paddock

Multi-Claude control plane. Auto-switch Claude Code accounts per directory. Color-coded statusline so you never wonder which Claude is talking to you.

Quickstart

npm install -g paddockcli                # any platform with Node
# or:  brew install ojuan19/tap/paddock  # macOS / Linux Homebrew
paddock init                             # adopt your existing ~/.claude/ as 'personal'
paddock add work --color amber           # blank profile; you'll log in on first use
cd ~/work && paddock link work           # bind this dir; auto-installs shell hook on first link

Now cd ~/work && claude uses your work account; cd anywhere else falls back to personal. The statusline at the bottom of Claude tells you which is active.

Examples

Set up two accounts

$ paddock init
Imported ~/.claude/ as profile 'personal' (blue, default)

$ paddock add work --from ~/.claude-work --color amber
Created profile 'work' (amber)
Imported config from ~/.claude-work

$ cd ~/work && paddock link work
Linked work
  /Users/you/work
Shell auto-switch not installed. Add to ~/.zshrc? [Y/n] y
Added paddock hook to ~/.zshrc. Run `source ~/.zshrc` or open a new shell to activate.

Switch accounts by cd'ing

$ cd ~/work
$ paddock which
work  (from /Users/you/work .paddock)

$ claude       # uses the work account automatically; statusline shows [work]

$ cd ~/personal-project
$ paddock which
personal  (default — no link)

$ claude       # uses the personal account automatically; statusline shows [personal]

Status

Current: v0.1.2 — available on npm, Homebrew, and curl install.

Commands:

• paddock init — first-run setup; imports ~/.claude/ as a profile
• paddock add <name> [--color X] [--default] [--from <dir>] — create profile (optionally import existing CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR)
• paddock list (ls, --links) — list profiles
• paddock link [<name>] [--yes] — bind current dir (prompts to install shell hook on first link); paddock unlink to undo
• paddock rename <old> <new> — rename a profile (config, directory, links, .paddock files)
• paddock use <name> [args...] — launch claude with a specific profile
• paddock run [args...] — launch claude with the profile resolved from cwd
• paddock which [--quiet] — show which profile applies and why
• paddock shell-init [bash|zsh|fish|powershell] — print shell hook script
• paddock doctor [--fix] [--yes] — diagnose installation; auto-repair safe issues

Other capabilities:

• Auto-switch on cd via shell hook (bash, zsh, fish; powershell experimental)
• Color-coded statusline inside Claude Code per profile
• Allowlist-based import (no caches, history, or session state carried over)
• Fuzzy "did you mean" suggestions on profile typos
• NO_COLOR / FORCE_COLOR env vars respected

How it works

Claude Code respects the CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable. Pointing it at a different directory gives complete isolation — credentials, settings, history, plugins, MCPs all switch. On macOS, Keychain entries are scoped by the config dir's path, so credentials stay separate per profile.

Paddock orchestrates this:

1. You create profiles (paddock add <name> or paddock init)
2. You link directories to profiles (paddock link <name>)
3. A shell hook (paddock shell-init) sets CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR whenever you cd
4. A statusline command (paddock statusline) shows the active profile inside Claude Code

Paddock does not modify Claude Code, does not touch ~/.claude/ (except read-only on init), and does not handle API keys (subscriptions only). Uninstall paddock and Claude Code works exactly as before.

Install

# npm (recommended for JS/TS devs)
npm install -g paddockcli

# Homebrew
brew install ojuan19/tap/paddock

# curl | bash (Linux/macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ojuan19/paddock/main/install.sh | bash

Build from source (contributors)

git clone https://github.com/ojuan19/paddock.git
cd paddock
go build -o paddock ./cmd/paddock
sudo cp paddock /usr/local/bin/
paddock --version

Requires Go 1.21+.

Shell setup

paddock link auto-prompts to install the shell hook on first use, so you usually don't need to do this manually. If you want to install it yourself (or skipped the prompt):

# zsh
paddock shell-init zsh >> ~/.zshrc

# bash
paddock shell-init bash >> ~/.bashrc

# fish
paddock shell-init fish >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Then source the file or open a new shell.

Migration from direnv or manual CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR setups

Already DIY'd a second Claude account using direnv + .envrc? One command:

paddock init                                                  # imports ~/.claude/ → 'personal'
paddock add work --color amber --from ~/.claude-work          # imports your second setup → 'work'
cd ~/work-dir && paddock link work
rm ~/work-dir/.envrc                                          # only if direnv was managing the switch

--from runs the same allowlist-based copy as init (skips caches, history, session state).

Note: blank profiles created with paddock add (no --from) require /login on first use — Claude Code's auth lives in macOS Keychain keyed by config-dir path, so each new profile path starts unauthenticated.

Roadmap

• v0.1.0 ✅ — All 10 commands, auto-switch, statusline, doctor, fuzzy match, --from import, release infra (GoReleaser, Homebrew tap, npm wrapper, curl | bash)
• v0.1.2 ✅ — npm install symlink fix; paddock link auto-installs shell hook on first use
• v0.2 — paddock costs (per-profile spend), paddock sync-mcp (copy MCPs between profiles), paddock snapshot create/restore
• v0.3+ — TUI, team profiles (shared config via git)

Prior art

• direnv — the conceptual ancestor. Paddock is direnv specialized for Claude Code with a visible statusline and one-command UX. If you're already happy with direnv + .envrc, paddock's v0.1 doesn't unlock much — but v0.2 will, with cost tracking and MCP syncing direnv literally cannot do.
• claude-profile — similar idea, no auto-switch, no statusline.

Contributing

Project is alpha; opening it up for issues + PRs after v0.1 ships. Star the repo to follow along.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.