CC Switch: one window for every AI CLI's config

If you run Claude Code against more than one provider, you know the dance: edit a dotfile, swap an API base, paste a key, restart, hope. CC Switch turns that into a click, and it does the same for Codex, Gemini CLI, and the rest. We recommend it, with one honest catch we will get to.

What it actually does

CC Switch is a small open-source desktop app that manages the boring plumbing behind AI coding CLIs in one window.

• Provider configs: keep official Anthropic, OpenRouter, a local model, and any proxy as named profiles, and switch with one click.
• Local routing: point a CLI at a different endpoint without hand-editing env vars.
• MCP and skills: manage which servers and skills are wired into each tool from one place.
• Sessions and usage: see what ran where, and what it cost.

It covers Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode and more, so one window manages the whole bench instead of one tool at a time.

Why we recommend it

We switch stacks constantly: Claude for most of it, a local model when the work is private, OpenRouter when we want a specific model. Before CC Switch that meant living in dotfiles. Now it is a profile and a click, and nothing leaks between projects.

The one honest catch

CC Switch is made in China, and a tool that holds your provider profiles sits very close to your API keys and your traffic. Our first reaction was the reflexive, slightly paranoid one. So we did the homework before recommending it.

• It is open source, so you can read exactly what it does with your config.
• It is a local desktop app. Your profiles and keys stay on your machine, not on someone's server.
• We do not route anything sensitive through a proxy we do not control, and neither should you. Use it to manage configs, not to pipe client work through an unknown endpoint.

That is the rule for any tool that touches keys, wherever it is built. CC Switch passed it.

The honest tradeoffs

• The UI leads in Chinese, with English and Japanese available. Readable, but the original language shows.
• It is young and moving fast, so expect the occasional rough edge.
• It is one more thing between you and your keys. Keep it updated and review what it touches.

Next step: if you juggle CLI providers, try CC Switch for a week. More of what we reach for is on the tools page.