Installing Claude Code and Running It for the First Time

⏱ About 30 minutes

This guide is for people starting Claude Code from zero. No development experience required. Follow the steps below and you can reach your first conversation within 30 minutes.

One thing worth saying upfront: installation is the biggest wall. Once you're past it, everything else feels like a chat window. Errors along the way are normal, so don't panic — the screens you might run into, and how to handle them, are collected later in this post.

You don't have to do this in one sitting. Skip any step you've already completed and pick up where you left off. Each step ends with a way to verify you're through it.

What you need before starting

Check these three things before you begin. Starting without them is how people get stuck halfway.

Item	Notes
A paid Claude subscription	Pro ($20/mo) or Max ($100/mo). Start with Pro and upgrade if you find yourself using it heavily
Access to your email	Needed for account verification. You must be able to open the inbox of the email you subscribed with
Admin rights on your laptop	The permission to install software. If it's a company laptop, confirm this in advance

TIP — On a company laptop?

Ask your IT team to approve installing VS Code and Git before you start, so you don't stall midway. Both are standard tools used by companies worldwide, so approval is rarely an issue.

Two terms worth knowing in advance

No need to memorize these. It's enough to recognize them when they come up during installation.

Term	Meaning
Terminal	The black window where you talk to your computer in text. Claude Code runs here
VS Code	A free program from Microsoft. Think of it as "Word for developers." It's the space where Claude Code operates

Remember just one thing: Claude Code = talking to an AI in a black window. That's all it is.

Installing on Windows

Install VS Code

Go to code.visualstudio.com and click Download for Windows.
Run the downloaded file and click Next through every screen, leaving all options at their defaults.
When installation finishes, open VS Code once. If it launches, you're through.

WHY — Why this step?

VS Code is the "office" where Claude Code operates. It puts the files and the conversation in one place, which makes it the lowest-friction setup for non-developers.

Install Git

Go to git-scm.com and click Download for Windows.
The installer shows a lot of options. If in doubt, leave everything at the defaults and keep clicking Next.
You don't need to open Git afterward — you'll never touch it directly.

WHY — Why this step?

Git is a part Claude Code uses under the hood. Like an engine component in a car: install it once and forget it exists.

Install the Claude Code extension

Open VS Code and click the icon that looks like four square blocks in the left sidebar (Extensions).
Type Claude Code in the search box.
Find Claude Code for VS Code (published by Anthropic) and click Install.

WHY — Why this step?

Extensions add features to VS Code. This one puts a button inside VS Code that lets you talk to Claude.

Log in

Once installed, a Claude icon appears in the top right of VS Code or in the sidebar. Click it and a login window opens.
Your browser opens and asks you to log in to your Claude account. Sign in with the account you subscribed with and click Approve.
When you see the "authentication complete" message, return to VS Code.

If the browser popup doesn't appear, check your popup blocker settings.

WHY — Why this step?

Logging in links "the Claude Code on this computer" to your subscription. You do it once; it stays connected afterward.

Installing on Mac

Install VS Code

At code.visualstudio.com, click Download for macOS.
Unzip the downloaded file and drag the Visual Studio Code app into your Applications folder.
Open VS Code once from the Applications folder.

WHY — Why this step?

Same reason as on Windows — you're setting up the space where Claude Code will operate.

Check Git

Macs often have Git installed already. Open the terminal inside VS Code (Cmd + ~) and type:

git --version

If a version number appears, you're done. If a popup asks whether you'd like to install it, click Install and wait.

WHY — Why this step?

You're checking whether the part Claude Code needs is already there. If it is, move on; if not, the Mac installs it for you.

Install the Claude Code extension and log in

Same as on Windows.

Search for Claude Code in the VS Code Extensions panel and install Claude Code for VS Code (published by Anthropic).
Click the Claude icon and complete the browser login. Sign in with the account you subscribed with and click Approve.

WHY — Why this step?

The extension gives you the conversation button; logging in connects it to your subscription. With these two done, installation is essentially complete.

First run: open a folder and start talking

Claude Code works at the folder level. Open a folder for it, and Claude can read the files inside and create new ones.

Create a work folder

Create a new folder on your desktop. Name it anything — say, AI Work.

WHY — Why this step?

You're telling Claude Code "this is your desk." Claude reads and writes files only inside this folder — it never rummages through your whole computer.

Open the folder in VS Code

In VS Code, go to File → Open Folder and open the folder you just made. If a screen asks "Do you trust the authors of the files in this folder?", click Trust — you made this folder yourself, so it's safe.

Launch Claude Code and send your first prompt

Click the Claude icon to launch Claude Code. When the input box appears, you're ready. Paste this in as your very first prompt:

Here's what I want to do — how do I get started?
I just installed Claude Code and I'm a complete beginner.
Walk me through what I need to do, step by step, in order.
I know nothing about Claude Code, so please explain even the most basic terms kindly!

Claude will start walking you through it.

Give it a real task

Then hand over one piece of actual work:

Organize the agenda for tomorrow's meeting and save it as a file. The topic is [meeting topic].

Notice that the result isn't a chat reply — it's saved directly as a file in your folder. What would have been copy-and-paste from a chat window comes out as a finished file. That is the core difference of Claude Code.

Screens you might run into

The following screens can appear during installation and first run. All of them are normal — find the one that matches and handle it as described.

1. Security warnings ("Unknown publisher", "unidentified developer")

Windows may ask "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?"; Mac may warn about an "unidentified developer." If the file came from the official sites in this guide (code.visualstudio.com, git-scm.com), click Allow/Open and continue. If it came from anywhere else, stop and re-download from the official site.

2. Permission popups

The installer may ask for an admin password, and while using Claude Code you may see prompts like "May I edit this file?" or "May I run this command?" This is not an error — it's Claude Code's safety mechanism working as designed. Read the request; approve it if it makes sense, and if it doesn't, ask Claude "what does the thing you just requested mean?" before deciding.

3. Antivirus blocking

Antivirus software sometimes blocks the installer or terminal execution. Temporarily disable it, or add VS Code and Git to the exception (allow) list, then try again. You can re-enable the antivirus once installation is done.

4. Company laptop restrictions

If you lack admin rights or corporate security policy blocks the install, ask your IT team to approve installing VS Code and Git. If login fails behind a proxy or firewall, ask IT to allow access to the claude.ai domain.

TIP — Any other error

Copy the entire error message, paste it into Claude (web chat or Claude Code), and ask "why is this happening?" That resolves most cases. Errors aren't failure — they're part of the installation process.

Security: what not to type in

Anything you enter into Claude is sent to Anthropic's servers. Ordinary work is fine, but as a rule, the items below should never be entered directly into any AI service.

Fine to enter	Handle with care
Email and report drafts	Customer personal data (names, contact details, ID numbers)
General work materials	Undisclosed financial or contract information
Public market data	Passwords, API keys
Internal meeting summaries	Documents related to legal disputes

Are you done? Check here

CHECK — Installation checklist

If all five answers are "yes," your installation is complete.

VS Code launches
Claude Code shows as "Installed" in the VS Code Extensions list
Clicking the Claude icon opens the input box directly, without asking you to log in
Open a folder, say something, and Claude replies
Say "create a test file" and an actual file appears in your folder

If any answer is "no," go back to the matching item in "Screens you might run into" and work through that step again.

Closing tip: the two-window strategy

Until you're comfortable, keep two sessions open.

Session 1: Actual work	Session 2: Private tutor
"Draft this document"	"What does this mean?"
"Clean up this data"	"I just got an error — why?"

One window does the work; the other answers your questions. Claude itself is the best teacher you have.

Once installation is done, move on to the next post to understand what an LLM and an agent actually are — the principles that make Claude Code run.