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Claude Code Basics Lesson 14 of 46

What You Need Before You Start

In short
  • You need a Claude account with a paid plan: the free one doesn't include Claude Code.
  • You need a normal computer — Mac, Windows, or Linux, nothing ancient.
  • You don't need to install languages, editors, or developer tools.
  • You don't need to know how to code. You need to know how to explain what you want.

The account and the plan

This is the thing that stops the most people on their first try, so let's put it up front: Claude Code requires a paid plan. The free plan gives you the chat, not Claude Code.

The plans that include it are Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise: which one makes sense for you depends on how much you'll use it, and the up-to-date comparison is on the official pricing page.

This isn't something you should discover after installing everything: in the desktop app, if you open the Code tab without a suitable plan, it'll ask you to switch to a subscription. Better to know it now.

The computer

Here the news is good: you need a normal computer. Recent versions of Mac, Windows, or Linux, and a few gigs of memory — practically any machine bought in the last few years.

You obviously need an internet connection: the reasoning doesn't happen on your computer, so offline Claude Code doesn't work.

A note for anyone on Windows: for it to work on your computer's files, you need Git for Windows installed. On Macs it's usually already there. It's the only external piece in this whole business, and it installs like any other program.

What you DON'T need (and what stops half of everyone)

It's worth saying explicitly, because this is where people who could easily have gotten started freeze up out of fear:

  • You don't need to install a programming language. The desktop app already includes Claude Code: download that and you have everything.

  • You don't need a code editor. It's handy to have one, it's not a requirement.

  • You don't need to know how to code. You need to know how to explain what you want to get — which is a different skill, and you already have it.

  • You don't need a credit card for the machine. No service to set up beyond the account.

What's next

With the plan and the computer checked, it's time to install. In the next lesson: two paths, one that never touches the terminal and one with a single command.

Did you get it?

Two minutes, no grade. Trying to answer — even getting it wrong — cements the concepts far more than rereading. Not in the mood? Skip it: the lesson still counts as complete.

Is Claude's free plan enough to use Claude Code?

What do you need to install besides Claude Code?

Course Claude Code Basics

  1. Chapter 1 Introduction

    1. 1 The Claude Ecosystem and Where Claude Code Fits
    2. 2 What Claude Code Is: The Collaborator Who Walks Into Your Studio
    3. 3 How an Agent Works: The Loop

  2. Chapter 2 What's Underneath

    1. 4 Claude Code in Action: The Loop, for Real
    2. 5 The Model Has No Memory: It Starts Over Every Time
    3. 6 The Harness: The Engine and the Gear Around It
    4. 7 The Map: Four Buckets

  3. Chapter 3 You Choose the Engine

    1. 8 There's No Single Claude: The Model Lineup
    2. 9 Which Model for Which Job
    3. 10 Effort: How Hard It Should Think
    4. 11 Model or Effort? The Question That Trips Everyone Up
    5. 12 The Bill: Why Saving Money Can Cost You More

  4. Chapter 4 First Time at the Controls

    1. 13 Where to Run It: Four Doors In
    2. 14 What You Need Before You Start
    3. 15 Installing Claude Code
    4. 16 The Folder: Where You Open It Decides What It Works On
    5. 17 Choosing the Engine, in Practice
    6. 18 Your First Task: Small, Yours, and It Works

  5. Chapter 5 What You Let It Touch

    1. 19 Why It Asks for Permission
    2. 20 The Rules: Always Yes, Ask Me, Never
    3. 21 The Modes: How Much Leash You Give It
    4. 22 Plan Mode: Get the Plan Before the Work
    5. 23 Verification in the Loop: Give It a Yardstick
    6. 24 Example: Putting the Bucket Together

  6. Chapter 6 What It Knows About You

    1. 25 CLAUDE.md: The Notes It Reads the Moment It Walks In
    2. 26 How to Write a CLAUDE.md That Actually Works
    3. 27 The Context Window: How Much It Can Hold at Once
    4. 28 Cleaning Up: Compact and Clear
    5. 29 Automatic Memory
    6. 30 Example: From Repeating Yourself to Never Again

  7. Chapter 7 Skills

    1. 31 What a Skill Is: A Procedure Written Once
    2. 32 Creating Your First Skill
    3. 33 The Description Decides Whether It Gets Used
    4. 34 Example: A Skill That Saves You the Week

  8. Chapter 8 How Many You Put to Work

    1. 35 The Subagent: A Helper With Its Own Desk
    2. 36 When a Helper Is Worth It (and What It Costs)
    3. 37 Teams: When Agents Talk to Each Other
    4. 38 Example: Searching Without Cluttering the Desk

  9. Chapter 9 What It's Connected To

    1. 39 MCP: The Standard Plug Into Your Tools
    2. 40 Plugins: Packaging Up and Borrowing
    3. 41 Example: When You Stop Copying and Pasting

  10. Chapter 10 Automating the Setup

    1. 42 Hooks: The Thing That Always Happens
    2. 43 Where It Fires and What It Can Do
    3. 44 When You Actually Need One (and When It's Too Much)

  11. Chapter 11 Wrap-Up

    1. 45 The Project: Your Expense Tracker
    2. 46 Wrap-Up: What You're Taking Home
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