claude-deck

Run many Claude accounts side by side on one Mac or Windows PC. A profile launcher and usage dashboard for the Claude Desktop app.

---

This is a small vibe-coded utility, and it takes meaningful access: it patches a system app (Claude.app) and reads your session cookies. Read the script before you run it.

---

What you get

• Unlimited simultaneous logins from one app copy. No duplicate 700MB Claude.app bundles per account.
• Every profile shares the same ~/.claude. Claude Code sessions, config, and settings are identical across every account you log into.
• A local dashboard showing usage per account AND per organization (an account in several orgs gets one section per org), rendering usage windows dynamically from whatever the API returns, so new model buckets (like a Fable weekly limit) show up automatically with no code change, with one-click open or focus per profile.
• Window titles tagged [profile] so Cmd-backtick, Mission Control, and Raycast can tell your accounts apart.
• Optional Cursor integration. See idle Cursor seats' usage in the same dashboard, and delegate self-contained tasks to them from Claude Code (agent calling). Zero dependency, off by default. See Cursor accounts.

---

Quick start

macOS:

git clone https://github.com/SMKeramati/claude-deck.git
cd claude-deck
./claude-deck.sh install
claude-deck patch
claude-deck open work   # log in
claude-deck dash

Windows (PowerShell):

git clone https://github.com/SMKeramati/claude-deck.git
cd claude-deck
.\claude-deck.ps1 install
claude-deck patch
claude-deck open work   # log in
claude-deck dash

Open http://localhost:8965 to see the dashboard.

---

Commands

Command	What it does
claude-deck patch	Apply the patch. Idempotent, safe to re-run.
claude-deck patch --force	Re-apply even if already patched.
claude-deck patch --verify-launch	(dev/testing only, requires --app <scratch-copy>) Launch the patched app and confirm it stays alive 8s.
claude-deck revert	Restore the original Claude.app from backup.
claude-deck status	Show patch state, hashes, backup info, known profiles.
claude-deck open <name>	Launch Claude with that profile, or focus its window if already running.
claude-deck list	List known profiles and their cached usage.
claude-deck dash [port]	Start the local dashboard (default port 8965). Repairs all profile index links first.
claude-deck doctor	Repair every profile's session-index link, check the installed patch is current, run claude-sync if Claude is closed.
claude-deck install	Copy the script to ~/.claude-deck/ and add the claude-deck alias.
claude-deck uninstall	Remove the alias only (does not revert the patch).
claude-deck watchdog on|off	Auto-reapply the patch whenever Claude updates (macOS only, needs sudo).

The same commands work on Windows via claude-deck.ps1 (except watchdog, see the Windows section).

Claude must be quit before patch or revert (the script tries to quit it for you).

---

How it works

• Asar extract, inject, repack. /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar is unpacked with @electron/asar, a small claude-deck.js is written at the asar root and wired into the Electron main process, then the asar is repacked.
• Info.plist hash fix. Electron checks a SHA-256 of the asar (ElectronAsarIntegrity in Info.plist) before it will load it. The script recomputes that hash after repacking and writes it back with PlistBuddy.
• Ad-hoc re-sign, no --deep. The outer app bundle is re-signed so macOS will still launch it. Adding --deep would re-sign every nested helper too, which breaks their keychain permissions and makes macOS ask for keychain access on every launch. This script never does that.
• Entitlements are stripped, not just preserved. An ad-hoc signature can never carry Apple's restricted entitlements (app identifier, team identifier, keychain groups); macOS's stricter checks on Apple Silicon refuse to launch a binary that has them anyway. The script reads the app's own entitlements, drops those three keys, and adds one that lets the ad-hoc binary still load Electron's genuinely-signed nested framework. See "macOS signing" below.
• --profile=NAME launch flag. Each profile gets its own Electron userData folder under ~/Library/Application Support/Claude Profiles/<name>, which is what gives it a separate, simultaneous login.
• Session reporter. The injected code reads each profile's session cookie and writes it to ~/.claude-deck/profiles/<name>.json, which the dashboard reads to show usage.

---

Claude Code sessions across accounts

Profiles share one Claude Code session index (it's symlinked into the default app's own index folder), so every profile of the same account sees the same session list instantly. No extra step needed.

To see Claude Code sessions across different accounts, use the companion tool claude-sync: start one throwaway Claude Code session in the new account first, then run claude-sync (or its auto watcher).

Self-healing. The index link no longer depends on the app patch being current: every claude-deck open <name> (and every open from the dashboard) repairs or creates the profile's session-index link before launching, and claude-deck dash repairs all profiles at startup. If something still looks off, run claude-deck doctor: it fixes every profile's link in one pass, tells you if the installed patch carries an outdated injection, and runs claude-sync for you when Claude is closed.

If you're updating claude-deck from an older version, run claude-deck patch --force once so this fix takes effect.

---

Cursor accounts (optional)

claude-deck can also surface idle Cursor seats, in two independent ways. Both are off by default and touch nothing in the patch flow.

See Cursor usage in the dashboard

The dashboard shows a Cursor accounts section beside your Claude profiles: plan tier, whether the login is still alive, and monthly usage where available. It reads each account's token straight from Cursor's own on-disk store (state.vscdb, opened read-only) with the sqlite3 that ships with macOS, so there's no dependency and no new credential. An idle account whose token has aged out shows "open Cursor once to refresh", exactly like the Claude expired-key flow: claude-deck never touches Cursor's refresh token, so it can't log the account out.

Zero-config for a single Cursor install (auto-discovered). For several accounts, list them in ~/.claude-deck/cursor/accounts.json:

{ "accounts": [
  { "label": "tech-sub", "userDataDir": "~/Library/Application Support/Cursor" },
  { "label": "design",   "userDataDir": "~/CursorProfiles/design" }
] }

Run each Cursor account in its own login the VS Code way: open -na Cursor --args --user-data-dir ~/CursorProfiles/design. Each gets its own state.vscdb, so the dashboard reads them all.

Delegate work to Cursor from Claude Code

Put those seats to work: Claude Code (terminal or the Desktop Code tab) can hand a self-contained slice to cursor-agent, which runs it on the Cursor subscription's quota instead of Claude's. Claude stays the orchestrator. See integrations/claude-code/ for a skill, a subagent, and an optional MCP tool, plus a one-command installer.

This is agent calling, not a model-backend swap: Cursor sells no Anthropic-shaped API for its subscription, and the Desktop Code tab always uses your claude.ai account, so you can't point Claude's engine at Cursor. You can run the two side by side, which is what this does.

---

Windows

claude-deck.ps1 is the Windows twin of the macOS script: same commands, same dashboard, same safety model (pristine backup, rollback on failure, unpacked-native-module preservation). Differences that matter:

• No admin rights needed. Claude installs into %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude\app-<version>\, which your user account owns. There is also no code signing or Info.plist hash to fix on Windows: only app.asar is modified, never claude.exe.
• Integrity-fuse preflight. On Windows, Electron's asar-integrity hash lives inside the signed claude.exe and only gets checked when a build-time fuse is on. The script reads that fuse first and refuses to patch (touching nothing) if it's enabled, because a modified asar would then stop Claude from starting. Today's Claude builds ship with it off.
• App updates install a whole new app-<version> folder, so the patch disappears after every Claude update. Your logins and profiles survive (they live in %APPDATA%\Claude Profiles\ and ~\.claude-deck\). Re-run claude-deck patch after an update; there is no watchdog on Windows yet, but claude-deck doctor tells you when a re-patch is needed.
• Profiles use directory junctions (not symlinks) for the shared Claude Code session index, because junctions need no admin rights or Developer Mode.
• install adds a claude-deck function to your PowerShell profile; open a new terminal after running it.

State lives in %USERPROFILE%\.claude-deck\ with the same layout as macOS (backup/, profiles/, tool/, node/).

---

App updates remove the patch

Your logins, profiles, and chat history all survive Claude updates: they live outside the app bundle, in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude Profiles/ and ~/.claude. Only the patch itself is overwritten, because Claude's auto-updater replaces app.asar wholesale.

Fix it with either:

claude-deck patch                # re-apply by hand, ~5 seconds
sudo claude-deck watchdog on     # or: reapply automatically, forever

The watchdog is a launchd job that watches Info.plist for changes. It skips while Claude is running, and it logs to /var/log/claude-deck.log.

---

macOS 26 / Apple Silicon signing

Patching re-signs Claude.app ad-hoc (no Apple certificate). An ad-hoc signature can never carry Apple's restricted entitlements: com.apple.application-identifier, com.apple.developer.team-identifier, keychain-access-groups. Modern macOS refuses to launch a binary at all if an ad-hoc signature has them.

So the script strips those three and adds com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation, which lets the ad-hoc-signed app still load Electron's own framework (which stays genuinely Anthropic-signed inside the bundle).

What this costs you: hardware-key and passkey login (WebAuthn) may not work in a patched app, because that relied on the keychain groups tied to Anthropic's certificate. What still works: password login, Google login, and any session you're already logged into.

claude-deck revert restores Claude's original code, but it's still ad-hoc-signed (the same launch requirement applies). For a fully genuine, Anthropic-signed app again, reinstall Claude from anthropic.com.

---

Security notes

• Profile key files grant full account access. ~/.claude-deck/profiles/*.json holds a live session key per account, mode 600. Keep it out of backups and sync tools: in particular, do not let claude-sync or any dotfile sync pick up ~/.claude-deck/profiles/.
• The dashboard binds to 127.0.0.1 only and sends your keys nowhere except claude.ai.
• The watchdog runs a root-owned copy of itself under /usr/local/lib/claude-deck. A script that any user can edit must never run as root, so watchdog on copies it there before installing the LaunchDaemon.

---

Unofficial API, use responsibly

The usage numbers come from the same endpoints claude.ai's own web app uses. They're not a published, stable API: Anthropic can change them at any time without notice. This tool is for personal use and polls gently: the dashboard caches each account for 120 seconds and auto-refreshes every 5 minutes. Not affiliated with Anthropic.

---

Troubleshooting

Claude keeps asking for keychain access after patching. This means the patch was applied with codesign --deep at some point. Run claude-deck revert then claude-deck patch to get a clean ad-hoc signature on the outer bundle only.

Claude won't open at all after patching (macOS 26+, Apple Silicon). This was a real bug: modern macOS refuses to launch an ad-hoc-signed app that still carries Apple's restricted entitlements. Update claude-deck (git pull) and re-run claude-deck patch: the current version strips those entitlements automatically. See "macOS 26 / Apple Silicon signing" above.

Hardware-key or passkey login doesn't work in a patched Claude. Expected: see "macOS 26 / Apple Silicon signing" above. Use password or Google login instead, or an account you're already logged into.

Dashboard shows "session key expired." Open that profile once with claude-deck open <name>. The key refreshes automatically the next time you're logged in.

Claude updated and my profiles are "gone" from the launcher. Nothing was deleted. Run claude-deck patch again: the profile data is still on disk, the patch just needs reapplying.

Claude would not open at all after patching with an older claude-deck. Reinstall Claude once (fresh copy from anthropic.com), update claude-deck (git pull), then re-run claude-deck patch. Older versions of this script didn't preserve app.asar.unpacked (the native modules Electron loads straight off disk), so repacking could silently break the app on newer Claude builds that ship those files. That's fixed now.

---

Credits

Patch pipeline adapted from smk-labs/claude-rtl. Usage-endpoint prior art from hamed-elfayome/Claude-Usage-Tracker, Maciek-roboblog/Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor, and lugia19/Claude-Usage-Extension.

MIT license. See LICENSE.