Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool that works directly in your terminal to understand, edit, debug, test, and build software from natural-language instructions
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Create Your Claude Account
First, create or access your Claude account.
Go to:
You can sign in using the available account options on Claude.
What to do:
- Open Claude.
- Click Sign Up if you don’t already have an account.
- Complete the registration process.
- Verify your account if requested.
- Sign in.
Step 2: Install Node.js
Claude Code requires Node.js 18 or newer.
Go to:
What to do:
- Open the Node.js website.
- Download a current LTS version.
- Install Node.js.
- Keep the default installation options.
- Restart your terminal after installation.
Then check that Node.js is installed:
You should see a version number.
Step 3: Open Terminal
Now open your computer’s terminal.
Windows
You can use Git Bash or WSL. Anthropic documents both approaches for Windows.
macOS
Open:
Applications → Utilities → Terminal
Linux
Open your preferred terminal.
Step 4: Install Claude Code
In your terminal, enter:
Then press Enter.
Anthropic’s official documentation lists this as the standard npm installation command and specifically advises not to use sudo npm install -g.
After installation, you can check the installation with:
Step 5: Open Your Coding Project
Claude Code works with your project files, so go to the folder containing your code.
For example:
If your project is on the Desktop, you can navigate to it with cd.
For example:
Then check your files:
On Windows Git Bash or WSL, the exact path can differ.
Step 6: Start Claude Code and Login
Inside your project folder, run:
Claude Code will start its interactive terminal interface. Anthropic’s official quick-start flow is essentially:
When authentication is requested, follow the browser/OAuth instructions.
Depending on your account setup, authentication can use:
- Anthropic Console
- Claude account with Pro or Max
- Enterprise options such as Amazon Bedrock or Google Vertex AI
Step 7: Give Claude Code Your First Prompt
After Claude Code opens, you can type a normal-language request.
For example:
Or:
Claude Code can inspect your project and work with the codebase directly rather than requiring you to manually paste every file into the conversation.
Step 8: Ask Claude Code to Build or Fix Something
Now you can give Claude an actual coding task.
For example:
Or:
Or:
Claude Code can help with coding, debugging, testing, refactoring, Git operations, and understanding unfamiliar code.
When Claude wants to perform an action, carefully review the requested permission before allowing it.
Step 9: Initialize Your Project with /init
For a new project, Anthropic recommends using:
This helps Claude Code create a CLAUDE.md project guide containing information and instructions about your codebase.
You can then tell Claude things such as:
CLAUDE.md can help Claude understand your project’s conventions and requirements.
Step 10: Continue, Update and Resume Your Work
After you finish a session, you can return to the project later.
To start Claude Code again:
To continue the most recent conversation:
You can also use:
to update Claude Code.
Anthropic’s CLI reference documents claude -c, claude --continue, claude --resume, and claude update for managing sessions and updates.
