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Claude Code, the guide
Chapter 2 / 16

Part 1 · Foundations

  • 01What is Claude Code?
  • 02Step-by-step installation
  • 03CLAUDE.md, the brain of your project

Part 2 · Communicate and plan

  • 04How to talk to Claude Code
  • 05Plan before coding
  • 06The daily work cycle

Part 3 · Advanced tools

  • 07Specialized agents
  • 08The shortcuts that speed everything up
  • 09Permissions

Part 4 · Mastery

  • 10Memory between sessions
  • 11Case study, a feature from A to Z
  • 12The 11 fatal mistakes to avoid

Part 5 · Going to production

  • 13The checklists
  • 14Setting up infrastructure

Part 6 · Bonus, a power user's setup

  • 15Generating images from Claude Code
  • 16My complete setup

Part 1 · Foundations

Step-by-step installation

Chapter 2 · 10 min reading

🎯

This chapter installs everything you need to get started: VS Code, Claude Code, and your subscription. Time: 10 minutes.

Step 1, install VS Code (your cockpit)

VS Code is the code editor you'll use to view the files Claude creates and modifies. You won't write anything in it yourself, but it's essential for visualizing the project.

  1. Download VS Code at code.visualstudio.com, it's free
  2. Install it like any other application
  3. Open VS Code
✅

Why VS Code? The Claude Code extension lets you see files change in real time while Claude works, side by side with the conversation. It's much more comfortable than the terminal alone.

Step 2, install the Claude Code extension

This is what integrates Claude Code directly into VS Code. No other dependency is needed, no need to install Node.js or anything else.

  1. In VS Code, click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows)
  2. Search for "Claude Code"
  3. Click Install on the extension by Anthropic
  4. A Claude icon (sparkle ✨) appears in the editor toolbar
💡

That's it for the technical install. The VS Code extension ships with everything you need. The old method that required installing Node.js then typing npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code in the terminal is no longer necessary.

Other ways to use Claude Code

VS Code isn't the only option. Claude Code is available on 4 platforms:

PlatformFor whoAdvantage
VS Code extensionBeginners and most developersSide-by-side view: files + chat
Desktop app (Mac/Windows)People who prefer a dedicated appQuick to launch, no need for VS Code
Web app (claude.ai/code)Access from any browserZero install
JetBrains extensionIntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm usersNative JetBrains integration

This guide uses VS Code as the reference, but everything explained works the same way on the other platforms.

Step 3, choose your Anthropic subscription

Claude Code consumes tokens (processing units) with every interaction. You need an Anthropic subscription.

PlanPriceFor whoLimit
Claude Pro$20/monthTrying it out, small featuresLimited quota, may block mid-session
Claude Max 5x$100/monthBuilding a full app5x the Pro quota, enough for 6-8h of dev/day
Claude Max 20x$200/monthHeavy dev without interruption20x the Pro quota, basically unlimited
💡

Recommendation: start with Max 5x at $100/month. That's what I use to build full apps. The Pro plan at $20 is too limited, you'll get blocked in the middle of a feature, which is frustrating and wastes time.

To subscribe:

  1. Go to claude.ai
  2. Create an account or sign in
  3. Go to Settings → Subscription → Upgrade

Step 4, first launch

Create your work folder

Before opening VS Code, create a folder dedicated to your projects. It will be your "home" for everything you build with Claude Code.

On macOS: open Terminal (Cmd + Space, type "Terminal") and paste:

mkdir -p ~/code

On Windows: open PowerShell and type:

mkdir ~\code
💡

Why ~/code? The ~ represents your user folder (e.g. /Users/aurore on Mac, C:\Users\aurore on Windows). By creating a code folder there, you'll have a clean, easy-to-find space for all your projects. Each project will get its own subfolder inside (e.g. ~/code/my-app).

Open the folder in VS Code

  1. Open VS Code
  2. File → Open Folder (or Cmd+O on Mac)
  3. Navigate to your code folder and select it
  4. Click the Claude icon (sparkle) in the toolbar at the top of the editor
  5. The chat panel opens on the side

Sign in

On first launch, Claude Code will ask you to sign in to your Anthropic account through your browser. Follow the instructions, it takes 30 seconds. A window opens, you authorize access, and you're set.

First test

To make sure everything works, type in the chat:

"Say hello and confirm you have access to the file system."

Claude should respond and list the contents of the folder. If it works, you're ready for what's next.

💻 Alternative: command-line install (advanced users)

If you'd rather use Claude Code in the terminal instead of VS Code, you can install it with the native installer. No dependencies required (not even Node.js).

On macOS/Linux:

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

On Windows (PowerShell):

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

Then open a terminal in your project folder and type claude to launch.

✅

Install checklist - [ ] VS Code installed - [ ] Claude Code extension installed in VS Code - [ ] Active Anthropic subscription (Pro or Max) - [ ] First launch successful and signed in

← Chapter 1

What is Claude Code?

Chapter 3 →

CLAUDE.md, the brain of your project