claude-desktop-multi

Claude Desktop Multi-Instance (Windows)

Run multiple Claude Desktop instances side by side on Windows, each with its own account, MCP servers, and settings — even though Claude ships as a single-instance MSIX app.

One click. Survives auto-updates. Doesn't touch your normal install.

🛍️ Prefer a 1-click app with a GUI and automatic updates?

This repo is the DIY script route. The same author ships a polished, free app on the Microsoft Store — dashboard, color-coded instances, setup wizard, instance updater: Multi Instance for Claude Desktop → Microsoft Store

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Why this is needed

Claude Desktop for Windows installs as an MSIX package under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. That causes two problems if you want a second instance:

1. Windows blocks launching the .exe directly from WindowsApps ("Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file"). So shortcuts pointing straight at the packaged exe fail.
2. The package is built to run one instance. Even with Electron's --user-data-dir flag, you can't reach the exe to pass it.

The fix: copy Claude to a normal folder outside WindowsApps (C:\ClaudePortable), where Windows allows direct launch, then create one shortcut per instance — each with its own --user-data-dir. Each instance gets a fully isolated profile: separate account, separate MCP servers, separate Cowork/settings.

This is the part most guides miss: on Windows the MSIX exe can't be launched in place, so you have to run a portable copy. That's exactly what install.ps1 does, and re-running it picks up Claude's latest auto-update.

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Quick start

1. Download this repo (green Code button → Download ZIP, then extract). Or git clone https://github.com/radelqui/claude-desktop-multi.
2. Double-click INSTALL.cmd. It asks for Administrator (needed once, to read the protected WindowsApps folder) and sets up 2 extra instances.
3. On your Desktop you'll now have Claude 2 and Claude 3 shortcuts.

Want a different number? Run from an admin PowerShell:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\install.ps1 -Instances 3

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Logging into different accounts (important!)

The first login of each new instance must be done one at a time, with the other Claude windows closed.

Why: Claude's login opens your browser and returns to the app via a claude:// link. That link goes to whichever instance is currently open — so if several are open, the login lands on the wrong one and they all end up on the same account.

Do this:

1. Close all Claude Desktop windows (check the system tray ▲ near the clock).
2. Open only Claude 2 → log in (Google sign-in, or email + code — any method works) → finish the login.
3. Open Claude 3 → log in with a different account.
4. Open your normal Claude (Start menu) → it keeps your main account.

After the first login, each session persists. You can then run all of them at once, in any order.

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Updating

When Claude Desktop auto-updates, the portable copy stays on the old version. To refresh it, just run INSTALL.cmd again (or scripts\install.ps1). It detects the new version, recopies, and your existing Desktop shortcuts keep working — no need to recreate them.

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Uninstall

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\uninstall.ps1

Removes the portable copy, the Claude N shortcuts, and the isolated profiles. Your normal Claude install is left untouched. Add -KeepProfiles to keep your logged-in instance data.

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What gets created

Path	What
C:\ClaudePortable\	Portable copy of Claude (launchable, outside WindowsApps)
%APPDATA%\Claude-Instance2, ...3, ...	Isolated profile per instance (account, MCP, settings)
Desktop\Claude 2.lnk, Claude 3.lnk	Shortcuts that launch each instance

Your normal install and its data (%APPDATA%\Claude) are never modified.

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How it works (technical)

• Get-AppxPackage *Claude* finds the current MSIX install location (robust across version bumps).
• robocopy /MIR mirrors …\app into C:\ClaudePortable.
• Each shortcut runs C:\ClaudePortable\Claude.exe --user-data-dir="%APPDATA%\Claude-InstanceN".
• Electron stores all per-instance state (auth tokens included) under that data dir, so instances are fully independent.

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Notes & limitations

• Windows only. On macOS use open -n -a "Claude.app" --args --user-data-dir=...; on Linux invoke the AppImage/binary with the same flag — no portable copy needed there.
• Re-run after each Claude update to keep the portable copy current.
• RAM: each instance is a full Electron app. Don't open more than you need.
• Not affiliated with Anthropic. Use at your own discretion.

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License

MIT — do whatever you want. PRs welcome.