Installing Claude Code (Step by Step)

What you need

• A terminal (PowerShell, CMD, Bash, or Zsh)
• A Claude account (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account
• No Node.js required for the recommended install method - only needed if you install via npm instead

Installing

The recommended method is the native installer, which needs no Node.js:

• macOS/Linux/WSL: curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/bootstrap.sh | bash
• Windows PowerShell: irm https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/bootstrap.ps1 | iex
• Windows CMD: curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/bootstrap.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

Alternatively via npm (requires Node.js 22 or later as of version 2.1.198):

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

First start

In your terminal, move into your project folder and start Claude Code:

cd /path/to/your/project
claude

On first run you'll be prompted to log in through your browser. Later, you can switch accounts inside a session with /login. Once logged in, your credentials stay saved.

Windows notes

Claude Code runs natively on Windows without needing WSL, and you don't need Administrator rights. Git for Windows is optional: if it's installed, Claude Code uses Git Bash for the Bash tool; without it, Claude Code falls back to the PowerShell tool. WSL 2 is also optional and only needed if you want the sandboxing feature.

What it looks like

$ curl -fsSL https://downloads.claude.ai/claude-code-releases/bootstrap.sh | bash
$ cd /path/to/your/project
$ claude
> explain what this project does
This is a small Express API for managing tasks: routes in src/routes,
SQLite storage in src/db.js, and a health check at GET /status.