Claude Code: The Complete Beginner's Guide

Claude Code has multiplied my development speed.

Claude Code has rapidly established itself in the developer community - a clear signal of its practical usefulness.

After 5 months of intensive use, I'll show you in this guide how to get started with Claude Code as a complete beginner (even without any programming knowledge).

What is Claude Code? (And Why Should You Care)

Six months ago, I was skeptical. "Another AI coding tool?" I thought. I was already using Claude and was happy with Cursor. So why switch?

The answer: Claude Code is not an ordinary development tool.

It's a full-fledged AI assistant that works directly in your terminal and understands and implements complex tasks (even if you've never written a line of code).

The Crucial Difference from Other Tools

While ChatGPT or Claude.ai give you code snippets that you then have to integrate yourself, Claude Code does everything directly:

• It reads and edits your files automatically
• It executes terminal commands and responds to errors
• It understands your entire project, not just individual files
• It even creates Git commits with meaningful messages

Concretely, this means: You say "Add a dark mode to my website" and Claude Code handles the rest. No tedious copying and pasting, no manual debugging.

Installation: Step by Step Explained (Even for Command Line Beginners)

The installation sounds more technical than it is. I'll guide you through every step:

Check Prerequisites

Before we start, you'll need:

• A terminal or command prompt - Pre-installed on every computer
• A code project to work on - Or simply create a new folder
• Claude account - Claude.ai (recommended) or Claude Console

Step 1: Install Claude Code

You have two options for installation:

Option 1: NPM Installation (requires Node.js 18+)

If you have Node.js 18 or newer installed:

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

Option 2: Native Installation (Beta) - Recommended!

The new native installation is simpler and doesn't require Node.js:

For macOS and Linux (Homebrew):

brew install --cask claude-code

For macOS, Linux, and WSL:

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

For Windows (PowerShell):

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

For Windows (CMD):

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

Step 2: Log Into Your Account

Claude Code requires an account to use. Start an interactive session:

# Start Claude Code
claude

# On first start, you'll be prompted to log in
# Or use the login command:
/login

You can log in with both account types:

• Claude.ai (subscription plans) - Recommended for regular use!
• Claude Console (API access with prepaid credits)

After logging in, your credentials are saved and you won't need to log in again. If you use Claude Console, a workspace named "Claude Code" will be automatically created for cost tracking.

Step 3: Start Your First Session

Open your terminal in any project directory:

# Navigate to your project directory
cd /path/to/your/project

# Start Claude Code
claude

You'll see the Claude Code welcome screen with your session information. Type /help for available commands or /resume to continue a previous conversation.

Your First Steps with Claude Code

Now it gets practical! Let's see Claude Code in action:

Step 1: Ask Your First Question

Let's start by understanding your codebase:

> what does this project do?

Claude will analyze your files and provide a summary. You can also ask more specific questions:

> what technologies does this project use?
> where is the main entry point?
> explain the folder structure

Step 2: Make Your First Code Change

Let's have Claude Code actually write code. Try a simple task:

> add a hello world function to the main file

Claude Code will:

1. Find the appropriate file
2. Show you the proposed changes
3. Ask for your approval
4. Make the edit

Step 3: Use Git with Claude Code

Claude Code makes Git operations conversational:

> what files have I changed?
> commit my changes with a descriptive message
> create a new branch called feature/quickstart
> show me the last 5 commits

Step 4: Fix a Bug or Add a Feature

Claude is excellent at debugging and feature implementation. Just describe what you want:

> add input validation to the user registration form

Or fix existing issues:

> there's a bug where users can submit empty forms - fix it

Claude Code will locate the relevant code, understand the context, implement a solution, and run tests (if available).

The Most Important Commands

Here are the most important commands for daily use:

Tips for Beginners

You don't need to be a developer to use Claude Code effectively. Here are the best tips:

1. Be Specific with Your Requests

The more precisely you describe what you want, the better the result:

2. Use Step-by-Step Instructions

Break complex tasks into steps:

> 1. create a new database table for user profiles
> 2. create an API endpoint for fetching and updating user profiles
> 3. build a webpage that allows users to view and edit their information

3. Let Claude Explore First

Before making changes, let Claude understand your code:

> analyze the database schema
> build a dashboard showing products most frequently returned by our UK customers

4. Save Time with Shortcuts

• Press ? to see all available keyboard shortcuts
• Use Tab for command completion
• Press Up Arrow for command history
• Type / to see all slash commands

5. Use Examples and Comparisons

Claude understands analogies perfectly:

Create a prompt improver like the one at /prompt-improver,
but with focus on German prompts and better structure.
Use the existing UI components from src/components/ui/

6. Ask for Explanations

> explain to me in simple terms what the code does
> why did you choose this solution?
> what are the pros and cons of this implementation?

7. Use Claude Code's Think Modes

Claude Code has different "thinking modes" for tasks of varying complexity:

# Standard mode (fast)
"Add the TLDR component to the blog article"

# Think mode (more thoughtful)
"think: How should I best structure rate limiting
with Upstash Redis for the API routes?"

# Think Hard (very thorough)
"think hard: Refactor the blog utils to support both
category='string' and category={BLOG_CATEGORIES.XXX}"

# Ultra Think (maximum analysis)
"ultrathink: Optimize the bundle size and implement
code splitting for the blog components"

8. Save Tokens with /clear

Claude Code has a daily and weekly limit that can be annoying. Here's how to save tokens:

# Clear context when a task is complete
/clear

# Keep only specific files in context
/clear
"Keep only src/components/Header.tsx in context"

9. Create a CLAUDE.md File

A CLAUDE.md file is like a "briefing" for Claude Code. It automatically reads a CLAUDE.md file in your project directory and immediately understands your project.

# CLAUDE.md - Gradually.ai AI Blog

## Project Overview
Next.js 15.3.3 application with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS v4.
Main purpose: German AI blog about artificial intelligence, SEO, and digital tools.

## Tech Stack
- **Framework**: Next.js 15.3.3 with App Router
- **Language**: TypeScript 5.x with strict mode
- **Styling**: Tailwind CSS v4 with PostCSS
- **UI**: Radix UI primitives with shadcn/ui patterns
- **Analytics**: Vercel Analytics
- **Rate Limiting**: Upstash Redis
- **AI Integration**: OpenAI & Together AI APIs
- **Forms**: React Hook Form with Zod validation

## Project Structure
ki-blog/
├── src/
│   ├── app/               # Next.js App Router pages
│   ├── components/        # React components
│   ├── lib/              # Core utilities and services
│   │   ├── api/          # API clients and middleware
│   │   ├── blog/         # Blog-related utilities
│   │   └── seo/          # SEO configuration
│   └── hooks/            # Custom React hooks
├── public/images/        # Blog images and assets
└── docs/                 # Project documentation

## Important Commands
npm run dev               # Development server with Turbopack
npm run build             # Production build
npm run lint              # Run ESLint
npm run build:analyze     # Analyze bundle size
npm run update-screenshots # Update tool screenshots

## Coding Standards
- TypeScript strict mode ALWAYS enabled
- Functional components with hooks
- Tailwind CSS for styling (no separate CSS files)
- German content, English variable names
- Error Boundaries for all API calls
- Zod for runtime validation

## Git Conventions
- Commits: "feat: ", "fix: ", "refactor: ", "docs: "
- Branches: feature/name, fix/name, refactor/name
- NEVER commit secrets