Run multiple accounts
of any Mac app, side by side.

It makes a second (or third, or tenth) copy of an app on your Mac, each with its own data folder. Because each copy has its own cookies, settings and sessions, you can sign in with a different account in each one and keep them all open at once.

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In Terminal, open -n -a "App Name" starts a second instance of an app even if one is already running. The catch: both instances run as the same macOS user and use the same data folder, so they are usually signed in to the same account, and some apps refuse to open twice. Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers also accept a --user-data-dir flag that starts a copy with a separate profile folder.

How to run two instances of an app on Mac

Chrome profiles only separate Chrome: they are great for two Google accounts, but they don’t help with desktop apps like Claude, Slack or Cursor. A second macOS user separates everything, but you see one user at a time, so the two accounts can’t sit side by side. A virtual machine runs a whole second copy of macOS, which takes many gigabytes of disk and a lot of memory. MacDualSpace gives one app a second copy with its own data folder, in your own desktop, next to the first.

Chrome profiles vs MacDualSpace A second macOS user vs MacDualSpace

No. In macOS, Spaces are the extra desktops you create in Mission Control to spread your windows out. Every app on them is still one app, signed in to one account. In MacDualSpace, a Space is a separate copy of an app with its own data folder, so it can be signed in to a different account. The two work fine together: you can keep each copy on its own desktop if you like.

They do, and if switching inside the app works for you, use it. Slack lets you sign in to several workspaces and switch between them, and Discord and Telegram Desktop have built-in account switchers. A clone gives each account its own copy of the app instead: its own Dock icon, windows you can keep side by side, notifications labeled with the Space name and color, and a data folder that is separate from the others.

That’s the plan: a free version that runs two Spaces of any app, forever, with Space Sets, macOS Focus filters and App Lock included, and a one-time $29 Pro with unlimited Spaces, shortcuts, custom icons and backups. Nothing is on sale yet, and final pricing is confirmed at launch.

A Set groups the Spaces you use together, like Claude · Work, Slack · Work and Chrome · Work. Open, quit or mute a whole Set at once, or focus on it: its Spaces open and your other Spaces are left alone, muted or quit, as you choose. Stop focusing and everything it muted can alert you again. Sets are free.

Yes. In System Settings › Focus, add MacDualSpace’s Focus filter to a Focus such as Work and pick a Set. When the Focus turns on, that Set opens and your other Spaces go quiet; when it ends, they can alert you again. The Shortcuts app has Focus on Space Set, Open Space Set and Quit Space Set actions too.

Yes. Turn on App Lock for any Space and its windows stay covered, and typing and clicks don’t reach it, until you unlock it with Touch ID, your Mac password, or a passcode just for that Space. It locks when the copy opens, however you open it, and again after a while away or when your Mac sleeps. A passcode is never stored, only a salted hash. It’s a privacy cover for the app, not encryption: anyone signed in to your Mac account could still read its files, so use FileVault for the disk. App Lock is free.

No. There is no MacDualSpace account. You only sign in to the apps you clone, the same way you always do.

Yes. Clone Claude, sign in to your personal account in one copy and your work or Team account in the other, and keep both open side by side. Each copy keeps its own chats, projects and login.

Yes. Open a Terminal tab in any Space and command-line tools like Claude Code, Codex and the GitHub CLI each get their own config folder, so every Space can be signed in to a different account.

It works with most AI, chat, browser and developer apps, including the Electron and Chromium-based ones people clone most, like Claude, Codex, Cursor, Slack and Chrome. It can’t clone Apple’s own apps, iPhone and iPad apps, or iPad apps rebuilt for the Mac (Mac Catalyst apps, such as WhatsApp from the App Store). For those, use the web version in a Chrome or Arc Space. Other App Store apps are in beta: most work, but push notifications and iCloud sync stay with the original. MacDualSpace tells you before you clone if an app isn’t supported.

Never. Your original app and its data stay exactly as they are. Each copy keeps its own data in a separate folder.

No. Every Space has its own folder for cookies, cache, local storage and settings. One copy can’t read another copy’s sessions.

Yes, and each one is labeled with the Space name and color, so you know which account it’s for. You can mute any Space on its own, or let a Set mute the others while you focus.

MacDualSpace itself is a lightweight menu bar app, with no kernel extensions or system daemons. Each copy you open uses about as much memory as the app normally does.

Copies use the app you already have installed. When the original updates, MacDualSpace rebuilds its Spaces with your logins and data kept (open ones update when they quit), and its Updates page shows anything waiting. MacDualSpace checks for its own updates once a day, and you can turn that off.

Choose Report Bug at the bottom of MacDualSpace’s sidebar, or Help › Report a Bug. You see exactly what is sent before you send it, and we reply by email. You can also write to support@macdualspace.com.

Right-click its Space and choose Delete Space. Its folder, including any logins saved in it, is removed from your Mac.