Power Claude account groups go beyond a flat multi-account rotator. Name a set for Work, Job A, or Client B; put only those Claude seats in it; pool within that set; activate it when that engagement is live; and hard-isolate Claude Code projects/memory so other jobs never inherit that context.
TL;DR: Create named groups → drag any accounts in → leave isolation on for Work/Personal/clients → Use this group (or pc scope use) when you switch roles. Credentials stay private; groups isolate local context, not OAuth.
TL;DR table
| Goal | Do this |
|---|---|
| Keep work ≠ personal memory | Two isolated groups; assign accounts; activate when switching roles |
| Group any accounts + name them | + New group → any free-form name → drag from Ungrouped |
| Active “who I am now” | Dashboard Use this group or pc scope use <id> |
| One account, many labels | Use tags; groups are single-membership by design |
| Project / billing boundary | Name a group per project or client; put only those seats in it; activate while on that work |
How-to: Separate work and personal Claude accounts · Docs: account groups setup · Architecture: official profiles vs relays.
The problem: multi-account Claude without isolation
Claude Code remembers projects well — transcripts, memory files, and tool history accumulate. That is a feature until you switch personas. Search demand is real: “separate work and personal Claude,” “Claude Code multiple accounts,” “isolate Claude context,” “group Claude accounts,” “name Claude account groups.”
| Pattern | What goes wrong without groups |
|---|---|
| Work + personal on one laptop | Side projects inherit enterprise context (or vice versa) |
| Agency / freelancers | Client A conventions leak into Client B |
| Several seats for one job | Personal login used for work by accident |
| Billing by project | No durable “these seats are Project X” boundary |
| Manual “just switch account” | No durable active set; context still shared |
Tags are labels. Groups are structure: membership + active selection + optional hard isolation.
What account groups are (authoritative model)
An account group (CLI: scope) is a named set of Claude accounts/profiles in Power Claude.
| Piece | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Group name | You choose freely: Work, Personal, Client-Acme, Sandbox, Billing-ProjectX |
| Members | Any linked accounts you drag or pc scope add |
| Active group | “What I am working as right now” |
| Isolated (default) | Group-local projects/memory under ~/.power-claude/claude-shared/scopes/<id>/ |
| Global (optional) | Machine-wide shared projects tree |
Credentials stay private per account. Groups never copy OAuth tokens. Isolation controls session identity — transcripts, memory, project-linked state — and which set of accounts you treat as active. State: ~/.power-claude/state/account-scopes.json (mode 0600).
~/.power-claude/
state/account-scopes.json
claude-shared/projects/ # global tree
claude-shared/scopes/<group-id>/projects/ # this group only
When you Use this group with isolation on, Power Claude re-points member profiles’ projects layout at the group tree. It fails closed on conflicts and never touches .credentials.json.
Name groups like real personas
You can name a group anything. Work/Personal are conventions, not product limits.
| Name | Who belongs | Isolation | When to activate |
|---|---|---|---|
Work | Company / contractor seats | Isolated | Workday / work repos |
Personal | Personal email | Isolated | Side projects, learning |
Client-North | That client’s seats | Isolated | Before opening client monorepo |
Project-Alpha | Seats billed to Alpha | Isolated | When that project is on |
Sandbox | Experimental agents | Isolated | Risky runs |
Team-Shared | Seats that should share memory | Global (optional) | Only if you want one brain |
Naming tips: short stable names; match repo codes for direnv; one group per persona or billing boundary; agencies prefer Client-<code> over vague labels.
How to set up: name groups and put any accounts in them
Dashboard (about 5 minutes)
- Open Power Claude → Your Profiles.
- Under Account groups, click + New group.
- Name it (e.g. Work). Isolation defaults on.
- Create Personal (and any client or project groups).
- Drag account chips from Ungrouped onto the correct group — any linked account can go in any group.
- Click Use this group on Work before work.
- Switch to Personal when your role changes (or Clear active group).
There is no special “work account type.” Membership is free-form: group any combination of logins, name the set, activate when that persona is live.
CLI (same model)
pc scope create Work
pc scope create Personal
pc scope create Client-Acme
pc scope list
pc scope add <work-id> you+work@company.com
pc scope add <personal-id> you@gmail.com
pc scope add <client-id> client@acme.com
pc scope use <work-id>
pc scope use none
pc scope isolation <id> isolated # or: global
pc scope move you@gmail.com <personal-id>
pc scope move you@gmail.com none
pc scope delete <id>
Aliases: pc scopes, pc group, pc groups.
Verify isolation
pc scope list
ls ~/.power-claude/claude-shared/scopes/
Run a short session under Work, switch to Personal, confirm you are not continuing the same memory tree.
Decision tree: groups vs tags vs CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Separate logins | Official Claude profiles via CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR (Architecture B) |
| Separate personas + local memory + active set | Account groups |
| Soft labels only | Tags — no isolation |
| Shared memory on purpose | Group with isolation global, or leave ungrouped |
Deep architecture: Official multi-account vs subscription relays. Single membership rule: one account lives in at most one group. Use tags for multi-label without dual isolation.
Use cases
Work vs personal on one machine
Two isolated groups; assign accounts; activate before role changes. Step-by-step: Separate work and personal Claude accounts.
Agency with three clients
Groups Client-North, Client-South, Internal. Assign seats; Use the matching group before opening that repo. Any accounts, any name, clear active set.
Several seats for one product
One isolated group ProductX with every work seat; personal stays out.
Billing / cost attribution by project
Create Billing-Acme or Project-Q3-Launch. Put only the seats you track for that work into the group and activate it during the engagement. Groups do not invent Anthropic invoices; they give a durable local boundary so personas stop mixing.
Daily workflow
- Start the day → Use Work (or main client group).
- Open work repos and run Claude Code as usual.
- After hours → Use Personal.
- Client monorepo → Use that client group first.
- End of day → Clear active group if you want a neutral machine state.
Optional: pc scope use <id> in direnv per repo. Dashboard and CLI write the same store (account-scopes.json).
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Check |
|---|---|
| Context still mixed | Isolation = isolated; Use this group after create |
| Wrong account feels active | pc scope list; pc scope move stragglers |
| Layout apply failed | Non-empty real projects dir can fail closed |
| Groups missing in UI | Update Power Claude; reload window |
| Expected double quotas | Groups do not multiply Anthropic limits |
Compliance: Public Power Claude uses official-cli for subscription traffic. Groups do not claim Max pooling, silent thrash past limits, or ToS evasion. See ToS framing.
Primary sources
- Anthropic Claude Code multi-profile discussion: anthropics/claude-code#261 (
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR). - Architecture field guide (A vs B): DEV — two multi-account Claude Code architectures.
- Product behavior: Power Claude
pc scope/ account-scopes state under~/.power-claude/.
Frequently asked questions
How do I separate work and personal Claude accounts?
Create two isolated groups named Work and Personal, put each login in the right group, and select Use this group when you switch roles. Full walkthrough: separate work and personal.
Can I group any Claude accounts and name the group anything?
Yes. + New group → any free-form name → drag any linked accounts onto that group. Clients, projects, and sandbox labels all work.
How many groups can I create?
As many as you need. Prefer one group per persona or billing boundary.
Can one account sit in two groups?
No — single membership keeps isolation unambiguous. Use tags for multi-label without dual isolation.
Do groups share passwords or OAuth?
No. Each account keeps its own credentials.
Will creating a group delete old sessions?
No. Isolation re-homes context roots; it does not wipe disk history.
Does this bypass rate limits?
No. Limits stay per Anthropic account/plan.
What is the active group?
The group you selected as current persona for membership and (if isolated) memory tree.
Where is state stored?
~/.power-claude/state/account-scopes.json (0600). Do not commit work emails publicly.
CLI vs dashboard — which is authoritative?
Same store. Both update account-scopes.json.
How do I clear the active group?
Dashboard Clear active group or pc scope use none.
Work seats only in the work set?
Put only work emails in Work; leave personal in Personal or Ungrouped.
Can I use groups for project billing boundaries?
Yes as a local organization tool: name a group per project or client, put those seats in it, activate during the engagement. It does not replace Anthropic billing.
Is this the same as CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR profiles?
Related but different. Config dirs separate logins. Groups separate persona + local projects/memory and the active set. Use both.
How do I rename a group?
Prefer a stable name from day one. If rename is not exposed, create the correctly named group, move members, delete the empty old group. Backup account-scopes.json.
Related: usage limits while switching groups?
Isolation does not multiply quotas. See stop hitting Claude usage limits.
Setup checklist
- Link every Claude account on this machine.
- Create named groups for real personas (Work / Personal / clients / projects).
- Leave isolation on unless you want shared memory.
- Drag any accounts into the right groups.
- Use this group before deep work.
- Switch groups when you switch roles.
- Optional:
pc scope use <id>in direnv per repo.
Related reading
- Separate work and personal Claude accounts (how-to)
- Account groups docs
- Multi-account architectures A vs B
- How Power Claude’s account rotator works
- Install · Downloads · Product #feature-account-groups
Closing
Multi-account Claude is normal. What was missing was a first-class way to say: these seats are one job, that seat is another life — name them, group any of them, and keep their memories apart. Power Claude account groups are that control surface.
Try Power Claude: 14-day Premium trial · free install / download · account groups on the product page.
Independent third-party software. Not affiliated with Anthropic.