copy of the application. It turns out the useful part is much smaller: a launcher that opens the installed Claude app with a different user data directory.

That means one Claude installation, separate profile data, and two named shortcuts: Claude Work for the separate profile and Claude Default for the original profile. When Claude updates, both launchers use the updated app automatically.

There is one catch worth reading before you start: when logging in, quit every other Claude instance and leave only the one you want to log into running. Browser login redirects need to return to that instance. Closing its window is not the same as quitting the app.

Here is the setup, using generic names you can adapt for work, personal use, or another account.

Updated October 12, 2026: added a launcher for the original profile after confirming that opening the ordinary Claude icon can focus an already-running custom profile.

1. Open Claude with a separate profile

These instructions assume Claude Desktop is installed at /Applications/Claude.app. Open Terminal and run:

open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args \
  "--user-data-dir=$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude-Work"

The -n option asks macOS to open a new application instance, even if Claude is already running. Everything after --args is passed to Claude. The --user-data-dir argument selects the profile directory.

In this example, the profile lives at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude-Work

Keep the quotes around the argument. Application Support contains a real space; do not replace it with %20. Use $HOME in the shell command because a tilde inside quotes does not expand to your home directory.

Pick the directory name once and use it consistently in every launcher. Changing Claude-Work to Claude-Personal selects a different profile; it does not rename the existing one.

We verified this setup on macOS by checking that a second Claude process received the argument and that Claude created data in the selected directory. Treat this as a practical workaround, not a guarantee of an officially supported multi-profile feature. It separates the app data stored there; it is not a separate macOS user account or a security sandbox.

2. Log in with only the target instance open

This applies to Claude Desktop, not the Claude Code CLI. You do not need to log out of the CLI or close your terminal sessions. The CLI stays signed into the account it was already using. This launcher selects the desktop app’s profile; it does not run a CLI login or logout command or switch the CLI’s account.

Before starting login, quit all other Claude instances. Leave only the profile you intend to sign into running.

  1. Save or finish work in the other Claude instances, then activate each one and press Command-Q. Do not just click the red window-close button: the app can remain running.
  2. Keep the target instance open. If you are unsure which is which, quit all Claude instances, then run the profile command above once.
  3. Start a fresh login from that instance. In the browser, verify that you are signing into the intended account; the browser may already be signed into a different one.
  4. Complete the login link or OAuth flow and allow the browser to open Claude. Keep the other instances closed until the redirect finishes.
  5. Check the account shown in the target Claude window. Once it is correct, reopen your other profiles.

The reason for the extra step is that the launcher chooses a data directory, but it does not register a separate login callback for that profile. The installed app registers the claude:// scheme with macOS. With multiple instances running, a browser callback can land in the wrong one. Keeping only the target instance open gives macOS the intended running destination.

This is the login procedure to use with this setup, including later reauthentication. It does not turn the launcher into a profile-aware OAuth router. If a redirect still opens the wrong profile, stop and restart the login flow with only the intended instance open rather than continuing in the wrong account. Electron documents the underlying macOS deep-link handling.

For email login, there is also a code-based option: Anthropic’s login instructions say that opening the emailed sign-in link on another device produces a verification code to enter on the original device. That can help when a desktop redirect is getting in the way; it is not a replacement for an organization’s required SSO flow.

3. Make a Claude Work application for Spotlight

You do not need a shell configuration file to get a Spotlight launcher. macOS Script Editor can save the command as a small application.

  1. Press Command-Space, search for Script Editor, and open it.
  2. Create a new document with the language set to AppleScript, then paste the following script.
on run
    set profileDirectory to (POSIX path of (path to home folder)) & "Library/Application Support/Claude-Work"
    do shell script "/usr/bin/open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args " & quoted form of ("--user-data-dir=" & profileDirectory)
end run
  1. Choose File → Export.
  2. Set File Format to Application, name it Claude Work, and save it in Applications. Leave Stay open after run handler unchecked. If you cannot write to the system Applications folder, use an Applications folder inside your home folder.
  3. Open the exported app from Finder to verify it launches your profile. Once Spotlight indexes it, press Command-Space, type Claude Work, and press Return.

Apple documents this export flow in Save a script as an app in Script Editor.

You can drag the launcher from Finder into the Dock. If you want to change its icon, use Finder’s Get Info window to copy an icon from another file and paste it onto the small icon at the top of the launcher’s Get Info window.

This is a named launcher, not a second copy of Claude. It runs the same command from step one and then exits. Its pinned Dock shortcut can have its own name and icon, but the running Claude window still uses Claude’s identity and may appear under an ordinary Claude icon. It also does not change how login redirects are routed.

Create a launcher for your original profile too

Create two launchers: Claude Work and Claude Default. If the Work instance is already running, clicking the original Claude app can simply bring that instance forward instead of opening your original profile. We reproduced this and verified that launching the default directory explicitly kept both profiles running as separate processes.

In Script Editor, create another document with this script:

on run
    set profileDirectory to (POSIX path of (path to home folder)) & "Library/Application Support/Claude"
    do shell script "/usr/bin/open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args " & quoted form of ("--user-data-dir=" & profileDirectory)
end run

Export it as an Application named Claude Default in the same Applications folder, again leaving “Stay open after run handler” unchecked.

Use Command-Space → Claude Default for your original profile and Command-Space → Claude Work for the separate profile. Use these launchers rather than the ordinary Claude icon when opening either profile. The default launcher points at the existing Claude data directory, so it does not create a new empty “default” profile.

To open the original profile directly from Terminal, use:

open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args \
  "--user-data-dir=$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude"

After completing login, reopen your other profile using its launcher. The login rule still applies: keep only the target desktop instance open while authenticating. Your CLI login stays unchanged.

4. Add optional Terminal commands

If you also want short shell commands, add these functions to your shell’s startup file:

claude-work() {
    /usr/bin/open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args \
        "--user-data-dir=$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude-Work"
}

claude-default() {
    /usr/bin/open -n /Applications/Claude.app --args \
        "--user-data-dir=$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude"
}

For Bash, put it in ~/.bash_profile, then load the change:

source ~/.bash_profile

For Zsh, put it in ~/.zshrc, then run:

source ~/.zshrc

You can now launch the profile with:

claude-work

Run claude-default to open your original profile. Each function uses the same directory as its matching application launcher. You can use either entry point; neither requires the other.

5. Let Claude handle its own updates

I initially thought I would need another command to replace the custom application whenever Claude updated. But the custom application contains no Claude executable. It simply opens whatever is currently installed at /Applications/Claude.app.

After a normal Claude update, quit and relaunch the profile to use the updated executable. There is no second application copy to synchronize and no Automator watcher to maintain.

You only need to edit or re-export the launcher if you change the profile directory, move the original Claude app, or want to repair the launcher. An icon you copied manually will not automatically refresh when Claude changes its icon; you can copy it again if you care about that.

Removing or recreating the launcher does not remove the separate profile directory. Keep that directory if you want to keep the local profile data.

For another profile, repeat the setup with a distinct name and directory, such as Claude Personal and Claude-Personal. The reusable recipe is the same: one installed app, one directory per profile, and a tiny launcher for each. During login, keep only the target Claude instance open.

Tags
Claude
macOS
AppleScript
Productivity