Set up Claude
This is the only setup in the whole course, and it is worth it. By the end you will have Claude installed and your first thing built. Take it one step at a time.
The three faces of Claude
Claude comes in three forms, and it helps to know which is which:
Claude on the web
A chat window in your browser at claude.ai. Free to try. This is where you get a feel for it.
The Claude app
The same chat as a proper app on your computer or phone. Convenient, but optional.
Claude Code
The one that builds real things on your computer. This is the tool that makes the rest of the course possible, and it needs a paid plan.
Which plan to start on
There is a free tier, which is fine for chatting and trying things out. But Claude Code, the building tool, lives behind the paid plans. To actually build the projects in Stage 4, you want the entry paid plan, called Pro. It is a monthly subscription, around the cost of a streaming service, and it unlocks Claude Code along with much higher usage limits.
Prices and tier names change, so check the current options on Anthropic's pricing page before you pay. The Resources page has the up-to-date links for everything in this stage.
Set it up, step by step
Try Claude for free
Go to claude.ai, make an account, and send it a message. Ask it anything. The point is just to get comfortable talking to it before you pay for anything.
Upgrade to Pro
When you are ready to build, open your account settings, go to billing, and subscribe to the Pro plan. This is what unlocks Claude Code.
Install the free prerequisite
Claude Code needs a free piece of software called Node.js on your computer first. Download it from nodejs.org and run the installer like any normal app. There is a click-by-click guide linked from Resources if you want one.
Open the Terminal
The Terminal is just a window where you type instructions instead of clicking. It comes built into every computer. To open it:
- Windows: press the Windows key, type powershell, and press enter.
- Mac: hold Cmd and press the space bar, type terminal, and press enter.
A small window with text appears. That is the Terminal. To paste into it in the next steps, use Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on Mac. A right-click usually pastes too.
Install Claude Code
Paste this one line into the Terminal and press enter. This is the most technical-looking moment in the whole course, and all you are doing is copying and pasting.
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
If it says npm is not recognised, close the Terminal, open it again, and run the line once more. Node.js just needed the window to restart. If anything else looks different, the official setup guide in Resources always has the current steps.
Start it and log in
Type the word below and press enter. It will ask you to log in with the account you just upgraded, and then you are in.
claude
Build your first thing
Now just talk to it. Paste this in and watch it work. In a minute or two you will have a real, working webpage you made by asking.
Build me a simple webpage that shows a different motivational quote each time I refresh it. Keep it to one file, make it look nice, and tell me how to open it in my browser.
Open it and see what you made
Claude will tell you the name of the file it created and where it saved it. The quickest way to see it is to find that file and double-click it, and it opens in your browser. If you are not sure where it went, just ask Claude "how do I open this?" and it will walk you through it. That is your first build, made entirely by asking.
That is completely normal. It is just a place to type instructions instead of clicking buttons. You are not going to break your computer by trying, and you can close it and start again any time. Copying and pasting the lines above is genuinely all that is being asked of you.
The short version
- 1Claude comes in three forms: web, app, and Claude Code.
- 2Claude Code is the builder, and it needs the paid Pro plan.
- 3Try it free first, then upgrade when you want to build.
- 4Install Node.js, then Claude Code, then type "claude" to start.
- 5Your first build is one pasted sentence away.
That is the hard part done, and it was not that hard. From here on it is all building. Stage 4 gives you four directions to choose from, each with something I made that you can rebuild your own way.
This is the step people most often get snagged on, and that is completely normal. If something will not behave, you do not have to fight it alone. You can do a one-to-one session and we will get it working together.