Overview & Welcome

What is Claude?

Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic. Think of it as a very capable colleague that can read, write, reason, and act - all through plain English. You describe what you need, and Claude figures out the best way to help.

Unlike a simple chatbot, Claude can hold long conversations, remember the context of a project, use tools and plugins, write and run code, and even control other software on your behalf. It is available as a web chat at claude.ai and as an API you can call from your own apps.

Claude Cowork

Desktop automation - Files - App workflows

Claude Cowork is where Claude stops just talking and starts doing. It can open files on your computer, read spreadsheets, write documents, send messages, and control other apps - all from a single instruction.

Imagine asking: "Read the sales report in my Downloads folder and summarise the top three trends." Claude finds the file, reads it, and gives you a clear summary - no copy-pasting needed.

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  File management - Claude reads, creates, moves, and organises files using simple instructions.
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  App automation - Connect Claude to Notion, Google Docs, Slack, or email and it will act on your behalf.
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  Multi-step tasks - Chain several actions together - Claude plans and executes each step in sequence.
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  Real-time monitoring - Claude can watch for events like new emails or file updates and trigger actions automatically.

Skills & Plugins

Extend Claude - Specialised packs - Custom tools

Out of the box Claude is already powerful, but Skills and Plugins let you add new abilities on top. A skill is a focused set of instructions that teaches Claude how to handle a specific type of task - for example, analysing legal contracts or generating marketing copy in a consistent brand voice.

A plugin goes further by connecting Claude to live data or external services - like searching the web, checking a live stock price, or querying your own database.

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  Skills - Pre-built instruction packs that specialise Claude for a domain - law, medicine, marketing, coding, and more.
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  Plugins - Connect Claude to live services: web search, APIs, databases, and third-party tools.
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  Build your own - Write a simple config file and Claude gains a custom ability you designed yourself.
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  Safety & permissions - Every plugin runs with strict permissions so Claude only accesses what you explicitly allow.

Claude Code

CLI tool - Runs in your terminal - Works inside your project

Claude Code is a command-line tool you install on your computer and run directly inside your project folder. It reads your actual files, writes code, fixes bugs, and runs commands - no copy-pasting required.

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  Install & launch - Windows: irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex - macOS/Linux: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash - Then run 'claude' in your project folder.
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  Write & fix code - Describe what you need - Claude edits your actual files directly.
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  Essential commands - /help, /clear, /exit, /compact - and Ctrl+C to stop mid-task.

How to Use Claude

Prompting - Models - Projects - Memory - API

Before diving into Cowork, Plugins, and Code, you need to understand the basics of how Claude thinks and how to communicate with it effectively. This module covers choosing the right model, crafting prompts that get consistent results, keeping context with Projects, and calling the API from code.

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  Choosing a model - Claude comes in sizes: Haiku is fast and cheap for simple tasks; Sonnet is the everyday workhorse; Opus handles the hardest reasoning jobs.
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  Prompt engineering - How you phrase a request changes the result. Learn techniques like role-setting, step-by-step instructions, and asking for a specific output format.
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  Projects - A Project keeps all your related conversations, files, and instructions in one place. Claude remembers context across every session inside a Project.
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  Memory - Claude's memory lets it remember facts about you - your preferences, ongoing goals, writing style - so you don't have to repeat yourself each time.
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  The API - Advanced users can call Claude directly from their own code. The API lets you embed Claude's intelligence inside any app, bot, or service.