[BUG] VS Code extension ignores CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/4739
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/12719
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/13840

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

This is not a duplicate of the listed issues:

#4739 is locked and cannot be commented on
#12719 and #4739 focus specifically on /ide command failure
This issue is broader: the VS Code extension ignores CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR entirely (auth, config, credentials), not just for IDE detection

The root cause may be related, but the scope and impact are different.

+1, as for me:

Is this a regression?

Yes, I was using this workaround as a bash variable until last month

Root cause analysis (Extension v2.1.70)

I traced the session listing through the minified extension.js and found the exact call chain:

1. listSessions() → oP({dir: this.cwd}) → ve() → es(dir)
2. es() → ps(dir) → path.join(MU(), hashedDir)
3. MU() = path.join(IG(), "projects")
4. IG() = process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR ?? path.join(os.homedir(), ".claude")

IG() correctly reads process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR — but the extension host process never receives this variable:

• terminal.integrated.env.osx only applies to terminal processes, not the extension host
• claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper only takes effect when spawning the Claude CLI process, not when the extension itself lists sessions
• claudeCode.environmentVariables also doesn't propagate to the extension host's own process.env

So the Claude process runs correctly with the custom config dir (via the wrapper), but the session picker UI always reads from ~/.claude.

Workaround

Close all VSCode instances, then launch from terminal:

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-work code ~/git/my-project

This way the extension host inherits the variable. Does not work if another VSCode instance is already running (merges into existing instance).

Suggested fix

Add a claudeCode.configDir setting that the extension reads for both spawning the Claude process and its own internal operations (session listing, plans, file history). This would make all existing env-based workarounds unnecessary.

Also affects plugins (installed_plugins.json) — not just VS Code extension.

When using CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR to separate work vs personal accounts, plugins installed for one account still show up on the other account because ~/.claude/plugins/ is hardcoded.

The /mcp dialog shows them as "needs authentication" on the wrong account — harmless but noisy. There's no per-account plugin scoping.

Related closed issues: #972, #15071

When will this be fixed?

I would also like this to be fixed

Adding my +1 for this. I need to be able to separate my work & personal Claude accounts on the same computer. For now, I'm overriding VS Code startup script to give VS Code a fake home folder when starting up (one for work, one for personal). This works, but it comes with the symptom of having anything external that's executed from VS Code use that fake home folder (ie. opening a browser link is like I'm opening the browser for the first time).

Still not fixed？

EDIT (corrected): the test below verifies only the spawned agent path. The extension host still ignores CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR on Windows (session list/switch, settings.json, MCP/plugin persistence all default to ~/.claude), so this is not macOS-only or fixed — the host-side half of this issue still reproduces. See my follow-up below and @pasrom's root-cause analysis. Original kept for context.

---

Windows 11: works via the claudeCode.environmentVariables setting (ext 2.1.178)

On Win 11 (extension 2.1.178, CLI 2.1.177) the claudeCode.environmentVariables setting does point the spawned Claude session at a non-default CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:

"claudeCode.environmentVariables": [{ "name": "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR", "value": "C:\\Users\\<me>\\.claude-alt" }]

To rule out a leaked shell variable, I opened the repo in a throwaway instance (code --new-window --user-data-dir <temp> <repo>) with no CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in the environment and a fresh profile; /status then came up under the account in the custom dir, not ~/.claude. The setting was the only possible source.

Since the issue is labeled platform:macos and the report was on 2.1.63, this suggests the bug is macOS-specific and/or was (partly) fixed by 2.1.178 — might be worth a maintainer scoping. (I only verified the setting path, not the shell-export path.)

@kdsrc this only partially works. I am also on Windows 11, though using WSL.

• Switching between sessions does not work, it will show up empty when switching to an older session.
• Plugins and MCPs will not survive the VSCode session, I would need to reinstall every time with a new VScode session.

Correcting my comment above: on Windows 11 (ext 2.1.181) claudeCode.environmentVariables only reaches the spawned Claude CLI, not the extension host. The agent ends up on the right account, but everything the host does - session-history list, settings.json, MCP/plugin install & persistence (.claude.json), file-history, plans - reads process.env.CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR from the host process, which never receives it and falls back to ~/.claude. That host-side half is the core of this issue, still reproducing on Windows - and it's why older sessions open empty and plugins/MCP don't persist across sessions.

The fix is small, and it's the one already proposed in this thread: a claudeCode.configDir setting the extension reads for both the spawned process and its own host-side operations. Give the host process the right config dir and all of the above bind to the correct account.

I've verified that it works: a small VS Code extension that gives the extension host the correct config dir resolves history, settings and MCP/plugin state, with no change to the agent path. So the host side is genuinely a one-setting fix. Happy to share details if useful - feel free to reach out.

Would it be possible to just add switchable multiple account support to the Claude Code VS Code Extension? The entire reason I (at least) want this fixed is so I can use the right Claude Code account on work and personal projects, and its been this much of an issue for some time.

Would it be possible to just add switchable multiple account support to the Claude Code VS Code Extension? The entire reason I (at least) want this fixed is so I can use the right Claude Code account on work and personal projects, and its been this much of an issue for some time.

Exact same use case here. I've (er claude/codex) has managed to make it work with a balancing act of direnvs and symlinked folders but it was not a one-shot fix by any means and it's been brittle.

This one's annoying but there's a reliable workaround until it's fixed properly. The extension spawns its own CLI process and the environmentVariables setting doesn't consistently reach it, so the cleanest fix is a wrapper script that sets the variable itself. 1. Create a file like ~/bin/claude-personal containing:

#!/bin/bash
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-personal"
exec /usr/local/bin/claude "$@"

Swap in the real path to your claude binary, which claude shows it. 2. Run chmod +x ~/bin/claude-personal. 3. In settings.json set "claudeCode.executablePath": "/Users/you/bin/claude-personal". 4. Quit VS Code completely and reopen it, a window reload isn't always enough. Every CLI process the extension launches now inherits the variable, so credentials, settings and history all live in ~/.claude-personal. Two gotchas: use an absolute path with no trailing slash, and the extension's own UI may still show bits from ~/.claude, but auth and sessions follow the wrapper. Also, on macOS launching VS Code from the Dock never inherits your shell env, so the export-before-launch trick only works when you start it with the code command from that same terminal.

Full disclosure: I'm the developer of Multi Instance for Claude Desktop, which runs several isolated Claude Desktop instances at once. It gives each instance its own data directory and login so accounts stay fully separated, which is the same isolation you're chasing here.
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NG247TJ47P0?cid=gh-multi

This one's annoying but there's a reliable workaround until it's fixed properly. The extension spawns its own CLI process and the environmentVariables setting doesn't consistently reach it, so the cleanest fix is a wrapper script that sets the variable itself. 1. Create a file like ~/bin/claude-personal containing: #!/bin/bash export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-personal" exec /usr/local/bin/claude "$@" Swap in the real path to your claude binary, which claude shows it. 2. Run chmod +x ~/bin/claude-personal. 3. In settings.json set "claudeCode.executablePath": "/Users/you/bin/claude-personal". 4. Quit VS Code completely and reopen it, a window reload isn't always enough. Every CLI process the extension launches now inherits the variable, so credentials, settings and history all live in ~/.claude-personal. Two gotchas: use an absolute path with no trailing slash, and the extension's own UI may still show bits from ~/.claude, but auth and sessions follow the wrapper. Also, on macOS launching VS Code from the Dock never inherits your shell env, so the export-before-launch trick only works when you start it with the code command from that same terminal. Full disclosure: I'm the developer of Multi Instance for Claude Desktop, which runs several isolated Claude Desktop instances at once. It gives each instance its own data directory and login so accounts stay fully separated, which is the same isolation you're chasing here. https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NG247TJ47P0?cid=gh-multi

When I try to use claudeCode.executablePath in .vscode/settings.json I see an error "Unknown Configuration Setting". @radelqui where do you see this setting in the extension?