Claude Code for beginners

What it is

The Claude Code product page says you hand Claude a bug fix, a test, or a multi-day migration, and you steer and review from the terminal, an IDE, Slack, or the web. It says the product is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It also lists native extensions for VS Code, Cursor, Devin Desktop, and JetBrains, plus the browser and the mobile app. Checked on 3 November 2026.

That is a coding agent for a repository you already have. It is not a website that builds the first page in a browser tab. If you do not have a project yet, start with Bolt or Lovable, then come back when there are files to point at. What is Cursor? is the editor-shaped alternative. Cursor vs Claude Code puts the two published shapes on one page. This site has not run the same task in both.

The Claude Code tool page was rechecked the same day and uses these plan names.

What it costs to start

Claude Free is $0, with limited usage every five hours and every week. The feature table marks Claude Code as No on Free.

Pro is $20 if you pay monthly. With the annual discount it is $17 a month, and $200 is billed up front. The card says everything in Free, plus more usage, and it lists Claude Code. The table agrees: Claude Code is Yes on Pro.

Max is $100 a month, with 5 times Pro usage every five hours and every week, and Claude Code included. Ultra is $200 a month, with 10 times Pro usage every week, no five-hour limit for verified accounts, and Claude Code included. The page says how fast you reach a limit depends on the model, how long the chats are, and how large the files are. Prices do not include tax, and Anthropic says plans can change.

Team is for 2 to 150 people. A standard seat is $25 if billed monthly, or $20 per seat per month if billed annually. The team feature list includes Claude Code. Premium seats are $125 monthly or $100 annually. The pricing card says premium seats have 5x more usage than standard seats. The Team plan article says a standard seat includes 1.25 times Pro's per-session allowance and a premium seat includes 6.25 times. Both sentences are on Anthropic's pages, so this guide does not collapse them. You do not need Team to begin. Pro is the individual door. The pricing page also lists an Education plan and does not print a dollar price for it.

A Console account, billed with prepaid API credits, is the other door the quickstart allows. It is a different bill. Skip it until you know you want API billing.

How to start, from the official quickstart

The quickstart says to have a terminal open, a code project to work in, and a Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise), a Claude Console account, or a supported cloud provider. If you have never used a terminal, that page points you at a terminal guide. This guide does not replace that. The commands below are the ones the quickstart printed on 3 November 2026.

Install, native method, which they mark recommended.

On macOS, Linux, or WSL:

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

On Windows PowerShell:

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

On Windows CMD:

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

When it finishes, open a new terminal and run claude --version. A working install prints a version number and the words Claude Code. Homebrew and WinGet are alternate commands on the same page.

Then, in your project:

cd /path/to/your/project

claude

Replace the path with your project. Claude Code asks you to log in. For a subscription, finish that in the browser. The quickstart lists Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise as the recommended account types. It also says that if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set and you approve using it, Claude Code skips the login prompt and can bill that key. If you did not mean to open an API bill, do not approve that prompt. Unset the key and sign in with Pro instead.

After login, the prompt shows the version, the model, and the folder. The quickstart says to type /help for commands. Ask one question about the repo before you ask for a change. Read what it did. The product page says it works with git and can open pull requests. You still decide whether the change is acceptable. This site has not watched it do that on a sample repo.

What beginners trip on

Point Claude Code at a project you can throw away, not an empty home directory. Free will not run it. An API key left in the environment can move the bill off the Pro subscription. Keep the first task to one question and one small edit.

Read Cursor vs Claude Code if you are choosing an editor instead, and Claude Code vs Codex if you already pay for ChatGPT. The coding agents category lists the tools that assume a repository. The cost guide puts the $20 Pro price next to the browser plans.

A small first task

Use a repository you understand, even a toy one with a single page.

1. Install with the command for your system. Check claude --version.
2. Run claude in that folder and sign in with Pro or higher.
3. Ask what the project contains. Do not ask for a rewrite.
4. Ask for one change you can see, such as a sentence on the page.
5. Read the diff. Keep it or undo it. Stop.

If the terminal itself is the blocker, use the web or desktop app the quickstart links, still on a paid plan. The plan requirement does not go away because the window looks friendlier.

Checked on 3 November 2026. Install URLs and prices are only as fresh as that reading. The quickstart and the pricing page are the two to reopen if a command fails or a price looks different.