Install Claude Code

Milestone 1: Open Your Terminal

The terminal is a window where you type commands. This is where Claude Code lives.

On Mac: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter.

On Windows: Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (or Terminal) from the menu.

On Linux: Press Ctrl + Alt + T, or search for "Terminal" in your apps.

A window appears with a blinking cursor. You're ready.

Milestone 2: Run the Installer

Mac or Linux — copy this line, paste it in your terminal, press Enter:

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

Windows (PowerShell) — copy this, paste with Ctrl+V or right-click, press Enter:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Windows users only: Claude Code needs Git for Windows. If you don't have it, download and install it from git-scm.com/downloads/win before running the command above. Click Next on every screen — the defaults are fine.

You'll see text scrolling as the installer runs. When it's done, you'll see: "Claude Code successfully installed!"

If you see command not found: claude after installing, run this and try again:

source ~/.zshrc

(Or close the terminal and open a new one.)

Milestone 3: Log In

Type claude and press Enter:

claude

Claude Code will open a browser window for you to log in with your Claude account. Sign in, authorize Claude Code, and return to the terminal — it picks up automatically.

Your credentials are saved. You only do this once.

Try it: After logging in, type:

just say hello

Claude responds in your terminal. Installation is complete.

A few things to know:

• You can't click things in the terminal. Use the arrow keys to move around.
• Press Ctrl+C to cancel anything that's running.
• Type exit or press Ctrl+D to leave Claude Code.
• Type /help to see all available commands.

What You Built

Claude Code is installed, authenticated, and ready. The next tutorial — Your First Claude Code Session — shows you how to open it in a real project and make your first edit.