Quick Start & Installation
Claude Code installs in under a minute on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Four steps from zero to your first working session.
Before you start
You need two things. Both are free.
- A Claude account at claude.ai — Claude Code opens your browser on first run to log you in.
- A terminal — Terminal on Mac/Linux, PowerShell or Command Prompt on Windows. No Node.js or other dependencies are required.
Install and run your first session
Install Claude Code
Pick your platform. Anthropic's native installer sets everything up with one command.
macOS, Linux, WSL:
Windows PowerShell:
Windows CMD:
After install, open a new terminal and run claude --version to confirm.
Authenticate
Run claude for the first time. It opens your browser so you can log in with your Claude account. You only do this once.
What the browser shows
Authorize Claude Code
Claude Code is requesting access to your Claude account so it can run from the terminal.
You will be redirected back to your terminal.
Navigate to a project
Claude Code works inside a specific folder. Navigate to an existing project or create a fresh one to try it out.
claude from inside your project folder — not from your home directory. The current folder is Claude's workspace.Your first task
Give Claude a simple, concrete instruction. Creating a file is a good way to confirm everything works.
Check your folder — hello.txt will be there.
What just happened
- Claude created a real file on your machine — not a preview or copy-paste block.
- It read the file back to verify the content was written correctly.
- You used plain English — no special syntax to learn.
Common issues
If something does not work, check these first.
| Error | Fix |
|---|---|
| curl: command not found (Windows CMD) | curl ships with Windows 10 build 1803+. On older versions, use PowerShell or WinGet instead. |
| Permission denied / cannot write to /usr/local | On Mac/Linux, run the installer with sudo: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | sudo bash |
| command not found: claude | Open a new terminal window so PATH updates apply. If it still fails, add the install path manually. |
| Browser did not open for auth | Run claude auth login manually. |
Before you continue
- Install with the native script, Homebrew, or WinGet — no Node.js required.
- Authenticate once via browser; credentials persist on your machine.
- Always start Claude Code from inside your project folder.
- A simple file-creation task confirms read/write access is working.
- Next: how the agent loop works under the hood.
What's Next
Claude Code is installed and running. Next: understand what's actually happening under the hood when you send it a task.