How to Install Claude Code: Step-by-Step Guide for Mac, Windows and Linux

I regularly train marketing people to use Claude Code. The hard part is never the agent itself: it's the installation, and the blank black screen of the terminal. This guide follows the steps in the order you'll actually hit them, with the commands exactly as Anthropic's documentation gives them as of October 7, 2026. Copy the one for your system, or generate your full cheat sheet with the tool below.

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is Anthropic's coding agent: it reads the files in a project, edits them, runs commands and checks its own work. Unlike a chatbot that suggests code for you to copy and paste, it works directly in your folder, with your approval depending on the permission mode you pick.

It comes in several forms that share the same engine:

• Claude Code CLI: the command-line tool, started with claude in a terminal. This is what this guide installs first.
• The VS Code extension and the JetBrains plugin: Claude Code inside your editor, with changes shown as diffs.
• Claude Code desktop: the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, no terminal involved.
• Claude Code on the web: sessions that run in the cloud, from claude.ai/code.

I use it every day, and not only for development: sorting exports, checking redirects, generating reports. If this way of working is new to you, my article on vibe coding shows what it can and cannot do.

Requirements to install Claude Code

The installation itself costs nothing. What you pay for is usage: included in your subscription, or billed per token with a Console account. The plans, and the question of whether Claude Code is free, are covered in a separate article.

How to install Claude Code: commands by operating system

Anthropic recommends the native installer: a standalone program, with no Node.js, that updates itself in the background. Package managers (Homebrew, WinGet, apt, dnf) are clean alternatives, but you update them by hand.

Not sure which command is right? Pick your system and your method: the tool puts together the commands to install, check, update and uninstall, ready to copy or download.

Install Claude Code on Mac (macOS)

Open the Terminal app (Cmd + Space, type "Terminal") and paste:

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

The program installs in your home folder, with no admin rights, on Intel Macs and Apple silicon alike. Then close the window, open a new one and check with claude --version.

If you manage your software with Homebrew:

brew install --cask claude-code

This cask follows the stable channel, usually one week behind the latest release and without the releases that caused problems. To get every new release as soon as it ships, install claude-code@latest. Either way, Homebrew does not update Claude Code on its own: remember to run brew upgrade.

Install Claude Code on Linux

Same command as on Mac, in your terminal:

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

If you'd rather have updates go through your system's package manager, Anthropic publishes signed repositories for apt (Debian, Ubuntu), dnf (Fedora, RHEL) and apk (Alpine). For Ubuntu or Debian, on the stable channel:

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/keys/claude-code.asc -o /etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc] https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code/apt/stable stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/claude-code.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install claude-code

On a fresh install, run sudo apt install curl gnupg first. Before you trust the key, check its fingerprint with gpg --show-keys /etc/apt/keyrings/claude-code.asc: it must end with BAA929FF1A7ECACE. Alpine needs a few extra packages (bash, curl, libgcc, libstdc++, ripgrep), listed in the official documentation.

Install Claude Code on Windows (PowerShell, CMD, WinGet)

Claude Code runs natively on Windows 10 (version 1809 and later) and Windows 11, with no WSL and no admin rights. Open PowerShell from the Start menu and paste:

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

In the classic command prompt (CMD), the command is different:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

To know where you are: the prompt shows PS C:\Users\YourName> in PowerShell, and C:\Users\YourName> without the "PS" in CMD. Using the wrong command is a common mistake on Windows. Another route, more standard on a managed workstation: winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode, which you update with winget upgrade Anthropic.ClaudeCode.

Install Git for Windows as well. It is no longer mandatory: without it, Claude Code runs its commands with PowerShell. With it, the agent gets Git Bash, which some of its tools need.

Install Claude Code on WSL

WSL gives you a real Linux inside Windows. Choose it if your projects use Linux tools, or if you want command isolation (sandboxing), available with WSL 2 but not on native Windows. Open your distribution (Ubuntu, for example) and run the Linux command in that terminal, not in PowerShell:

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

Claude Code then installs and runs on the Linux side. WSL does not need Git for Windows.

Install Claude Code with npm

The old method is still available on every system, with Node.js 22 or later:

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

The npm package installs the same native program as the installer. Never use sudo npm install -g: it causes permission problems and is a security risk. To update, use npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest rather than npm update -g, which can leave you on an old version.

Check that Claude Code is installed correctly

Close the terminal you used for the installation and open a new one: the old one keeps the old PATH value. Then:

claude --version

A working installation shows a version number followed by "(Claude Code)". For a full diagnosis (installation status, invalid settings, last update), run:

claude doctor

With the native installer, the claude command lives in ~/.local/bin on Mac and Linux, and in %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin on Windows. Successive versions are stored in ~/.local/share/claude.

Sign in to your Claude account

Go to your project folder and start Claude Code:

cd path/to/your/project
claude

On first launch, your browser opens the sign-in page. Confirm, go back to the terminal: your credentials are saved and you won't have to sign in again. Three types of account work:

• A Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise subscription: the simplest route, usage is included in the subscription.
• A Claude Console account: usage is billed per token from prepaid credits. On first sign-in, the Console creates a "Claude Code" workspace so you can track spending.
• Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry, for companies that go through their cloud provider.

If the browser doesn't open, press c to copy the sign-in link and paste it yourself. From WSL, a server over SSH or a container, the page shows a code to paste back into the terminal; if pasting doesn't work, claude auth login reads that code directly. To switch accounts: /logout then /login. To see the active account: /status.

Your first Claude Code commands

Once you're signed in, you talk to Claude Code in plain English, as you would to a colleague. Start by having it understand the project before you ask it to change anything:

what does this project do?
explain the folder structure to me
/init

The /init command creates a CLAUDE.md file at the root: the project context, which Claude Code rereads every time it starts (what the project is for, which commands to run, which rules to follow). It's the most valuable setting in the tool. Read it and fill it in: a project with a good context file gets results in a different league from the same project without one. That's the idea I develop in my article on prompt engineering: what you give the model to read matters more than how you phrase the request.

Permission modes: what Claude Code does without asking you

A permission mode sets what the agent can do without your approval. Shift + Tab cycles through the modes during a session.

• Manual: it asks before every file change or command; only reads go through without a question. The right choice when you're starting out or for sensitive work.
• Accept edits: it edits files and runs common file commands (create, copy, move) without asking.
• Plan: it analyzes and proposes a plan without changing anything, useful before a big change.
• Auto: a second model reviews actions on your behalf and blocks the risky ones.

Since version 2.1.283, an interactive session starts in auto mode unless you've set otherwise. If you're new to it, I recommend switching to Manual for the first few days and working on a copy of the folder: you see what the agent is about to do before it does it.

Install the Claude Code extension for VS Code

The extension is the most comfortable way to use Claude Code if the terminal puts you off: changes are shown as diffs, you review and adjust the plan before accepting it, and you reference a file with @. You need VS Code 1.94 or later.

1. Open the Extensions view: Cmd + Shift + X on Mac, Ctrl + Shift + X on Windows and Linux.
2. Search for "Claude Code", published by Anthropic, and click Install. From the command line: code --install-extension anthropic.claude-code.
3. Open a file, then click the Spark icon at the top right of the editor, or "✻ Claude Code" in the status bar.
4. Click Sign in and confirm the sign-in in your browser.

The extension also installs in Cursor and in other VS Code-based editors, from their marketplace or the Open VSX registry. Worth knowing: it ships its own copy of Claude Code and does not add the claude command to your terminal. To get it on the command line too, install the CLI separately. Conversely, running claude in VS Code's integrated terminal installs the extension automatically.

Claude Code in JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm…)

The JetBrains plugin works with IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, PhpStorm, GoLand and Android Studio. Unlike the VS Code extension, it does not bundle Claude Code: it runs the claude command in the IDE's terminal.

1. Install the CLI with one of the commands above and check claude --version.
2. Install the plugin "Claude Code [Beta]" from the JetBrains Marketplace (Settings, then Plugins), and restart the IDE.
3. Run claude in the integrated terminal, or use Cmd + Esc on Mac, Ctrl + Esc on Windows and Linux.

From an external terminal, the /ide command connects the session to the open IDE. On WSL, set the command wsl -d Ubuntu -- bash -lic "claude" in the plugin settings, replacing Ubuntu with the name of your distribution.

Claude Code desktop: the desktop app

If you don't want a terminal at all, the Claude desktop app includes Claude Code in its Code tab. It installs like any other software, with no Node.js and no CLI.

• macOS: a universal build, for Intel Macs and Apple silicon alike.
• Windows: an x64 installer, and a separate installer for ARM64 processors.
• Linux: in beta, for Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 and later, through Anthropic's apt repository (package claude-desktop).

Launch the app, sign in, click the Code tab and then Select folder to choose your project. You can work locally, in the cloud (the session keeps running with the app closed), on a remote machine over SSH, or in WSL on Windows. The same app gives you access to chat and to Cowork, the background task agent I cover in Claude Cowork.

Like the CLI, the Code tab requires a paid subscription: if clicking Code prompts you to change plans, your account is on the free plan. The app does not accept a Console API key; in that case, use the CLI.

Update Claude Code

With the native installer, there's nothing to do: Claude Code checks for updates at startup and while you use it, downloads them in the background and applies them on the next launch. To force the update right away:

claude update

The other methods are updated by hand:

You set the channel in /config, under Auto-update channel: latest, the default, gets every release as soon as it ships; stable stays about one week behind and skips the releases that caused problems. To turn off automatic updates, add "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": "1" to the env section of your settings.json file.

Uninstall Claude Code

Remove the program first. Native installer, on Mac, Linux and WSL:

rm -f ~/.local/bin/claude
rm -rf ~/.local/share/claude

Native installer on Windows, in PowerShell:

Remove-Item -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe" -Force
Remove-Item -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\share\claude" -Recurse -Force

For the other methods: brew uninstall --cask claude-code, winget uninstall Anthropic.ClaudeCode, sudo apt remove claude-code, sudo dnf remove claude-code or npm uninstall -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.

Your settings, session history and MCP server configuration stay in ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json. Delete them only if you want to wipe everything, and uninstall the VS Code extension, the JetBrains plugin and the desktop app first, because they recreate that folder:

rm -rf ~/.claude
rm ~/.claude.json

If claude still responds after all that, a second installation is left somewhere, often an old npm version or an alias left behind by an old installer.

Common installation errors and how to fix them

Add Claude Code to your PATH

On Mac, with Zsh, the default shell:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

On Linux and WSL, with Bash, use the same line and replace ~/.zshrc with ~/.bashrc. On Windows, in PowerShell:

$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "$currentPath;$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin", 'User')

Then restart the terminal and run claude --version again.

What to do after you install Claude Code

Claude Code then grows in three ways:

• Skills: reusable know-how (an audit procedure, a publishing checklist) that the agent loads when it needs it. The how-to is in Claude Skills.
• MCP servers: the connection to your tools (Search Console, crawler, database). See what an MCP server is.
• Plugins: packages that bundle skills, agents and MCP servers, installed with /plugin in a session.

Half of what I hand it has nothing to do with development: converting hundreds of images, cross-referencing two exports, checking a site before it goes live. When a task comes back every week, it becomes a program that runs on its own: that's the kind of project I take on in an AI automation engagement.

Written by

Anthony Courtin

SEO, GEO & AI automation consultant

I help SMEs and independent professionals with their visibility (Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity) and with the real-world use of AI at work. I run on-site sessions to train teams and rethink their processes. Everything I write here, I use in client work.

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