Simple explanation
Welcome to Day 1. No theory today. No reading. Just one result: Claude Code installed and running on your computer. This takes most people between 5 and 15 minutes. Go at your own pace. What is Claude Code? Claude Code is an AI assistant that lives inside your computer — not just a chat window in a browser. It can read your files, create new ones, fix problems, and build entire websites by following your plain English instructions. Think of it as hiring a very fast builder who works inside your computer and does exactly what you tell them. Before installing Claude Code you need two things: A Claude Pro account — go to claude.ai and sign up for Pro. The free tier does not include Claude Code. Node.js installed on your computer — this is a small piece of software Claude Code needs to run. Go to nodejs.org, download the LTS version, and install it like any normal program.
What to do
Step 1 — Install Claude Code Open your terminal. On a Mac: press Command + Space, type "Terminal", press Enter. On Windows: press the Windows key, type "cmd", press Enter. Type this exactly and press Enter: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code Wait for it to finish. You will see a lot of text scrolling. This is normal. It is not broken. Step 2 — Log in Type this and press Enter: claude Claude Code will ask you to log in. Follow the steps — it opens a browser window where you sign in with your Claude account. Come back to the terminal when done. Step 3 — Your first prompt Once you are logged in and see the Claude Code prompt — type this exactly: "Hello. What can you help me build today?" Press Enter. Claude Code will respond. You have just used Claude Code for the first time. Today's result: Claude Code is installed. You are logged in. You have typed your first prompt and received a response. That is Day 1 complete. Stuck? The most common problem on Day 1 is Node.js not being installed correctly. If you see an error after typing the install command — close the terminal, reinstall Node.js from nodejs.org, then try again.
Copy-paste prompt
Hello. What can you help me build today? I am a non-developer who has just installed Claude Code for the first time. Tell me what you are capable of in simple terms.
Course note
Key takeaway
Claude Code lives on your computer, not in a browser. Today you installed it, logged in, and typed your first prompt. That is the foundation for everything that follows.