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'