# Multiple Claude Desktop instances on macOS — color-coded, no-duplicate launchers (personal + work accounts) > Source: > Published: 2026-06-16 05:33:33+00:00 Run **two (or more) fully isolated Claude Desktop instances** side by side on macOS — e.g. one signed into your **personal** account and one into your **work** account — each with its own **color-coded Dock launcher** that **focuses the existing window instead of spawning duplicates**. This builds on Philipp Stracker's excellent [ --user-data-dir approach](https://gist.github.com/stracker-phil/9f84927a556632c7f9cc06663b534f14) ( [write-up](https://philippstracker.com/multiple-claude-instances/)) and adds two things: **Recolored icons** so you can tell the launchers apart at a glance (blue work / red personal / etc.).- A **smart, self-contained launcher** that fixes the "every click opens another window" problem. The most reliable setup is to create a separate, dedicated instance for each account — including your "personal" one — and stop using Claude's built-in default profile for day-to-day use.Don't try to make one launcher target the shared default profile.Why: Claude has no per-profile single-instance lock, so two processes can run on one profile at once — andonly theIf a "personal" launcher points at the default profile (which the stock Claude icon also uses), you end up with duplicate, logged-out windows. Giving each account its own dir guaranteesfirstinstance on a profile can use its login database. Every additional instance on that same profile shows up logged out.one profile → one instance → always logged in, and makes the focus-don't-duplicate logic rock-solid.Already logged into the default profile and don't want to re-auth? See [Migrating an existing login]— you can copy your current profile into the new dedicated dir. Claude Desktop is an Electron app. Electron's `--user-data-dir` flag points the app at a completely separate profile folder (config, sessions, **auth tokens**, MCP servers, Cowork data): ``` open -n -a "/Applications/Claude.app" --args --user-data-dir="$HOME/.claude-instances/work" ``` A tiny macOS `.app` "wrapper" just runs that command, so it shows up in Launchpad/Dock like a normal app. Each wrapper stores its instance name in `Contents/MacOS/config.sh` and runs `Contents/MacOS/claude-launcher` . The naive launcher uses `open -n` — the `-n` flag means *"open a NEW instance, even if one is already running."* Claude has **no per-profile single-instance lock**, so **every click spawns another process** against the same profile dir. That stacks up duplicate windows and risks corrupting the shared profile. The **smart launcher** in this gist fixes it. On click it inspects *that specific instance* (matched by `--user-data-dir` ; for the default instance, the main process that has *no* `--user-data-dir` ) and does one of three things: **Running with a window**→ focuses that process's window by PID via System Events. No duplicate.** Running but windowless**→ opens a fresh window. Claude keeps its main process alive after you close the window, and a windowless instance*cannot*be re-shown per-instance (all instances share one bundle id, so`open -a` / "activate" can't target it). We deliberately**do not kill** the windowless process: it is often windowless precisely because it's still doing background work (e.g. a chat that's "thinking"), and killing it would lose that work. The leftover windowless process is harmless and goes away when you fully**Quit (⌘Q)** Claude.**Not running**→ launches fresh with`open -n` . How "has a window?" is detected: a live window shows up as one or more `--type=renderer` processes for that profile; closing the window drops that count to 0. So "always click the launcher you want" reliably **focuses-or-launches** the right instance, even after you've closed its window. Tip:to keep the focus-don't-relaunch behavior working,close Claude with ⌘W(close window, app keeps running) when you want it to stay live, and⌘Qwhen you truly want it gone. The recolored icon lives on the **launcher you click**. Because all instances share the one `/Applications/Claude.app` binary, **while running they all show the same stock Dock icon and the name "Claude"** — the color only marks the launcher. The reliable in-app tell is the signed-in account. (Truly distinct *running* Dock icons would require a full standalone copy of Claude.app.) ``` # 0. Have Claude Desktop installed at /Applications/Claude.app (https://claude.ai/download) # 1. Download the scripts from this gist, then make the helper executable chmod +x make-claude-instance.sh # 2. Create a WORK instance (isolated profile) with a BLUE launcher ./make-claude-instance.sh work Work 135 # 3. Create a PERSONAL instance (its own isolated profile) with a RED-ORANGE icon ./make-claude-instance.sh personal Personal -7 # 4. Launch from Launchpad / drag to Dock: "Claude Work" and "Claude Personal" # First launch of each is a fresh profile -> sign into the right account once. ``` - The **first** time a launcher focuses a running window, macOS asks*"Claude … wants to control System Events"*→ click**OK**(one time per launcher). **Give every instance its own isolated dir**— use a real name like`personal` /`work` ,**not**`default` . One profile → one instance (see the ⭐ callout above for why).- The instance name is still supported (it uses Claude's built-in profile with no`default` `--user-data-dir` ) for folks who want one launcher onto the stock profile — but it's only safe if that profile is*never*run by more than one instance at a time (i.e. don't also use the stock Claude icon). A dedicated dir is the robust, recommended choice. | Look | hueShift | satGain (optional) | |---|---|---| | Stock orange | `0` | `1.0` | | Red-orange | `-7` | `1.08` | | Green | `+80` | `1.0` | | Blue | `+135` | `1.0` | | Purple | `+170` | `1.0` | Icon recoloring is **optional** — it only runs if Python 3 + [Pillow](https://pypi.org/project/Pillow/) are available (`pip install Pillow` ). Without them you still get a fully working launcher with the stock icon. If you're already signed into Claude's **default** profile and want your new dedicated instance to start out logged in (with your settings, MCP servers, and sessions intact), copy the profile across **while Claude is fully quit** so the copy is consistent: ``` # 1. Quit Claude completely first (⌘Q every window; make sure nothing is running): ps -axo command | grep "[C]laude.app/Contents/MacOS/Claude" # should print nothing # 2. Copy the default profile into your new dedicated dir, skipping lock files + caches: rsync -a \ --exclude 'Singleton*' \ --exclude 'Cache' --exclude 'Code Cache' --exclude 'GPUCache' \ --exclude 'DawnGraphiteCache' --exclude 'DawnWebGPUCache' --exclude 'ShaderCache' \ --exclude 'Crashpad' --exclude 'blob_storage' \ "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/" "$HOME/.claude-instances/personal/" ``` Your original default profile is left untouched (the stock Claude icon still opens it). The auth token lives in the copied profile (and/or the shared macOS Keychain), so the new instance should launch already signed in. If it doesn't, just sign in once — it sticks from then on. Heads-up on size: the local-agent / Cowork runtime lives in a `vm_bundles/` folder that can bemany GB. The copy above includes it. To save disk, you can`rm -rf` the`vm_bundles` folder in the new dir afterward — it re-downloads on demand the next time you use that feature. ``` # List running Claude instances and their profiles ps -axo pid,command | grep "[C]laude.app/Contents/MacOS/Claude" # Remove a wrapper + its profile rm -rf "/Applications/Claude Work.app" rm -rf "$HOME/.claude-instances/work" ``` — builds the`make-claude-instance.sh` `.app` wrapper (Info.plist, config, smart launcher) and optionally recolors the icon.— the self-contained smart launcher template (embedded into each wrapper).`claude-launcher` — hue/saturation recolor of the`recolor-icon.py` `.icns` (used by the helper; needs Pillow). Core `--user-data-dir` isolation technique by [Philipp Stracker](https://philippstracker.com/multiple-claude-instances/). Smart focus-or-launch behavior and icon recoloring added here.