Overview & Welcome
A short map of the Master Claude Course — what each section covers and where to start if you are new.
What this course covers
Claude is Anthropic's assistant for writing, coding, and everyday tasks. This course walks through the main ways to use it: chat at claude.ai, terminal-based coding with Claude Code, desktop automation with Cowork, and extensions through Skills and Plugins.
Lessons are self-contained. You can read straight through or jump to the section that matches your work.
How to Use Claude (start here)
The opening module covers chat basics: picking a model, writing clear prompts, Projects for keeping context, memory settings, and the API for developers who want to embed Claude in their own apps.
- Model choice — Haiku for speed, Sonnet for daily work, Opus for heavy analysis
- Prompt structure — role, steps, and output format when you need consistency
- Projects — one place for related chats, files, and standing instructions
- Memory — optional facts Claude can recall across sessions
- API — call Claude from your own code when chat is not enough
Claude Cowork
Cowork runs on your desktop and can work with local files, connected apps, and multi-step workflows — not just text in a browser window.
- Read, create, and organise files from plain instructions
- Connect to tools like Notion, Google Docs, Slack, or email
- Chain steps — find a report, summarise it, draft a reply
Skills & Plugins
Skills are instruction packs that steer Claude toward a specific kind of task. Plugins connect Claude to live services — web search, APIs, databases, and other tools you enable.
- Ready-made skills for common domains (legal review, marketing copy, coding patterns)
- Plugins for real-time data and third-party integrations
- Custom skills you define in a simple config file
- Permissions you control — Claude only reaches what you allow
Claude Code
Claude Code is a CLI you run inside a project folder. It reads your repo, edits files, runs commands, and answers questions about the codebase — without copy-pasting between chat and your editor.
- Install once, then run
claudein any project - Describe a change; Claude edits the files directly
- Useful commands:
/help,/clear,/exit
Quick reference
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| How to Use Claude | Models, prompts, Projects, memory, API |
| Cowork | Files, apps, multi-step desktop tasks |
| Skills & Plugins | Domain packs and live integrations |
| Claude Code | Write, review, and test code in your repo |
Before you continue
- Four product areas: Chat, Cowork, Skills/Plugins, and Code.
- New users should start with chat basics before Cowork or Code.
- Each section has its own lessons — you do not need to read everything in one sitting.
- Next lesson: what Claude is and how it compares to other assistants.
What's Next
What Claude is, what it handles well, and how it differs from ChatGPT and Gemini.