Hello, Claude.

What you're about to install

Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal app. Once it's running, you can type plain English and Claude will read, write, and run code on your machine — refactor a project, organize files, query a database, ship a deploy. It's the same Claude as the web app, but with hands.

Three things make this short: most Linux users already have a terminal they like, package managers handle the dependencies, and the install itself is a single npm command.

The fastest install — one line

Anthropic's recommended install. No Node required. Self-updates. Works on macOS, Linux, and WSL.

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

Then run claude, sign in via the browser link it prints, and you're in. That's the whole install.

Alternatives, in order of preference:

• Homebrew (Linuxbrew or macOS): brew install --cask claude-code
• Debian / Ubuntu (apt): see Anthropic's setup guide for the apt repo one-liner
• Fedora / RHEL (dnf): same setup guide for the dnf repo
• Alpine (apk): same setup guide for the apk repo

Alternative — the five-step npm path

1. Install Node.js (version 18 or newer) ~2 min

   Claude Code needs Node 18+. Pick the row for your distro. If you already have node --version showing 18+, skip to step 2.

   Ubuntu / Debian / WSL apt

   curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
   sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

   Fedora / RHEL / CentOS dnf

   sudo dnf install -y nodejs npm

   Arch / Manjaro pacman

   sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

   openSUSE zypper

   sudo zypper install nodejs22 npm22

   Alpine apk

   sudo apk add nodejs npm

   FreeBSD pkg

   sudo pkg install node npm

   Recommended for most users — nvm. If you'd rather manage Node versions per-project, install nvm:

   curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash
   # restart shell, then:
   nvm install 22
   nvm use 22

   Verify: node --version should print v18.x or higher (we recommend v22).

2. Install Claude Code ~30 sec

   One command, global install via npm:

   sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

   If you used nvm, drop the sudo:

   npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

   Verify: claude --version should print a version number.

   Permission errors with npm and sudo? The cleanest fix is nvm (see step 1). It installs Node into your home directory, so global npm packages don't need root.

3. Sign in ~1 min

   Run:

   claude

   The first time, it opens your browser for sign-in. Use the same Anthropic account you'd use at claude.ai. Approve, return to your terminal — you'll see the Claude prompt.

   If you're on a headless server (no browser), Claude prints a URL you can open from another machine. Sign in there; the terminal session picks up the credentials automatically.

4. Run your first prompt ~30 sec

   Try a small, safe one to confirm everything works:

   > tell me what files are in this directory and what each one is for

   Claude reads, summarizes, and waits for the next thing. Try a real one:

   > create a simple Python script that prints today's weather for Austin, TX

   Claude proposes the file, asks before writing it, runs it, shows the output.

5. Learn the slash commands ~1 min

   Type /help to see them all. The handful worth knowing on day one:

   /helpLists every built-in command

   /initGenerates a CLAUDE.md describing the current codebase

   /reviewReviews the current branch's pending changes

   /clearClears history, resets the context window

   /costShows what this session has spent

   /scheduleSchedules a recurring agent on a cron

   /exitQuit

If something goes wrong

npm: command not found

Node didn't install correctly, or your shell hasn't reloaded. Close and reopen the terminal, then re-run node --version. If still missing, re-run the install command for your distro.

EACCES or permission errors during npm install -g

You're hitting npm's classic global-install permission problem. Two fixes:

• Best: install nvm (step 1 callout) and let it manage Node in your home dir.
• Quick: reconfigure npm's global prefix:

  mkdir ~/.npm-global
  npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
  echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
  source ~/.bashrc

  Then re-run the install without sudo.

Browser doesn't open on a headless box

Claude prints a sign-in URL. Copy it, open it on any machine with a browser, sign in. The terminal that printed the URL detects success and continues.

WSL2 — works but feels weird

WSL2 is fine. A few notes: file edits Claude makes are real Linux files (use /mnt/c/... if you want to touch the Windows side). Browser auth opens your Windows default browser; sign in there.

Corporate proxy / firewall

Set HTTPS_PROXY in your shell before running Claude. Most enterprise setups also need npm's proxy: npm config set proxy http://... and npm config set https-proxy http://....

What's next

• Read the products page for a tour of every Anthropic surface — API, Agent SDK, MCP, Skills, Memory, Computer Use.
• Read the design page to learn how Claude turns sketches and screenshots into shipped code.
• Read the integrations page to wire Claude into Drive, Gmail, Slack, GitHub, n8n, and the rest of your stack.
• Open a project directory you actually care about and type claude. Pick something small. Don't overthink the first task.