Wield the tool

Learn Claude Code,
even if you have never opened a terminal.

Claude Code is a conversation with one of the most capable writing and thinking tools ever built. No code required. You describe what you want in plain English, and it reads your files, drafts the document, does the research, and saves the result. Start here, then pick the module for your kind of work.

1.What the terminal actually is

The terminal is just a window where you type to your computer instead of clicking. That is the whole secret. People think it is for coders. It is not. It is the calmest place to talk to an AI, because there is nothing else on the screen: no tabs, no buttons, no noise. One window, one conversation.

On a Mac you already have one (it is called Terminal). We recommend a nicer, free, open-source one called Ghostty. Either works.

2.Get a terminal: Ghostty (free and open)

Ghostty is a fast, free, open-source terminal. Free to use, and nothing about it locks your work inside a paid service. Download it, drag it to your Applications, and open it like any app.

ghostty.org/download

Prefer not to install anything? Press Command and Space, type "Terminal", and press Return. That is the one built into your Mac. It works fine for everything here.

3.Install Claude Code, then sign in

Two things have to exist before any of this works: the Claude Code app, and a one-time sign-in that links it to your account. Claude Code runs on a paid Claude plan (Pro or Max); the free plan does not include it.

a

Install it

Open your terminal and follow the plain-English steps at code.claude.com/docs/en/setup. On a Mac it is one line you paste in and press Return.

b

Start it and sign in (this is the "activate" step)

Type this and press Return. The first time, it opens your browser to sign in and link your Claude account. You only do this once.

claude
c

Say hello

Hi! In one sentence, what can you help me do?

It answers. You are in. If claude says "command not found", quit the terminal, reopen it once, and try again.

One honest thing. The first day feels strange. You type something and it does not do what you expected. That is normal, and it is not you. Give it a few real tries on work that matters, and the strangeness turns into "this is just how I work now." Stuck? Ask Claude itself what went wrong. It is a conversation, not a wall.

4.Pick your module

Each module is a free starter kit plus a short page of lessons tuned to one kind of work. Same shape, different examples. Open the one closest to you, or take the first.