Use two accounts on the same website with Pake

Window and behavior · October 17, 2026 · 5 min read

To stay signed in to two accounts on one website, make two Pake apps. Add Another Account in the ⋯ menu of My Apps copies the first app's settings and icon under a new name, and the copy starts signed out, because each app has its own identity.

A website remembers you with cookies and local storage that belong to a browser profile. Pake apps have no profile picker, so the separation comes from the app itself. Every Pake app carries an identifier, and the desktop app builds it the same way the command line does: com.pake.a followed by the first six characters of an MD5 hash of the address and the app name. Change the name and the identifier changes, so the same website under two names becomes two different apps. If the generated identifier already belongs to another installed app, the desktop app tries the next one rather than reusing it.

On Windows the app stores its web view data in a folder named after that identifier, so two identifiers mean two folders. Add Another Account relies on this: it copies the settings and the icon, never the cookies or browser data, so the new app begins with no account signed in. The result is a new app for your license or free apps, not an edit of the first one. Separate storage is convenient for sign-ins, but it is not a separate operating system user and not a security boundary for people who share a computer.

Make the first app work before copying it

Create an app for the site, sign in, and test the task you need. If the provider refuses embedded sign-in, a second copy will not remove that restriction, and the sign-in troubleshooting guide is the place to start. This matters most for Google accounts, because Google's policy applies to the webview itself, not to how many apps you have.

Once the first app works, give it a specific name such as Project Work. Keep Incognito off, because incognito deliberately keeps no sign-ins, cookies or site data, and an account that disappears on quit defeats the purpose.

Add the second account

Open My Apps and find the first app.
Open its ⋯ menu and choose Add Another Account.
Pake opens a new draft with the original settings and icon, under a new name such as Notion 2.
Change that name to something distinct, such as Project Personal, then create the app.
Open the new app and sign in with the other account.

You can also change the icon in the draft, which is the quickest visual cue when both apps are in the Dock or taskbar at once. If you have unsaved edits in another draft, Pake asks before replacing them.

What the copy keeps and what it leaves behind

The draft starts from the first app's address, window size and options, link rule, user agent and icon, so a tuned layout carries over without redoing it. Anything tied to the first account does not: there are no cookies and no saved site data, so the second app opens signed out. Because the copy is a normal app afterwards, you can give it its own size or turn on Always on top for one account only, and later edits to one app do not change the other.

Check which account each window uses

Open both apps and look at the avatar or profile page in each. Quit them and reopen to confirm that each one still shows its own account, since a site's session length is the site's decision. Keep app names and account labels distinct when both accounts can edit similar documents, because two windows of the same site look alike at a glance.

If one app shows the wrong account, sign out inside that app and sign in again. The other app is not affected, because the two do not share cookies or site data.

When separate apps are the wrong tool

Two apps use two free-app slots or two licensed apps, and add two windows to manage. If you move between five or six accounts, a browser with profiles is a better fit. If the site offers its own account switcher and you never need both open together, one app is enough. And an app is not a way to give someone else on your computer private access, because both live in your user account.

Moving and removing

Exported settings files hold each app's name, address, options, code and icon and never include sign-ins, so importing them on a new computer gives you the same two apps signed out. On a Mac, Move to Trash leaves an app's data on the Mac. On Windows, Remove keeps sign-ins and other data unless you tick Also remove its sign-ins and other data. See moving web apps between computers and Manage your apps.

Do the same with the CLI

The CLI derives the identity from the address and the name, so different names give the same site separate apps. Replace the example address with your site after setting up the CLI.

pake https://example.com --name project-work
pake https://example.com --name project-personal

To pin the identifier yourself, the hidden --identifier option takes letters, digits, hyphens and dots, starting with a letter and ending with a letter or digit:

pake https://example.com --name project-work --identifier com.example.project.work

The CLI's --multi-instance option is different: it allows several processes of one app, not separate account identities. Keep the two names stable when rebuilding them, because the name is part of the identifier. The advanced CLI guide describes the identifier behavior.

FAQ

Can I run both accounts in one Pake app?

No. An app has one set of site data, so a second account means a second app, or signing out and in again.

No. Pake copies the app's settings and icon, never the cookies or browser data, so you sign in again in the new app.

Will it count against my free apps?

Yes. Creating the copy counts as a new app, while editing an existing app does not use a free one.