Hello, Claude.

What's Claude Code, and why install it?

Claude Code is Claude that runs in a small Terminal window on your Mac. Same Claude as the chat at claude.ai — but with new abilities. The web chat can answer questions. Claude Code can also read and write files on your machine, run commands, work step-by-step on real tasks across many turns, and remember context. If you've ever wanted Claude to do something, not just describe how to do it, this is the version that does that.

You don't need to be a programmer. People use Claude Code to organize folders, edit documents, clean up photo libraries, manage receipts, write blog posts that span multiple files, automate repeating chores. The Terminal looks intimidating; the experience is just chat.

The five steps

Each step is one thing to download, click, or paste. Mac is friendlier than Windows here — Terminal is already on your Mac, and Git is too. So this is shorter.

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

1. Install Node.js ~3 min

   Node.js is the engine that runs Claude Code. You install it once and never think about it again.

   1. Click the green button below. It opens nodejs.org in a new tab.
   2. The page shows two big download buttons side by side. Click the LEFT one — the one labeled LTS, with the words "Recommended For Most Users" underneath. The page automatically detects whether your Mac is Intel or Apple Silicon and gives you the right installer.
   3. Open the downloaded file (it ends in .pkg). It launches the macOS installer.
   4. Click Continue through every screen. When it asks where to install, accept the default. You may be asked for your Mac's password — that's just macOS confirming the install. Click Install Software, wait for the progress bar, then Close.
   Open nodejs.org →

2. Open Terminal ~30 sec

   Time to meet the Terminal. Don't worry — it's just a window where you paste things.

   1. Press Cmd+Space on your keyboard. Spotlight Search opens at the top of your screen.
   2. Type terminal.
   3. Press Enter. A small dark window opens with a blinking cursor and a line that looks something like username@your-mac ~ %. Leave this window open for the rest of the steps.
   Make the text bigger first. With Terminal active, press Cmd++ a few times to enlarge the text. Or open Terminal → Settings from the menu bar and pick a larger font under the Profiles tab. Much easier on the eyes.
   Where is Terminal hiding? If you'd rather find it the long way: Finder → Applications → Utilities → Terminal. Drag it to your Dock if you'll use it often.

3. Install Claude Code ~2 min

   Copy the line below, paste it into your Terminal window, press Enter. To paste in Terminal on a Mac, just use Cmd+V the way you would anywhere else.

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

   What you'll see next, in order:

   • A pause of 5–30 seconds where nothing seems to happen. That's normal. npm is contacting the package server.
   • A wave of yellow npm warn lines about deprecated packages. These warnings are normal. Nothing is broken. They scroll past quickly.
   • Some lines about "added" and "audited" packages.
   • The % prompt comes back on a fresh line. That means the install finished. The result will look something like this:
   you@your-mac — -zsh

   % npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code npm warn deprecated @some-package@1.2.3: this version is deprecated npm warn deprecated other-thing@4.5.6: please upgrade ...several more lines like this... added 287 packages in 1m 23s 42 packages are looking for funding run `npm fund` for details % █

   If the prompt comes back without the word error in red anywhere, you're done with this step. If you DO see "error" in red, jump to the troubleshooting section below.

   If you see "EACCES: permission denied": macOS sometimes objects to global npm installs. The fix is sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code — it'll prompt for your Mac password and install with admin privileges. (See troubleshooting below for cleaner long-term setups.)

4. Sign in ~3 min

   Type the word below into Terminal and press Enter:

   claude

   On your first run, Claude Code shows a few setup screens before the chat opens. Roughly in this order:

   1. Theme picker. Pick the colors you want. Use ↑ and ↓ arrow keys to highlight a choice, then Enter. (Dark Mode is a safe default.)
   2. Sign-in method. Choose the option labeled "Claude account" or "Anthropic Console". Do NOT pick "API key" — you don't have one and don't need one.
   3. Browser opens. A web page loads automatically. Sign in with Google, email, or whichever sign-in you prefer. The page will say "you can return to your terminal."
   4. Switch back to Terminal. Press Cmd+Tab to flip back, or click the Terminal icon in the Dock. It was waiting for you. Now you'll see a welcome message and a prompt where you can type to Claude.
   How to navigate these setup screens: arrow keys (↑ ↓) move the highlight, Enter picks. Don't try to type the option name — it won't work. There's no mouse in the Terminal.

   After all the setup, the screen settles into something like this:

   you@your-mac — claude

   ╭───────────────────────────────────╮ │ ✻ Welcome to Claude Code │ │ Type your message and press Enter │ ╰───────────────────────────────────╯ > █
   You only do all of this once. From now on, just type claude in any Terminal window and you're straight back in.

5. Try your first prompt ~3 min

   Claude Code is now waiting for input. Type something normal — not a "prompt," just a sentence — and press Enter:

   What can you do that the chat at claude.ai can't?

   Claude will reply right in your Terminal. You can keep typing follow-up messages. Now give it a real task that touches your Mac:

   Make a folder called "claude-test" on my Desktop, and put a file in it called hello.txt that says "Hello, Claude."

   The most important thing to understand: the permission prompt

   Before Claude Code touches anything — creating a file, running a command, editing your work — it pauses and asks. The screen looks something like this:

   you@your-mac — claude

   ● I'll create a folder claude-test on your Desktop and write a file hello.txt inside it. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Allow this action? │ │ │ │ ❯ Yes │ │ Yes, and don't ask again for similar actions │ │ No, and tell Claude what to do differently │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

   Three rules for these prompts:

   1. Use arrow keys (↑ ↓) to move the highlight up and down. Don't try typing "y" or "yes" — the prompt ignores typing.
   2. Press Enter to confirm whichever option is highlighted.
   3. Read what it says first. The text above the prompt tells you exactly what Claude is about to do. Read it. If it's not what you wanted, pick the third option ("No, and tell Claude what to do differently") and explain.

   Pick Yes the first few times so you can see what happens. Switch to your Desktop. The folder and file appear. That's the part the web chat at claude.ai can't do.

   The middle option ("Yes, and don't ask again…") is a time-saver, not a free pass. Use it when you've started a clearly bounded task (e.g., "rename 200 photos") and don't want 200 separate confirmations. It only applies to the current Claude Code session — the next time you start claude, all permissions reset.

Quick install — two steps

The path Anthropic now recommends. Native installer, no Node, no npm. Self-updates in the background.

1. Open Terminal and paste the install command ~30 sec

   Open Terminal (Cmd+Space, type terminal, Enter). Then paste:

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

   Hit Enter. You'll see a few download/install lines. When the % prompt comes back, the install is done.

   Prefer Homebrew? If you already have Homebrew, run brew install --cask claude-code instead. Same result. (Homebrew installs don't auto-update — run brew upgrade claude-code periodically.)

2. Run claude ~2 min

   In the same Terminal window:

   claude

   First run opens your browser to sign in. Use the same Anthropic account you'd use at claude.ai. Approve, return to Terminal, and the chat prompt appears. From now on, just type claude in any Terminal window to start.

What can you actually do with this?

Anything that involves files, folders, or repetitive computer chores. A few starting ideas:

First-day commands worth knowing

Inside Claude Code, anything that starts with a slash is a command for the program (not a message to Claude). The handful below cover most of what you'll need on day one:

One terminal trick worth learning

Before you type claude, you can move into a folder you want to work in. That folder becomes Claude's "working directory" — the place it'll create and edit files unless you tell it otherwise. Example:

cd Desktop/my-book-project
claude

Now Claude operates inside that folder. To go back up one level, type cd ... To go to your home folder, just type cd by itself. That's 90% of folder navigation.

When something doesn't work

"npm: command not found" or "node: command not found"

Node.js installed but Terminal didn't pick it up. Quit Terminal completely (Cmd+Q) and open it again. New Terminal windows see the new Node.js install; older ones don't. If that doesn't fix it, restart the Mac and try once more.

"EACCES: permission denied" during npm install

macOS doesn't let regular users write to /usr/local on some setups. The quick fix:

1. Quick fix: run sudo npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code. It'll prompt for your Mac password and use admin privileges to write the files.
2. Better long-term: install nvm (Node Version Manager), which puts Node in your home directory so global npm installs never need sudo again. One-line install on the nvm README.

The npm install line shows a long red error

Almost always a network issue. Try these in order:

1. Check your internet. Refresh a webpage in Safari.
2. Try the same line again. npm sometimes flakes.
3. If you're on a corporate or school network with a firewall, the package server may be blocked. Switch to a personal hotspot for the install, then go back.

The claude command works but won't sign in

The browser window from step 4 closed before you finished. Go back to Terminal, type claude again, and try the sign-in flow once more.

Where to go next

That's the whole tutorial.

Install Node, open Terminal, paste one line, sign in, type a sentence. Welcome to Claude.