Claude Code Guide

A Mac setup guide for building apps, websites, and cool stuff with AI — no coding experience needed.

01

Create a Claude Account

First things first — you need a Claude account.

Pro Plan Required

Go to claude.ai
Click Sign up and create your account (you can use Google or email)
Once signed in, subscribe to the Pro plan ($20/month) — Claude Code requires a paid plan

The Pro plan gives you access to Claude Code plus the chat app. You can cancel anytime.

02

Open Terminal

A window where you type commands to your Mac. We'll only need it for initial setup — we'll set up a proper code editor on the next page.

Press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight. Type Terminal and press Enter.

A window with a blinking cursor appears. This is where you'll paste the first few setup commands. To paste: Cmd + V.

Quick Jargon Check

If you're new here, these words might sound scary. They aren't:

Terminal: An app where you type commands to your Mac instead of clicking buttons.
Folder / Directory: These are the same thing. mkdir means "make folder."
Command: A specific line of text you paste into Terminal to make it do something.
CLI: Stands for "Command Line Interface"—it's just a program that runs inside Terminal.

03

Install Homebrew

Homebrew is a tool that lets you install other tools. Paste this and press Enter:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

It will ask for your Mac password (the one you use to log in). You won't see characters as you type — that's normal. Type it and press Enter. Then wait.

After it finishes

Look at the last few lines of output. It will say "Next steps" and show you two commands to run. They look like this — copy and paste each one as a single line:

echo >> ~/.zprofile && echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile

eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

If Homebrew shows slightly different commands, use those instead of the ones above.

04

Install Node.js

Node.js lets you run JavaScript projects on your Mac. You'll need it for most web projects.

brew install node

Wait for it to finish. That's it.

05

Set Up Git & GitHub

Git saves snapshots of your code so you never lose work. GitHub stores your code online. You need both.

Install Git and the GitHub CLI

brew install git gh

Create a GitHub account

Go to github.com and sign up. It's free. Come back here when you're done.

Tell Git who you are

Replace "Your Name" and the email with your actual name and the email you used for GitHub:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

git config --global user.email "you@email.com"

Log in to GitHub from Terminal

gh auth login

It will ask you questions. Use your arrow keys and Enter to select:

GitHub.com
HTTPS
Yes (authenticate Git with your GitHub credentials)
Login with a web browser

It shows a code. Press Enter to open your browser, paste the code, and click Authorize.

06

Install Claude Code

One command. No other software needed.

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

Wait for it to finish. Then quit Terminal (Cmd + Q) and reopen it. Verify:

claude --version

See a version number? You're good.

This is the official installer from Anthropic. It auto-updates, so you never have to update manually.

Up Next VS Code

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01

Download & Install

VS Code is a free code editor. It's where you'll see your files, watch Claude make changes, and build everything.

Go to code.visualstudio.com
Click the big Download button for Mac
Open the downloaded .zip file
Drag Visual Studio Code into your Applications folder

02

Install the Claude Code Extension

This connects Claude Code to VS Code so it can edit your files and show changes live.

Open VS Code
Click the Extensions icon (four squares) on the left sidebar
Search for "Claude Code"
Click Install on the one from Anthropic

03

Open Claude Code

Claude Code runs in a terminal inside VS Code. To make it easier to use, drag it up to the top tab bar so it sits alongside your files.

Press Ctrl + ` to open VS Code's terminal (a panel appears at the bottom)
Type claude and press Enter to start Claude Code
See this small tab at the top of the terminal panel? zsh Click and drag it upward into the main editor area where file tabs normally appear. Let go when you see a blue highlight.

Now Claude Code lives as a tab at the top — right alongside your files. You can click between tabs to switch between Claude and your code.

04

Download the Claude App

Separate from Claude Code, there's also a Claude chat app. You'll use it to think through ideas before telling Claude Code what to build.

Go to claude.ai/download
Install the Mac app and sign in with your Claude account

05

Set Up Your Two-Desktop Workflow

The best way to work: Claude chat on one screen for questions, VS Code with Claude Code on another for building.

With the Claude app open, hover over the green button (top-left corner) and click "Enter Full Screen".
Switch to VS Code and do the same — green button, "Enter Full Screen".
Swipe left or right with three fingers on your trackpad to jump between them.

Stuck on something? Swipe to Claude chat and ask
Got an answer? Swipe back to VS Code and tell Claude Code what to build

Up Next First Project

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01

Create a project folder

In VS Code, click the Explorer icon (two files) in the left sidebar, then click Open Folder. Create a new folder called my-first-project anywhere you like, then open it.

The left sidebar now shows your empty folder. This is where Claude will create files for you.

02

Launch Claude Code

Open Claude Code in VS Code's terminal and drag it to the top tab bar (just like you set up on the VS Code page).

Press Ctrl + ` to open the terminal
Type claude and press Enter
Drag the terminal tab up to the top bar

First time? It'll open your browser to log in. After that, you'll see a > prompt. You're in.

03

Tell it what to build

Type a prompt and hit Enter. Try this one:

Build me a simple website with a welcome page and a nice design

Claude will ask permission before writing files. Type y to approve.

04

See what you built

Claude is still running in one terminal tab. You need a second terminal to run your site.

Click the + button next to your terminal tabs (bottom of VS Code) to open a new terminal
Navigate to your project folder:

cd ~/my-first-project

Then start the dev server:

npm run dev

It'll show a URL like http://localhost:3000 — open that in your browser to see your site.

Press Ctrl + C to stop the server when you're done. If npm run dev doesn't work, ask Claude: "how do I run this?"

Up Next Daily Basics

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The AI Mindset: Chat vs. Code

It's important to know which Claude to talk to:

Claude App / Chat: Best for thinking. Ask it "How should I structure this?" or "What's the best way to build a menu?"
Claude Code (Terminal): Best for doing. Tell it "Build that menu we just talked about" or "Fix the bug in this file."

Think of the Chat as your Architect and Claude Code as your Builder.

Start Claude Code

Open your project folder in VS Code (click the Explorer icon in the left sidebar → Open Folder).

Press Ctrl + ` to open the terminal, type claude, and drag the terminal tab up to the top bar. Type what you want and hit Enter.

Resume where you left off

Closed Terminal? Pick up your last conversation:

claude --continue

Browse past conversations

Pick from a list of previous sessions:

claude --resume

Quick one-off question

Don't want a full session? Get an answer and exit immediately:

claude -p "what does this project do?"

Permissions

Claude always asks before changing files:

yYes, allow this

nNo, don't do it

aAlways allow this type (this session)

Slash commands

Type these at the > prompt:

`/help`	Show all commands
`/clear`	Start fresh
`/compact`	Compress conversation
`/commit`	Create a git commit
`/cost`	Show how much this session has cost
`/exit`	Leave Claude Code

Exiting

Type /exit or press Ctrl + C twice.

Troubleshooting

If things aren't working as expected, try these common fixes:

"Command not found: claude" Try source ~/.zshrc or restart your terminal.

Permission denied Ensure you're in a folder you have access to. Don't use sudo with Claude.

"Rate limit reached" Claude Code shares your Claude Pro limits. Take a short break or check your plan.

Authentication expired Run claude auth logout then claude auth login to re-authenticate.

Up Next Memory

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What is CLAUDE.md?

A plain text file that Claude reads automatically at the start of every conversation. You don't need to ask it to read the file — it just does.

Think of it as your project's instruction manual for Claude. It tells Claude how you like things done so you don't have to repeat yourself every session.

Where CLAUDE.md files live

You can have multiple CLAUDE.md files in different places. Claude loads all of them and merges the instructions together.

`~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`	Personal, all projects — your global preferences (e.g. "be concise")
`CLAUDE.md`	Project root — shared with your team via git (e.g. "use 2-space indentation")
`CLAUDE.local.md`	Personal, this project — auto-gitignored, for your private preferences
`.claude/rules/*.md`	Modular rules — split instructions into topic files (e.g. `testing.md`, `api.md`)

More specific files override broader ones. Project rules beat personal rules.

Create your first CLAUDE.md

The fastest way: run /init inside Claude Code. Claude scans your project and generates a starter CLAUDE.md for you.

/init

Or just ask Claude to create one for you:

Create a CLAUDE.md for this project with our conventions

What to put in it

How to run things: "Use npm run dev to start the app"
Your preferences: "Always use dark mode colors" or "Keep code simple"
Things Claude gets wrong: Corrections so it doesn't repeat mistakes
Project context: What the project is and how it's organized

What NOT to put in it

File lists: Claude can find files itself
Code style: Claude reads your existing code and follows it
Obvious things: "write clean code" — Claude already does this
Secrets: Use CLAUDE.local.md for personal stuff (it's gitignored)

Keep it short — under 100 lines. If it's too long, Claude loses important rules in the noise.

Auto-Memory: Claude's Notebook

Separate from CLAUDE.md, Claude also keeps its own notes called auto-memory. This is stuff Claude learns while working with you — project patterns, debugging insights, your preferences.

Auto-memory is stored in ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ and the first 200 lines load automatically each session.

"Remember this"

Tell Claude to save something specific to auto-memory:

Remember that I want my website to have a blue and white theme

Claude saves it and recalls it in future sessions automatically.

Manage your memory

Type /memory to open the memory file selector. You can view, edit, or clear what Claude remembers.

/memory

CLAUDE.md vs Auto-Memory: Quick Reference

CLAUDE.md	You write it. Instructions & rules. Like a project handbook.
Auto-memory	Claude writes it. Things it learned. Like Claude's notebook.
/init	Auto-generate a CLAUDE.md based on your project
/memory	View and manage Claude's auto-memory
"Remember this"	Tell Claude to save something specific to auto-memory

Up Next Skills

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What can skills do?

Generate PDFs, Word docs, or spreadsheets
Follow specific coding patterns
Run specialized workflows (testing, deploying)
Connect to external tools & services

Find & install skills

Inside Claude Code, type:

/find-skills

Claude searches for matching skills and helps install them.

Using a skill

Once installed, trigger a skill by typing its slash command. For example, if you installed a design skill:

/frontend-design

Skills add new slash commands. Built-in commands like /commit and /help work without installing anything.

Where skills live

`~/.claude/skills/`	Your personal skills — available everywhere
`.claude/skills/`	Project-specific skills

Browse the Skills Marketplace

Go to skills.sh — it's an open directory of community-built skills you can install with one command.

Popular skills include:

frontend-design — UI/UX design principles
vercel-react-best-practices — React patterns from Vercel
web-design-guidelines — Design standards and accessibility

Each skill listing shows the exact install command. For example:

npx skillsadd anthropics/frontend-design

Copy the install command from the skill's page on skills.sh — don't guess the name.

Up Next Tips & Tricks

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Plan before building

Press Shift + Tab to enter plan mode. Claude will research your code and propose a plan before writing anything. You approve first, then it executes.

Be specific

"make a login page"

"Create a login page with email and password fields, a submit button, validation errors, using our Button component from src/components"

Make Claude think harder

Add these words to your prompt to control how deeply Claude thinks:

"think" Moderate thinking — good for multi-file changes

"think hard" Deep thinking — for complex bugs or architecture decisions

"ultrathink" Maximum brainpower — for critical, high-stakes decisions

Example: "think hard about why this login page keeps crashing and fix it"

What Claude can read

Claude Code isn't just for writing code. You can throw all kinds of files at it:

Spreadsheets & Excel: Analyze data, find patterns, create summaries
PDFs: Extract text, summarize documents, compare versions
Images & screenshots: Read error messages, interpret charts, explain what's on screen
Writing: Draft emails, reports, meeting notes, documentation

Pipe things in

Send files or command output directly:

cat error.log | claude -p "explain what went wrong"

The | ("pipe") sends one command's output into the next.

Prompt Recipes

Try these specific prompts for better results:

Clean up: "Rewrite this file to be easier to read and simpler, but keep it working the same way."

Check: "Check my work for any mistakes and tell me if there's a better way to do it."

Explain: "Explain how this code works like I'm five years old."

Fix: "I'm seeing an error message that says [paste error here]. Can you find out why and fix it?"

Updating

Claude Code updates itself automatically. You don't need to do anything.

Up Next Advanced

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I made this guide because I was tired of explaining the same setup to each one of you fools one by one. But I'm still figuring out the advanced stuff myself.

If you've made it this far, congrats — you're now roughly as skilled as I am. We in this together.

Things I know exist but haven't fully figured out yet

MCP servers — connecting Claude Code to databases, APIs, and other tools
Custom hooks — shell commands that auto-run when Claude does things
Headless mode — running Claude Code in scripts and CI/CD pipelines
Multi-agent workflows — multiple Claude instances working together
Custom permission policies — fine-grained control over what Claude can do

When I figure these out, I'll update this page. Or more likely, I'll ask Claude Code to update it for me.

In the meantime, the official docs are at docs.anthropic.com. Good luck in there.