With an AI chat you copy code, paste it into your project, test it and paste the error back, over and over. Claude Code works directly on your folder: it reads the whole project, edits files and runs commands to build features, fix bugs and automate development tasks.
Who this is NOT for
If your business has no folder of code or project files to maintain, do not install it: for drafting, summarizing or thinking out loud, the regular Claude chat is enough. It is also not for you if you have never opened a terminal and nobody can sit with you the first time: the page itself spends a whole paragraph on install errors depending on whether you are in PowerShell or CMD.
The difference from an AI chat is not that it is smarter, it is that it has hands: it touches your files and runs commands. That is why the usual mistake is treating it like a chat instead of opening it inside a real project folder. Two details from the docs that save you an afternoon: the installer shows no progress while downloading (it is not frozen, wait), and only the native install updates itself. If you install it with Homebrew or WinGet, updating is on you.
Your first step
Open a terminal and run curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash on macOS or Linux, or irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex in Windows PowerShell. Then open a new terminal and type claude --version: if it prints a version number, the install worked.
The Claude Code implementation guide
The project belongs to docs.claude.com and it is free: the link beside asks for nothing. The guide to set it up without getting lost is ours: step by step, common mistakes and a checklist. Leave your email and we will send it.
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