Claudock vs CC Switch

CC Switch manages twelve coding CLIs, including Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI. It switches API providers in one click and keeps MCP servers, skills and prompts in sync across them. It's the most widely used tool in this space, with a release every day or two.

Claudock works with Claude Code only and covers every part of its config folder, ~/.claude, including the parts CC Switch leaves alone: hooks, permission rules, agents, slash commands, plugins, memory and plans. Pick CC Switch if you switch providers or use more than one CLI. Pick Claudock to see and change everything Claude Code loads. Many people will want both.

One CLI in depth, or many CLIs

CC Switch is built around what coding CLIs share: an API provider, MCP servers, skills and a prompt file. It keeps one list of each and syncs it to the tools you choose. That's the right shape if you use Claude Code and Codex, or move between Anthropic's API and a relay.

Claudock is built around what only Claude Code has. Hooks run by event and matcher. Permission rules come in allow, ask and deny lists. There are agents, slash commands, plugins, memory and plans, and two settings files with dozens of keys. Claudock gives each of these its own screen. CC Switch's README says hooks, plugins and permissions are left alone when you switch providers, and doesn't describe a way to edit them.

Profiles and providers

CC Switch keeps one config folder per tool, which you can point elsewhere in Settings, for example into WSL. It switches providers inside that folder.

Claudock's profiles are separate Claude Code folders, each started with its own CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, such as a work setup and a personal one. You switch between them from the title bar, and each keeps its own settings, sessions, limits and backups. The menu bar shows the open profile's limit and every profile's waiting sessions. Profiles never switch logins or providers.

Skills and MCP servers

CC Switch finds and installs skills from skills.sh, GitHub or a ZIP, checks them for updates and syncs them to several tools. Its MCP panel shares servers across tools and imports the ones you have.

Claudock doesn't install skills. It shows the ones you have, turns each on or off through Claude Code's skillOverrides setting, and lets you edit, duplicate or Trash them. For MCP it edits the servers in ~/.claude.json. Claude Code rewrites that file while it runs, so Claudock re-reads it just before writing and changes only the server you edited.

Claudock's Context screen shows roughly how many tokens each skill and MCP server adds to every session, from what Claude Code recorded at the start of your latest one, with a switch on each row. A skill switched off drops out of Claude's list but still runs when you type its /name. CC Switch's README doesn't mention context cost.

Limits and usage

Both put your limits in the menu bar or tray. CC Switch shows how much subscription quota is left, with a reset countdown. Claudock shows the 5-hour and weekly percentages exactly as Claude Code reports them, after one Connect step, and never estimates one. Without it, or on Windows, it shows the tokens used in each window, counted from your transcripts.

CC Switch also turns your session logs into a usage dashboard: tokens, cache hit rate, spend by provider and model, and a heat map. Claudock puts one estimate on each week: what it would have cost at Anthropic's API prices, beside the plan you pick. It also shows activity, with a 26-week heat map, and stats you can post as an image.

Sessions

Both search past sessions, show them for reading, export them to Markdown and copy a resume command. CC Switch's reading view goes further: each turn folds into a one-line summary, failed steps are marked, and an outline sits beside it.

Claudock keeps the sessions Claude Code would delete. By default Claude Code removes a transcript 30 days after it was last touched. Claudock archives every transcript, with hard links where the disk allows, so the archive takes almost no extra space and old sessions stay searchable, readable and resumable.

It also watches the sessions running now. Once connected, it shows which ones are working, done, or waiting for you, and sends one alert when a session starts waiting for a permission or an answer.

Safety and undo

CC Switch backs up each config file the first time it rewrites it, makes a full backup every 24 hours, and can sync to WebDAV or S3.

Claudock saves a snapshot every time it writes a file, so every change can be undone, and you can diff any snapshot against the current file. Writes are atomic, JSON is checked before it's saved, and deletes go to the OS Trash. Its one Connect step comes off with one Disconnect, which leaves settings.json byte for byte as it was if nothing else has changed it since. It never reads .credentials.json.

Install and maturity

CC Switch has signed and notarized macOS builds, installers for every OS and package manager, and it updates itself. If you want something proven, that's CC Switch.

Claudock is a young beta. It runs with npx claudock, and npm downloads don't carry the macOS quarantine flag or the Windows Mark of the Web, so there's no security warning. Its installers aren't signed, so their first launch needs one extra click. It tells you when a newer release is out but doesn't update itself.

Who CC Switch is best for

• You switch between Anthropic's API, Bedrock, relays or other providers.
• You use Codex, Gemini CLI or another CLI alongside Claude Code.
• You want to install skills from a store and keep MCP servers in sync across tools.
• You want a full usage dashboard, or a richer session reading view.

Who Claudock is best for

• You use Claude Code only and have customised it: hooks, permission rules, agents, commands, plugins.
• You want to read and edit settings.json as a form, with undo for every change.
• You run several sessions and want to know when one is waiting for you.
• Your ~/.claude has grown and you want to see what's taking the space.
• You keep separate Claude Code setups, such as work and personal.
• You want sessions kept after Claude Code's cleanup deletes them.

Using both

They change different parts of the same files. When you switch providers, CC Switch reads settings.json and changes only the provider keys, such as the endpoint, key and model, in place. Claudock re-reads the file before each change, writes only the key you edited, and won't save a whole file over a newer version of it. So a hook you add in Claudock survives a provider switch, and the other way round. With Claudock profiles, CC Switch changes only the folder it's set to.

Switching from CC Switch

There's nothing to move. Claudock reads ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json directly, so whatever CC Switch has written there shows up in Claudock. CC Switch's own data, such as its provider list, prompt library and backups, stays in CC Switch's folder.

To look before you trust it with your real folder, clone the repo and run npm run dev. It opens on a generated fake config. npm run dev:real opens your real ~/.claude with every write turned off.

FAQ

Does Claudock switch API providers?

No. It edits Claude Code's config, but it has no provider presets, proxy or failover. Its profiles switch between whole Claude Code folders, not providers. Use CC Switch for that.

Does Claudock work with Codex or Gemini CLI?

No. Only Claude Code.

Can I use Claudock and CC Switch together?

Yes. CC Switch changes only its provider keys in settings.json and leaves the rest alone. Claudock re-reads the file before each change and won't save over a newer version of it.

Are either of them official?

No. Neither is made by or affiliated with Anthropic.

See also Claude Code GUIs in 2026 and ccusage with a GUI.

Facts about CC Switch come from github.com/farion1231/cc-switch (README, releases, SECURITY.md and the code that writes settings.json), checked 28 October 2026. If something here is wrong or out of date, open an issue and it will be fixed.