Agent accounts
Run multiple Claude Code or Codex accounts side by side using backend profiles with separate config directories.
hob doesn't own your model account. It launches the agent CLI on your machine, using whatever account and config directory that CLI sees. So to run multiple accounts, create one backend profile per account and point each at its own CLI config directory. Each agent pane can then pick the profile it uses.
When to use this
Use separate backend profiles when you want accounts side by side in the same project:
- Claude Code personal and work accounts
- Codex personal and work accounts
- Different API keys, proxies, flags, or config directories for the same CLI
To switch account per pane, use backend profiles (below). If every pane should use the same
account, you can instead set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR / CODEX_HOME in the per-CLI Environment
variables field under Settings → Agent → Claude Code / Codex (an Advanced-mode setting).
Claude Code
Claude Code stores its config under ~/.claude. Point each profile at a different directory
with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR.
Sign in to each account
Use Claude Code's normal login flow with the matching environment variable:
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-work claude
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-personal claudeAdd a backend profile
In Settings → Agent → Backend Profiles, click + Add backend. In the New backend modal set:
- Name —
Claude Code - work(an ID is derived automatically) - Protocol —
Claude - Command —
claude, or the full path to the binary - Env vars —
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-work
Click Save, then repeat for Claude Code - personal with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude-personal.
New agent panes can now choose either account from the backend picker (or press Alt+B in a
pane to switch). The built-in Claude Code backend keeps using the default ~/.claude account.
Codex
Codex works the same way — the default config dir is ~/.codex, overridden per profile with
CODEX_HOME. Sign in to each account:
CODEX_HOME=~/.codex-work codex
CODEX_HOME=~/.codex-personal codexThen add profiles in Settings → Agent → Backend Profiles (+ Add backend → New backend):
| Name | Protocol | Command | Env vars |
|---|---|---|---|
Codex - work | Codex | codex | CODEX_HOME=~/.codex-work |
Codex - personal | Codex | codex | CODEX_HOME=~/.codex-personal |
A custom backend can't be named so its ID collides with a built-in (claude, codex,
opencode) — the save is blocked. Per-profile config-dir separation (and thus separate
session history) applies to Claude Code and Codex; OpenCode has no config-dir env var.
Per-project defaults
Custom backends are global, but you can make a repo default to one. At the top of the
Agent settings page, switch the Global / project scope toggle to the project, then set its
default backend, model, and effort. For example, a company repo defaults to Claude Code - work while personal repos default to Claude Code - personal.
Notes
- Env vars are one
KEY=VALUEper line; blank lines and#comments are ignored. - A leading
~expands to your home directory in both env vars and the Command path. - Existing panes keep the backend they were created with — open a new pane or press
Alt+Bto switch. - hob keeps session history per profile when it uses a distinct config directory, so account-specific Claude Code and Codex conversations stay separated.