yoink vs clauth
Last checked against clauth v0.17.0. Spotted something out of date? Open an issue.
clauth is a Rust "Claude Code multi-account manager" with a TUI: it switches accounts with clauth <name>, shows live 5-hour and 7-day usage, falls back down a chain near a limit, and runs accounts in parallel. yoink is wider across tools: Kimi Code, Gemini and Copilot logins besides Claude Code and Codex, plus API-key providers for 13 harnesses.
On this page
What each one swaps
Both tools keep a snapshot per account and swap it into place, so neither needs a browser sign-in on every switch. They capture different pieces of Claude Code's state.
| Piece of state | clauth | yoink |
|---|---|---|
| Login token | ~/.claude/.credentials.json | The Claude Code-credentials Keychain entry on macOS, ~/.claude/.credentials.json on Linux and Windows (how it works) |
Account identity in ~/.claude.json | Not documented | The oauthAccount block, restored with the token |
env block of ~/.claude/settings.json | The whole block, per profile | Only the seven managed keys, when a provider is connected |
| Where snapshots live | ~/.clauth/, 0600 on Unix | ~/.config/yoink/profiles.json, 0600 |
| Several accounts at once | clauth start runs claude against a per-profile config directory | No |
One consequence: an API endpoint is part of a clauth profile, while in yoink it is a separate provider profile. Switching yoink back to a Claude account strips the seven keys and restores the login, as How it works describes.
Codex works differently too. clauth runs codex under each profile in its own CODEX_HOME, with a separate rotation chain. yoink switches auth.json (or the Codex Auth Keychain entry on macOS) inside your one Codex home:
yoink save codex-work --tool codex
yoink use codex-workFeature by feature
| Feature | clauth | yoink |
|---|---|---|
| Save and switch Claude Code accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Live 5-hour and 7-day usage bars | Yes | No |
| Automatic switching along a fallback chain | Yes | No |
| Parallel sessions under different accounts | Yes | No |
| MCP plugin to switch or delegate from inside Claude Code | Yes | No |
| Headless daemon with a REST API | Yes | No |
| Browse and resume past sessions | Yes | No |
| ChatGPT (Codex) logins | Yes | Yes |
| Kimi Code, Gemini and GitHub Copilot logins | Not documented | Yes |
| API-key providers written into other coding agents | Not documented | Yes, 13 harnesses |
| Windows | Yes, through Git Bash or MSYS2 | Yes, PowerShell installer |
| macOS menu bar app | Not documented | Yes |
| Install | cargo install clauth or a curl script | curl, PowerShell or npm install -g yoink-cli, DMG for the app |
| License | MIT | MIT |
clauth's daemon publishes a status.json that a menu bar app can read; its README does not ship one. yoink's menu bar app switches Claude accounts and providers only, and its other logins switch from the CLI.
Choose clauth if
- Claude Code is your main tool and you want each account's usage in front of you.
- You want switching to happen on its own before a limit stops a long run, with weekly and spend gates.
- You run several accounts at the same time, or hand a prompt to another account from inside a session.
- You want a headless daemon you can reach over HTTPS.
Choose yoink if
- You also switch Kimi Code, Gemini or GitHub Copilot logins, and want one command for all of them.
- You want an API key from OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Ollama or any compatible URL written into opencode, codex, Crush and the rest.
- You are on Windows without Git Bash, or want a Mac menu bar app.
Can you use both?
Yes, if one of them owns Claude Code. Both rewrite Claude Code's live login and the env block of ~/.claude/settings.json, and each keeps its own idea of the active account, so switching with one leaves the other out of date. A split that works: clauth for Claude Code accounts and usage, yoink for providers in other harnesses and the Kimi Code, Gemini and Copilot logins.
FAQ
Can both tools point Claude Code at a custom API endpoint?
Yes. A clauth profile can hold an API endpoint and key instead of an OAuth login. yoink adds the endpoint as a provider and writes seven managed keys into ~/.claude/settings.json, or into ./.claude/settings.local.json when you choose This project only, leaving your global setup alone.
Can yoink run two Claude Code accounts at the same time?
No. yoink swaps one live login per machine, and yoink's docs recommend restarting Claude Code after a switch. If you set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR per shell yourself, yoink follows it, but it does not launch sessions the way clauth start does.
Related
- How it works
How yoink switches Claude Code accounts: the Keychain entry or .credentials.json, the oauthAccount block in ~/.claude.json, and the re-snapshot step first.
- Subscriptions
Save and switch ChatGPT (Codex), Kimi Code, Gemini and GitHub Copilot logins with yoink, each inside its own tool, with the live login re-saved first.
- Claude Code account switchers compared
An honest comparison of claude-swap, clauth, swapdex, Claude Switcher, CCSwitcher and yoink: platforms, other tools, usage display, auto-switch, license.
- yoink vs claude-swap
claude-swap is a Claude-only switcher with usage tracking and auto-rotation. yoink adds Codex, Kimi, Gemini and Copilot logins and providers in 13 agents.
- yoink vs CC Switch
CC Switch is a GUI-first desktop app with a routing proxy and many presets. yoink is a terminal-first CLI that writes native configs for 13 coding agents.