[DOCS] Document CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable for multi-account setups
Documentation Type
Missing documentation (feature not documented)
Documentation Location
_No response_
Section/Topic
Enironment variables for claude command
Current Documentation
_No response_
What's Wrong or Missing?
Summary
The CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR environment variable can be used to specify an
alternative configuration directory instead of the default ~/.claude/.
However, this is not documented anywhere — not in claude --help, not
in the official docs.
## Use Case
Users who have multiple claude.ai accounts (e.g. work and personal) can
use this variable to maintain separate configurations and switch between
accounts without affecting the rest of their environment:
```bash
# Add to ~/.zshrc
alias claude-personal='CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-personal claude'
# Login with the second account
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-personal claude auth login
This is far simpler and safer than overriding $HOME, which would affect
git, ssh, and other tools invoked by Claude Code.
### Suggested Improvement
Request
Please add CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR to:
- claude --help output
- Official documentation (configuration / authentication section)
This would make multi-account usage straightforward for all users.
### Impact
Low - Minor confusion or inconvenience
### Additional Context
This text is reported by claude code himself.This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗