Building Blocks
A beginner-friendly guide to installing Claude Code — no prior terminal experience required.
Create a free account to access the full module content, quizzes, and track your progress.
This guide walks you through setting up Claude Code from scratch, explaining every step along the way. No previous experience with terminals or programming tools is needed.
If you're a developer and just want the quick version, head to the developer setup guide instead.
A terminal (also called a command line) is a text-based way to interact with your computer. Instead of clicking buttons and icons, you type commands and press Enter. It looks like a plain text window — no graphics, just words.
How to open Terminal on Mac:
You'll see a window with a blinking cursor. That's where you type commands. Each command does one thing — install a program, check a version number, navigate to a folder, and so on.
Don't worry about memorising commands. This guide gives you every command to type, and you can always come back to reference them.
Claude Code is built on top of a technology called Node.js. You don't need to understand what Node.js does — just think of it as a behind-the-scenes engine that makes Claude Code work. You install it once and then forget about it.
Here's how to install it:
node --versionYou should see a version number like v22.x.x. If you see "command not found", try closing and reopening Terminal, then run the command again.
What just happened? Installing Node.js also installed something called npm (Node Package Manager). npm is a tool that lets you install other software — including Claude Code. You'll use it in the next step.
Now that Node.js is installed, you can install Claude Code. Type this command in your terminal and press Enter:
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-codeHere's what that command means in plain English:
npm — use the package manager that came with Node.jsinstall — install something-g — install it "globally" (available everywhere on your computer, not just one folder)@anthropic-ai/claude-code — the name of the package to install (Claude Code, made by Anthropic)This may take a minute. When it finishes, verify it worked:
claude --versionYou should see a version number. If you see "command not found", close and reopen your terminal, then try again.
Before you can use Claude Code, you need an account with Anthropic (the company that makes Claude).
When you first run Claude Code, it will ask you how you want to log in. There are two options, and they have different billing implications.
If your company has a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, or you have a personal Max or Pro subscription:
claude in your terminalWith this option, usage counts against your subscription's limits. You won't be charged per message, but you may hit usage caps during busy periods.
If you'd prefer uncapped usage and are comfortable paying based on how much you use it:
claude in your terminalWith this option, every message you send costs a small amount of money (fractions of a cent for short messages, more for long ones). There's no monthly cap — you pay for what you use.
Which should you choose? If your team has a Claude subscription, start with that — it's simpler and there are no surprise charges. If you find yourself hitting usage limits regularly, talk to your team lead about switching to API key access. The /cost command inside Claude Code shows your spending for the current session.
Let's make sure everything is working. In your terminal:
cd ~/DesktopclaudeWhat files are on my Desktop? List them briefly.
If Claude responds with a list of files, everything is working. If you see an authentication error, go back to the authentication step and double-check your setup.
Here's what to expect when using Claude Code:
A few handy commands to know right away — type these during a Claude session:
/help — shows all available commands/cost — shows how much the current session has cost (if using an API key)/clear — starts a fresh conversation/model — shows which AI model is being usedYou're all set. If you got through the first run successfully, you have everything you need to continue with the course. The next modules will teach you how to actually work with Claude Code effectively.