Press Start: install your AI sidekick

Your mission

Get Claude Code installed and signed in, start it in a folder of your own, and watch it figure out what’s inside, all in about 15 minutes.

Why it’s worth it

Most people use AI like a vending machine: type a question, copy the answer, paste it somewhere, repeat. That works for homework-sized questions, but it’s slow for building things, because you are doing all the copying, pasting, saving and fixing.

Claude Code skips all that. It’s an AI coding agent that works inside a folder on your computer. You tell it what you want (“make me a web page”, “add a high score to my game”) and it reads your files, writes new ones, edits existing ones and runs commands to check its work. You stay the boss the whole time: before it changes anything, it can ask you first.

Think of it as a co-op sidekick that’s insanely fast at typing code, while you’re the one deciding what gets built. That’s the whole course: you direct, Claude builds, and you get really good at telling the difference between “this works” and “this only looks like it works”.

Your loadout

Before you install, check you’ve got these:

• You’re 18 or older. Claude Code is only for people 18 and over. That’s Anthropic’s rule, and it applies to everyone.
• A paid Claude plan that includes Claude Code, such as Claude Pro or higher. The free Claude plan doesn’t include Claude Code. You’ll sign in with this account in a minute.
• A computer you can install things on: Windows 10 or later, macOS 13 or later, or a recent Linux. A school or work laptop may block installs, so a personal one is easiest.
• A terminal. That’s the text window where you type commands. On Windows it’s called PowerShell (or Windows Terminal); on a Mac it’s Terminal. If you’ve never opened one, search for it in your Start menu or Spotlight. It looks old-school, but it’s where the real power is.

Install it

Open your terminal and paste the command for your system. Copy it exactly: it’s the official installer from Claude’s own website.

macOS or Linux:

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

Windows (PowerShell). Your prompt starts with PS C:\:

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

The installer doesn’t show much while it downloads, so give it a minute. When it’s done, close the terminal and open a new one (more on why in a second), then check it worked:

claude --version

What you’ll see: a version number, something like 2.1.318 (Claude Code). That’s it, it’s installed.

Your first session

Make a practice folder and step into it. These two commands work on every system:

mkdir speedrun-lab
cd speedrun-lab

mkdir makes a folder; cd moves your terminal into it. Now start your sidekick:

claude

The first time, Claude Code opens your browser to sign in with your Claude account. Approve it, and come back to the terminal.

What you’ll see: a question asking whether you trust this folder. Say yes: it’s your own folder. (For code you download from strangers, you’d think twice.) Then a prompt appears, waiting for you to type. That’s Claude Code, ready to go.

Your folder is empty, so give Claude something to look at. Type this and press Enter:

Create a file called hello.txt that says "Player 1 has entered the game", then tell me what files are in this folder.

What you’ll see: Claude explains what it’s about to do, then asks permission to create hello.txt. You’ll see the exact content it wants to write and options like Yes and No. Choose Yes. Then it lists the folder and tells you hello.txt is there.

Boom. You just gave an AI an instruction and it did real work on your computer, with your permission. That’s the core move of this entire course.

When you’re done, type /exit to leave Claude Code (or press Ctrl+C twice).

Where to start Claude, every time

The folder you start Claude Code in becomes its workspace: the files it can see and work on. So always start it inside the project’s folder, like you just did with speedrun-lab. Starting it in your home folder would point it at your whole life: photos, downloads, everything. Not what you want.

When Claude gets confused (or your computer does)

Most setup problems are the same few things, and they happen to literally everyone:

What you see	What’s going on	The fix
claude: command not found or “not recognized”	Your terminal was open before the install, so it doesn’t know about the new command yet	Close the terminal, open a new one, try again
The sign-in page says Claude Code isn’t included	Your account is on a plan without Claude Code	Check your plan in your Claude account settings; Pro or higher includes it
The token '&&' is not a valid statement separator	You’re in PowerShell running a command meant for another shell	Use the PowerShell command above
Nothing happens for ages during install	It’s downloading quietly	Give it a couple of minutes

Did it work?

• claude --version prints a version number
• You signed in and reached the Claude Code prompt
• Claude created hello.txt in your speedrun-lab folder
• You know to always start Claude inside your project’s folder