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Setup guide

How to Set Up Claude Code on Your Computer

Install Claude Code, open it in your terminal, and let it set up the rest. No experience needed.

Reading time
6 min read · about 10 minutes to follow
Difficulty
Beginner
Last updated
Updated
Tools used
Claude Code
GitHub
Docker
On this page:What you need
  1. What you need
  2. 1Open the terminal
  3. 2Install Claude Code
  4. 3Start Claude Code
  5. 4Let Claude set up the rest
  6. 5Find your way around
  7. What's next

Claude Code is Claude working on your own computer: it writes code, runs it and fixes what breaks, while you tell it what you want in plain language. This guide gets it running. You type four short commands yourself, and Claude takes care of everything after that.

What you need

  • A Claude subscription

    Any paid plan, such as Pro. It includes Claude Code, which builds the app, and Claude Design. The free plan does not include Claude Code.

    Compare Claude plans

  • A GitHub account

    Your code is stored in a GitHub repository, so every change is saved and you can always go back.

    Create a free GitHub account

And a Mac, a Windows PC or a Linux computer that you can install programs on.

Step 1: Open the terminal

The terminal is a window where you type instructions to your computer instead of clicking. You only need it to start Claude Code. After that, you talk to Claude in plain language.

  • Mac: press Cmd and Space, type Terminal and press Enter.
  • Windows: open the Start menu, type PowerShell and press Enter.
  • Linux: open the Terminal app from your applications.

A window opens with a blinking cursor. That is where you type the commands in this guide.

Step 2: Install Claude Code

Copy the command for your computer, paste it into the terminal and press Enter. It downloads Claude Code and installs it. 

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

When it is done, close the terminal window and open a new one. If something goes wrong, the official installation guide has more detail for each system.

Claude Code also comes as a desktop app. We recommend the terminal version: it supports more plugins and options, including the ones our tutorials use.

Step 3: Start Claude Code

Claude Code works inside a folder: everything it makes for a project goes there. Make a folder for your first project, go into it, and start Claude:

Terminal

mkdir my-first-app
cd my-first-app
claude

Run the three lines one at a time. They work the same on Mac, Windows and Linux.

The first time, Claude Code asks a few setup questions, such as which colour theme you like. Then it opens your browser to log in: use the same account as your Claude subscription.

The first time you start Claude Code, it asks which colour theme you like.

Step 4: Let Claude set up the rest

To build apps, Claude needs a few more tools: Git to save every version of your work, GitHub to store it online, and Docker to run your app and its database on your computer, the same way they will run online. You do not need to know how any of them work. Paste this into Claude Code:

Prompt

Set up your computer

This is the first time you talk to Claude in plain language. It works out what your computer already has.

Set up my computer so you can build and run a web app for me. Check whether Git, the GitHub CLI and Docker Desktop are installed, and install what is missing. Explain each step before you run it, and tell me when you need my password or a click from me. Then log me in to GitHub with the GitHub CLI, start Docker Desktop, and confirm that everything works.

What you should see: Claude checks what is installed and installs the rest, asking for your password or a click where needed. You log in to GitHub in your browser. At the end Claude confirms that Git, GitHub and Docker all work.

Docker Desktop has to be running whenever you work on an app on your own computer. If Claude ever says it cannot reach Docker, open Docker Desktop and try again.

Step 5: Find your way around

You talk to Claude Code like you would to a colleague. Before it changes a file or runs a command, it asks for permission and explains what it is about to do. Answer yes, or say no and tell it what you want instead.

Enter
sends your message. For a new line inside a message, press Shift and Enter together.
Esc
stops Claude in the middle of something, so you can correct it.
/
at the start of a message opens Claude Code's own commands, such as /help.
/exit
closes Claude Code. Your folder and everything in it stay where they are.

To come back to a project later, open the terminal, go into its folder with cd my-first-app and type claude.

What's next

You are ready to build. Start with something small, so you see the whole loop once: you ask, Claude builds, you try it.

Prompt

Your first app

A tiny app you can throw away afterwards. The point is to see Claude work from start to finish.

Build a simple to-do list web app in this folder and start it on my computer. Keep it small: one page, no login. Tell me the address to open.

What you should see: Claude explains its plan, writes the app, starts it, and gives you an address such as http://localhost:3000 to open in your browser.

Troubleshooting

“command not found: claude” after installing

Close the terminal window and open a new one, so it picks up the new program. If it still is not found, follow the installation guide linked in step 2 for your system.

Claude asks for my password

Installing programs needs your computer password, the one you use to log in. Type it in the terminal and press Enter. You will not see the characters while you type: that is normal.

Is it safe to let Claude run commands on my computer?

Claude asks before it runs anything, and tells you what the command does. Read the question, and say no if something does not make sense: you can always ask it to explain first. Working inside a folder for each project keeps its changes in one place.

Keep learning

Learn Claude Code terminal workflow Run Claude in the terminal as a workflow, not a chat window: a branch per task, a project instruction file, sandboxed permissions and reading the diff. Learn Getting better at AI coding Vibe coding best practices that hold up: describe the contract, work in checkable steps, write context down, review at the seams, keep feedback fast.

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