Get Claude Code Running in 5 Minutes

Step 1 — Download VS Code

1. Open your web browser and go to code.visualstudio.com
2. Click the large “Download for Mac” button. The site auto-detects whether your Mac has an Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel chip.
3. A .zip file will download (usually to your Downloads folder).

Step 2 — Install VS Code

1. Open Finder and navigate to your Downloads folder.
2. Double-click the downloaded .zip file to unzip it. You’ll see a file called “Visual Studio Code”.
3. Drag “Visual Studio Code” into your Applications folder.
4. Open Applications and double-click “Visual Studio Code” to launch it.
5. If macOS asks “Are you sure you want to open it?”, click Open.

Step 3 — Install the “code” command for Terminal

This lets you open VS Code from the command line by typing code.

1. In VS Code, press ⌘ + Shift + P to open the Command Palette.
2. Type: shell command
3. Select “Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH”
4. If prompted for your password, enter it.

Verify it works later from Terminal by typing code --version.

Terminal is the built-in command-line app on your Mac. You’ll use it for the rest of this guide.

How to open Terminal:

1. Press ⌘ + Space to open Spotlight Search
2. Type Terminal
3. Press Enter

A window will appear with a blinking cursor — this is where you’ll paste the commands in the following steps.

Claude Code has a native installer that doesn’t require Node.js or any other dependencies. This is the recommended approach from Anthropic.

Option A — Native Installer (Recommended)

Paste this command into Terminal and press Enter:

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

That’s it. The script downloads and installs everything automatically.

Option B — Install with Homebrew

If you already have (or prefer) Homebrew:

brew install --cask claude-code

Verify the Installation

Confirm it worked:

claude --version

You should see a version number (e.g., 2.0.30). If you see command not found, close Terminal and open a new window, then try again.

Run the Health Check

Claude Code includes a built-in diagnostic tool:

claude doctor

This checks your installation and reports any issues.

Step 1 — Launch Claude Code

In Terminal, type:

claude

Step 2 — Choose Your Login Method

Claude Code will present authentication options:

• Claude App (Pro/Max plan): Choose this if you have a Claude Pro or Max subscription. It opens your browser to sign in with your claude.ai account.
• Claude Console (API key): Choose this if you’re using the Anthropic API to authenticate through the developer console.

Step 3 — Complete the Browser Sign-In

1. Claude Code will either open your browser automatically, or display a URL.
2. If the browser doesn’t open, hold ⌘ and click the URL in Terminal to open it.
3. Sign in to your Anthropic/Claude account.
4. Approve the authorization when prompted.
5. Return to Terminal — you should see a confirmation that you’re authenticated.

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (it looks like four small squares), or press ⌘ + Shift + X.
3. In the search bar, type: Claude Code
4. Find the extension published by Anthropic and click Install.
5. After installing, you’ll see a Claude icon in your left sidebar. Click it to open the Claude panel.
6. Sign in if prompted (same account you used in Part 4).

Test Claude Code in Terminal

1. Create a test folder and navigate to it:

mkdir ~/claude-test
cd ~/claude-test

2. Start Claude Code:

claude

3. Try a simple prompt like:

Create a hello world Python script

Claude will generate a file and show you a diff of the proposed changes. Type y to accept.

4. To exit Claude Code, type:

/exit

Test Claude Code in VS Code

1. Open the test folder in VS Code:

code ~/claude-test

2. Click the Claude icon in the sidebar.
3. Ask Claude a question like: “Explain the files in this project”