Profiles

A profile is an isolated config directory (~/.arc/profiles/<name>/) paired with a target agent tool and auth method. Each profile has its own credentials, settings, and environment.

Create

arc create <name>
arc create <name> --tool claude --auth-type oauth
arc create <name> --tool gemini --auth-type api-key
arc create <name> --tool codex  --auth-type api-key

--tool defaults to claude if omitted. Profile names must be alphanumeric with hyphens, starting with a letter or number, at most 32 characters.

See Authentication for all --auth-type values.

List

arc list

Displays all profiles with their tool, auth type, and active status.

Switch Active Profile

arc use <name>

Sets the default profile used by arc launch and the shell wrapper.

Show Details

arc profile show           # Active profile
arc profile show <name>    # Named profile

Output includes tool, auth type, config directory, and env overrides.

Delete

arc profile delete <name>

Removes the profile entry from the registry and deletes the config directory.

Import

arc profile import
arc profile import --name default
arc profile import --name claude-work --from ~/.claude --tool claude
arc profile import --name gemini-work --from ~/.gemini --tool gemini

Copies an existing tool config directory into a new ARC profile. The --tool flag defaults to claude and controls which tool-specific files are handled.

Profile Inheritance

Profiles can inherit from a base profile using the inherits field. The resolved profile merges the base config with the child's overrides:

# Base profile with shared settings
arc create base --tool claude --auth-type oauth

# Child profile that inherits and overrides
arc create staging --inherits base

When a profile with inherits is launched, ARC runs resolveProfile() to merge:

1. Base profile settings (tool, auth, env, launch args)
2. Child profile overrides (anything explicitly set)

Workspace Selection

ARC supports per-repository profile auto-selection via arc.json in the project root:

{
  "profile": "work",
  "adapter": "claude-code",
  "hooks": {
    "enforcement": "warn"
  }
}

When you run arc launch inside a directory containing arc.json, the workspace config is applied on top of the active profile. See Configuration for the full schema.

Profile Resolution Order

arc which                  # Show the resolved profile source

Resolution order:

1. ARC_PROFILE env var (if set)
2. Workspace arc.json (if present in cwd or parent)
3. Active profile in ~/.arc/config.json

Status

arc status

Shows all profiles with their tool, auth method, and authentication state (authenticated, expired, missing credentials).

Data Layout

~/.arc/
  config.json              # Profile registry and active profile name
  profiles/
    <name>/                # Tool config dir (set as CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, etc.)
      .credentials.json    # OAuth tokens
      .api-key             # Plaintext API key fallback
      settings.json        # Tool settings
      .arc-shared.json     # Shared layer sync manifest

See Configuration for the full schema.