Install Claude Code

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Claude Code is a command line tool that lets you delegate coding tasks directly to Claude from Terminal. It's really powerful when working with entire codebases, as it can understand project context and make changes across multiple files agentically.

Claude Code ships as a native binary, so there's nothing to set up beforehand. You don't need Node.js, and you don't need any particular runtime installed. You just need a supported operating system, which means macOS 13 or newer, Windows 10 or newer, or a recent Ubuntu, Debian or Alpine Linux.

Install it

On macOS or Linux, open Terminal and run:

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

On Windows, open PowerShell and run:

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

That's the whole install. Let it run and it'll put the claude command in place for you.

Note: If you'd rather install through a package manager you already use, you can. Homebrew, WinGet, apt, dnf and apk are all supported, and the exact commands are listed on the Claude Code setup docs. One thing worth knowing if you go that route: Homebrew and WinGet installs don't update themselves, so you'll need to upgrade them manually every so often.

Verify it worked

Once the installer finishes, check that the command is available:

claude --version

You should see the current version number printed back to you, followed by (Claude Code).

If you see a version number, you're all set for the Claude Code robots to take over your entire coding life.

Keeping it up to date

Claude Code updates itself in the background when you install it this way, so you'll pick up new features and fixes without doing anything. This matters more than it might sound, because Claude Code moves fast, and some of what you'll learn in this course will look slightly different a few months from now.

Pro tip: If you already manage your projects with npm and would rather install this the same way, npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code still works and pulls down the exact same binary. That route does need Node.js 22 or later. Don't run it with sudo, which causes permission problems down the line.