Installation

Get Claude Code installed on your system in seconds.

Using Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install --cask claude-code

Using npm (All platforms)

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Windows users: Use PowerShell, Command Prompt, or Windows Terminal. After installation, you may need to restart your terminal or add the npm global bin directory to your PATH.

If claude command isn’t recognized after installation:

• PowerShell: Add to PATH via System Properties → Environment Variables
• Or use: npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code instead of claude

Verify Installation

claude --version

Windows: Use cmd, PowerShell, or Git Bash. All commands in this guide work the same across terminals.

You should see the version number printed. You’re ready to go!

First Steps

Authenticate

Run Claude Code for the first time:

claude

Follow the authentication prompts to connect to your Claude account.

Your First Command

Try asking Claude to help with something simple:

claude "Create a hello.txt file with 'Hello World'"

Windows (PowerShell): If double quotes cause issues, use:

claude 'Create a hello.txt file with "Hello World"'

Claude will:

1. Understand your request
2. Use the Write tool to create the file
3. Ask for your approval (unless you’re in auto-approve mode)
4. Execute the action

Explore Your Environment

Claude Code can see your current directory and project structure. Try:

claude "What files are in this directory?"

Claude will use file system tools to explore and report back.

Common Tasks

Here are some common tasks you can accomplish with Claude Code:

Windows users: All commands work identically on Windows. Claude Code handles path differences automatically (forward slashes / vs backslashes \).

File Operations

Create files:

claude "Create a README.md with a project description"

Edit files:

claude "Add error handling to main.py"

Search code:

claude "Find all TODO comments in this project"

Git Workflows

Create commits:

claude "Review my changes and create a commit"

Create pull requests:

claude "Create a PR for my current branch"

Code Generation

Generate boilerplate:

claude "Create a React component called UserProfile"

Add tests:

claude "Write tests for the authentication module"

Debugging

Find bugs:

claude "Why isn't this function returning the expected value?"

Analyze errors:

claude "Explain this error message and how to fix it"

What’s Next?

Configuration & Advanced Workflows → Claude CLI Architecture Guide — Three-level hierarchy, agent orchestration, production patterns

Programmatic Automation → Agent SDK — Build autonomous agents with Python/TypeScript for CI/CD and custom toolchains

Reference → Troubleshooting | Official Documentation