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Troubleshooting & FAQ

Claude opened with the wrong account

Run swipe which in the same folder. If it names the wrong profile:

  • Check paths in profiles.json. The most specific matching path wins; a folder outside every path uses default.
  • swipe matches the folder's real location. If you reached it through a symlink, the link's target is what's matched.

If swipe which is right but Claude still uses the wrong account, the hook isn't active:

type claude      # bash/zsh: should say "claude is a shell function"

Get-Command claude   # PowerShell: CommandType should be Function

If it isn't, check that the swipe init line is in your startup file and open a new terminal.

Claude asks me to log in again

Claude Code ties each login to its config directory, and on macOS to the directory's exact spelling. Make config_dir match what you used before: ~/.claude-work, not a symlinked or differently cased path. For the ~/.claude profile, swipe leaves CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR unset, which is what Claude Code expects for its default.

Claude Code's docs note one exception: Claude Console sign-ins made without an API key are stored outside the config directory, so separate directories don't keep two of them apart.

The VS Code / JetBrains extension, or the desktop app, uses the wrong account

Those start Claude Code themselves and don't go through your shell, so the hook never runs. Set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in the editor's environment for that workspace if the editor supports it, or launch the editor from a terminal where you've set it:

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=$(swipe which | cut -f2) code .

For the ~/.claude profile, launch without setting it.

"conflict" or "problem(s)" after swipe sync

Something swipe didn't create is where it wants to put a file. Each line names the file and what to do. See the conflict table. Everything else was still synced.

A symlink in your source tree points at something that doesn't exist. swipe stops syncing that profile rather than guess. Fix or remove the link and sync again.

"profiles … all match"

Two profiles list paths that are the same folder on disk, often one through a symlink. Remove one, or make one more specific.

Without Developer Mode, Windows doesn't let normal users create symlinks, so swipe copies files. Turn on Developer Mode (Settings → System → For developers) and the next sync uses links for new files. Files that swipe already copied stay copies until they leave the source tree.

cmd.exe

cmd.exe has no shell functions, so there's no hook for it. Use PowerShell, Windows Terminal or Git Bash, or run swipe run directly.

Can I keep the source tree in my dotfiles repo?

Yes. Set SWIPE_HOME to the folder in your shell startup file, before the swipe init line:

export SWIPE_HOME="$HOME/dotfiles/swipe"

Does swipe send anything anywhere?

No. It reads profiles.json and your source tree, and writes only inside the config directories it manages and, for import, the source tree.