What Is Claude Code?

You do not need to be an expert programmer to use it. If you can describe what you want, Claude Code can build it.

Three Ways to Access It

• VS Code — Install the extension and use it right inside your code editor. Best for beginners.
• Terminal — Type claude in your command line. Most powerful option.
• Claude Desktop App — Download from claude.ai/download. Use the Code tab or Cowork for background tasks.

Who Can Use It

You need a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription at claude.com. You can also use it with an Anthropic API account with credits. The free plan does not include Claude Code.

Installing Claude Code

The fastest way — open your terminal and run one command:

Mac / Linux / WSL:

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

Windows (PowerShell):

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

Check that it worked:

claude --version

10 Things You Can Build

1. Build a Personal Website

claude "Build me a personal portfolio website. Include a homepage with my name and bio, an About page, a Projects page with 4 placeholder cards, and a Contact page with a form. Make it look modern and clean. Use dark mode. Make sure it looks good on phones too."

2. Create a Full Web App with a Database

claude "Create a simple to-do list app using React for the frontend and a local SQLite database. Users should be able to add tasks, mark them complete, delete them, and filter by status. Add some nice animations when tasks are completed."

3. Build a Landing Page for Your Business

claude "Build a landing page for my online tutoring business called BrightMind. Include a hero section with a headline and signup button, a section showing 3 features with icons, a testimonials section with 3 fake reviews, a pricing table with 3 tiers, and a footer. Make it professional and colorful."

4. Automate Boring File Tasks

claude "Write a Python script that goes through a folder of photos, reads the date each photo was taken from the metadata, and organizes them into subfolders by year and month. Like Photos/2025/March/. Run it on my Downloads folder."

5. Create a Chrome Extension

claude "Build a Chrome extension that lets me save any highlighted text on a webpage to a list. When I click the extension icon it should show all my saved highlights with the URL they came from. Add a button to copy all highlights to clipboard and a button to clear the list."

6. Build a Mobile App

claude "Create a React Native app for tracking daily habits. It should have a home screen that shows today's habits with checkboxes, a screen to add new habits, and a stats screen that shows a weekly streak calendar. Use a clean minimal design with soft colors."

7. Turn a Screenshot Into Code

claude "Look at this screenshot I'm sharing. Recreate this exact design as a responsive HTML page. Match the layout, colors, fonts, and spacing as closely as possible. Make all the buttons and links functional."

8. Automate Emails and Notifications

claude "Write a Python script that checks a list of URLs every morning and sends me an email summary of which ones are down or returning errors. Use smtplib for email. Include instructions for setting it up with Gmail."

9. Create an API or Backend Service

claude "Build a REST API using Node.js and Express for a simple blog. It should have endpoints to create, read, update, and delete blog posts. Store posts in a SQLite database. Add basic input validation and error handling. Include a README with setup instructions."

10. Fix Bugs and Errors

claude "I'm getting this error when I try to run my app: [paste your error message here]. Explain what is going wrong in simple terms and fix it for me."

Essential Commands Cheat Sheet

• claude — Start a session in your current project folder
• claude "task" — Run a quick one-time task
• claude --continue — Pick up where you left off last time
• claude --resume — Choose from a list of past sessions
• claude --version — Check which version you have installed
• /help — See all available commands (type inside a session)
• /compact — Save memory when a conversation gets long

Pro Tip: CLAUDE.md

Create a file called CLAUDE.md in your project folder. Write instructions like "always use TypeScript" or "use Tailwind CSS for styling" and Claude will follow them automatically every session. Think of it as a settings file for your AI assistant.