Installing Claude Code

This is the only technical part of this whole guide. After today, you'll never think about the install again.

You'll be typing things into a black-and-white window called a Terminal. It looks scary in movies. It isn't. You're just going to copy what I give you, paste it, and press Enter. That's it.

Pick your computer

Step 1: Open the Terminal

Step 2: Sign Up for Claude (If You Haven't)

Claude Code requires a paid Claude account. The cheapest plan covers everything you need to get started.

If you already have Claude Pro or Max — skip to Step 3.

If you don't:

• Go to claude.ai and sign up
• Click the upgrade button and pick a plan below

Almost everyone starts with Pro at $20/month. You can upgrade any time. One subscription covers Claude on the web AND Claude Code on your computer — same account, same login, same plan.

Step 3: Install Claude Code

Copy the command below. Paste it into your terminal. Press Enter.

You'll see a bunch of text scroll by — letters, numbers, words you don't recognize. That's normal. It's the installer downloading and unpacking files. Wait until the scrolling stops and your blinking cursor comes back.

Step 4: Open a Fresh Terminal

This step trips up almost everyone. Do not skip it.

The installer made some changes that only take effect in a brand-new terminal session. So:

To check the install actually worked, type this in your fresh terminal and press Enter:

If you see a version number (something like claude 1.x.x), the install worked. Move to Step 5.

If you see command not found, scroll to the Troubleshooting section at the bottom — it's the most common hiccup and the fix is two clicks.

Step 5: Launch Claude Code & Log In

In your terminal, type:

Press Enter.

The first time you run it, your web browser will open automatically and ask you to log into your Claude account. Log in. Click "Allow." Come back to your terminal.

You'll see a friendly welcome message and a prompt waiting for you to type. You're in.

Step 6: Say Hi (Your First Real Moment)

At the prompt, type this and press Enter:

Claude will think for a second, then ask permission to create the file. Type y and Enter to approve.

Now go look at your desktop. There's a file there. A real file. That you didn't make.

Claude didn't just answer your question — it did something. That's the whole difference.

Step 7: Quit For Now (Or Keep Going)

To exit Claude Code, type /quit and press Enter, or press Ctrl + C twice.

To launch it again later, just open your terminal and type claude. That's it. Forever.

Troubleshooting

If something didn't work, find your error below. These cover 95% of first-install hiccups.

How to Actually Talk to Claude.

Claude Code is installed. Now here's the part that actually decides whether you get value out of it or not.

The single biggest mistake people make is treating Claude like a search engine. Type a question. Get an answer. Done.

That works. But it's like hiring a senior consultant and only letting them look up phone numbers.

Here's the way of working that gets you 10× more out of every conversation. Seven small habits. None of them are hard. All of them feel weird at first.

Move 1: Lead with the outcome, not the task

This is the foundation. Everything else builds on it.

When you start a conversation with Claude, tell it what you're trying to achieve. Not what to make.

Lead with the outcome. Let Claude figure out the methodology.

Move 2: Have a real conversation

Don't dump a giant prompt and walk away. Talk to it. Ask follow-up questions. Push back when something feels off. Tell it when you don't like the direction.

Claude does its best work when it's in dialogue, not when it's executing a brief. The more back-and-forth, the better the output.

Treat every conversation like you're working through a problem with a smart coworker — because you are.

Move 3: Make Claude interview YOU

This is the move that changes everything. Almost no one does it. Read this twice.

Before Claude does anything, ask:

"Before you do this, what do you need to know from me to nail it? Interview me. Ask me one question at a time."

Claude will start asking smart, targeted questions. Answer them honestly — the messy answers are the most useful ones. By the time it's done interviewing you, it has 5× more context than if you'd just told it what you wanted.

Move 4: Hunt for blind spots

Once you've talked it through, before Claude starts working, ask:

"What am I missing? What questions should I be asking that I'm not? What could make this fail?"

Claude is good at seeing around corners. It's read the playbooks of every business that's done what you're trying to do. Use that.

Read its answer carefully. There's almost always one thing in there you hadn't considered. That one thing is usually the most valuable part of the whole conversation.

Move 5: Verify alignment before any work starts

This is the step that prevents 90% of "this isn't what I asked for" frustration.

Before Claude starts producing anything, ask:

"Tell me back — what do you think my intention is? What's the outcome I'm targeting? What approach are you about to take?"

Claude will summarize what it heard from you. Read it carefully. If anything is wrong, missing, or off — correct it. If it's right, you're cleared to move forward.

One paragraph of alignment now beats an hour of revisions later. Every time.

Move 6: Plan Mode — your secret weapon

This is the Claude Code superpower most people don't know about.

When you're about to build something — a project, a piece of copy, an automation, anything multi-step — press this in your terminal:

This puts Claude into Plan Mode. You'll see a small indicator change at the bottom of your terminal.

In Plan Mode, Claude won't actually do anything yet. It'll write you a step-by-step plan of exactly what it intends to do — every file, every change, every step. You read it. You push back. You make it better.

A bulletproof plan means a bulletproof build. The build itself is mostly automatic once the plan is right.

This is the one habit, more than anything else, that separates people who get incredible results out of Claude from people who get mediocre ones.

Move 7: Approve, then build

When the plan is right, press Shift + Tab again to leave Plan Mode and let Claude execute. It'll do the work. You watch it happen in real time.

If something goes sideways mid-build, you can stop, refine the plan, and try again. No work is ever lost — Claude tells you what it changed every step of the way.

Teach Claude About Your Business Today.

You've installed Claude Code. You know the mindset. Here's the move that separates day-one users from people who've been doing this for months.

Before you ask Claude to write a single email, build a single thing, or solve a single problem — teach it about your business.

This sounds boring. It isn't. It's the highest-leverage 30 minutes you'll spend with this tool, period.

Two paths to do this. Pick whichever feels easier. Both end at the same place.

Path A: The Fast Way (Have Claude Interview You)

This is what I recommend if you don't want to dig up files.

Open Claude Code. Paste this exact prompt:

Then just answer the questions as they come. Take your time. Be honest — even the messy parts, especially the messy parts.

When Claude finishes, it'll write you a Business Brief. Save it. Tell Claude:

"Save this Business Brief as a file called business-brief.md on my desktop."

Now you have a real document, on your real computer, that captures your business in Claude's words.

Path B: The Thorough Way (Upload Everything)

If you've got the energy and a free hour, this version produces a sharper brief because it's grounded in your actual words, not just what you remember in an interview.

Step 1 — Gather these files into a folder on your desktop called my-business:

• Your website copy (homepage, about page, sales pages — copy and paste into a doc if needed)
• Your last 10 marketing emails
• Your offer descriptions and prices
• 3-5 customer testimonials or DMs
• A handful of your social media posts
• Anything else that captures how you talk to your customers

Step 2 — Open Claude Code in that folder. In your terminal:

Step 3 — Paste this prompt:

Claude will read everything and produce a Business Brief grounded in your actual words. This brief will sound more like you than anything you could write yourself in 30 minutes.

Use the Brief in Every Future Conversation

From now on, when you start any new project with Claude, your first message should be:

"Before we start, read business-brief.md from my desktop. That's my business — reference it for everything we work on together."

Claude reads the file. Now it has full context. Now you can skip the explaining and get straight to the work.

Update the brief any time something major changes — new offer, new audience, new direction. Just open Claude Code and say "let's update my Business Brief — here's what changed."

Cheat Sheet.

The keyboard shortcuts and commands you'll actually use the most.

Inside Claude Code

From Your Regular Terminal

The 7 Moves (From Part 2)

• 1. Lead with the outcome, not the task
• 2. Have a real conversation — talk back, push back
• 3. Make Claude interview YOU before any work starts
• 4. Hunt for blind spots — "what am I missing?"
• 5. Verify alignment — "tell me back what I want"
• 6. Plan Mode (Shift+Tab) — 90% planning, 10% building
• 7. Approve, then build — only after the plan is right

One Last Thing.

You're not learning a tool.

You're hiring a coworker.

If you treat Claude like a search engine, you'll get search-engine results. If you treat it like a thoughtful collaborator who needs context, asks questions, and plans before building — you'll get something most people never see.

Now go work with it.