Getting Started with Claude Code in 10 Minutes

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool — it reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and integrates directly into your development workflow. This guide gets you from zero to your first productive session in under 10 minutes.

The fastest way to install on macOS, Linux, or WSL:

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

On Windows PowerShell:

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version
# Claude Code 2.x.x

Claude Code works best when you start it inside a project directory. It reads the file structure, package files, and codebase to build context before you even type your first prompt.

cd your-project
claude

Start broad, then get specific. These prompts work well for a first session:

# Understand the codebase
> "What does this project do and how is it structured?"

# Find something to work on
> "What are the most common sources of bugs in this code?"

# Take action
> "Write tests for the auth module, run them, and fix any failures"

That last example is where Claude Code shines: it writes the tests, runs them, reads the output, and fixes failures — all in one go, without you needing to intervene.

Most AI coding tools are chat interfaces — you ask, they answer, you copy-paste. Claude Code is an agent: it takes actions in your environment. It reads files, writes files, runs terminal commands, and iterates based on the results. That's a fundamentally different workflow, and it changes what you can accomplish in a single session.