Installation & Setup
Claude Code is a command-line tool that lets you delegate coding tasks to Claude directly from your terminal. It reads your codebase, makes changes, runs commands, and iterates — like pair programming with an AI that never gets tired.
You need Node.js 18+ installed. If you're on Mac, use Homebrew: brew install node. On Linux, use nvm.
Install globally with npm: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code. Then run 'claude' in any project directory.
Claude Code works best when you start it in the root of your project — it reads the directory structure to understand context.
Set up a CLAUDE.md file in your project root with project-specific instructions, conventions, and architecture notes. Claude Code reads this automatically.
Install Node.js 18+ if you don't have it (node --version to check)
Run: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Navigate to your project directory in the terminal
Run: claude
Authenticate with your Anthropic account when prompted
Claude Code will read your project structure and be ready to work
Create a CLAUDE.md file in your project root with project context and conventions
Try a simple task: 'look at the project structure and summarise what this codebase does'