Claude Code for Beginners: Install It on Windows and Build Your First Project

Claude Code is the tool I use to build and fix my websites and scripts, including this site. You describe what you want in plain English; it reads your project, writes the code and runs commands, asking your permission along the way.

This guide gets a complete beginner from zero to a first working project, with the official install commands from Anthropic's setup docs.

What Claude Code is (and is not)

If you have only used the chat, read how to use Claude AI first.

Before you install: account and computer

• Account: Claude Code needs a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise or Console account. The free Claude plan does not include it.
• Computer: Windows 10 (1809 or later), macOS 13 or later, or a recent Ubuntu or Debian, with 4 GB+ RAM and an internet connection.
• Recommended on Windows: Git for Windows. It is optional, but it gives Claude Code a Bash shell and lets you track every change.

Prefer no terminal at all? The Claude desktop app runs Claude Code with a graphical interface.

Step 1: Install

Open a terminal and run the command for your system.

Windows PowerShell (your prompt starts with PS C:\):

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

Windows CMD (prompt starts with C:\ and no PS):

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

macOS, Linux or WSL:

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

The installer shows no progress while it downloads. When it finishes, open a new terminal and check:

claude --version

You should see a version number. If the terminal says claude is not recognised, the install folder is not on your PATH yet; Anthropic's troubleshooting page explains the fix. For a full health check, run claude doctor.

Step 2: Log in

Create a folder for your project, open a terminal in it and type:

claude

The first time, it opens your browser to log in with your Claude account. Then you are in an interactive session.

Step 3: Your first project

Start small. A good first project: a one-page website for yourself or a local shop.

Type something like:

Create a simple one-page website in this folder for a tea stall called
"Chai Corner" in Noida. Plain HTML and CSS, mobile friendly, with a menu
section, opening hours and a WhatsApp button. Keep it in one index.html file.

Claude Code will:

1. Plan the change and show you what it intends to do.
2. Ask permission before creating or editing files.
3. Create the file.

Open index.html in your browser. Then ask for changes in plain words: "make the header green", "add a photo gallery section", "make the text bigger on phones".

Step 4: Work safely with Git

Before bigger changes, turn the folder into a Git repository so every change can be undone:

Initialise a git repository here and commit the current files with a clear message.

Then, after each working change: "commit this with a message describing the change". If something breaks, you can always go back.

Step 5: Teach it your rules with CLAUDE.md

Create a file called CLAUDE.md in your project with instructions Claude Code reads at the start of every session, for example:

# Project rules
- Plain HTML and CSS only, no frameworks.
- Keep every page fast on mobile data.
- Never put prices on the site.
- Ask before deleting any file.

For repeatable workflows, such as a checklist before publishing, use a skill. See Claude Skills explained.

Habits that make it work well

• One clear task at a time. "Add a contact section" beats "improve the site".
• Give context: who the site is for and what it must do.
• Read the changes it proposes before you accept them. You learn fast this way.
• Test in the browser after every change.
• Never paste passwords or API keys into chat. Keep secrets in environment files that are not committed.

What I build with it

Real examples from my own work: this website, the Veloxis Global website and its free audit tool, scripts that check websites, a lead tracker and a small CRM, and automations that post to Instagram on a schedule. You can see them on my work page.

Want to automate business tasks next? Read AI automation tools for small businesses.