foundations

The Setup

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Everything you need to install and configure before building.

What You Need

Three things:

  1. Claude Code — your AI building partner
  2. A code editor — to see and manage files
  3. Platform tools — depending on what you're building

That's it. No frameworks to learn first.

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's command-line tool. It runs in your terminal and builds alongside you.

macOS

Open Terminal and run:

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

Don't have npm? Install Node.js first (LTS version). This gives you both node and npm.

Verify it works

terminal
claude --version

You should see a version number. If you get an error, make sure Node.js installed correctly.

Step 2: Install a Code Editor

You need a way to view and browse the files Claude creates. Two options:

VS Code (Recommended)

Download from code.visualstudio.com. Free, works everywhere, great file browser.

Cursor

Download from cursor.sh. Built on VS Code with AI features added. Also works well.

Either one is fine. You'll mostly use it to browse files and see what Claude built — not to write code yourself.

Step 3: Platform Tools

Install based on what you want to build:

For Web Projects (LinkPreview, Weather, Portfolio, Playground)

  • A modern browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)
  • That's it — no additional tools needed

For macOS Projects (ColorDrop, QuickNotes)

  • Xcode — free from the Mac App Store
  • Takes a while to download (~12GB)

For iOS Projects (HabitTracker)

  • Xcode — same as above
  • An iPhone with iOS 17+ (to run on your device)
  • Same Apple ID signed in on Mac and iPhone

Step 4: The "Just Ask" Test

Let's make sure everything works. Open Terminal, create a test folder, and start Claude:

terminal
mkdir ~/Desktop/test-project
cd ~/Desktop/test-project
claude

Claude should start up. Try a simple prompt:

Create a file called hello.txt that says "It works!"

If Claude creates the file, you're ready. Delete the test folder and move on:

terminal
rm -rf ~/Desktop/test-project

If Something Doesn't Work

"command not found: claude" — Node.js or the Claude Code package didn't install correctly. Try:

terminal
node --version
npm --version

If these don't work, reinstall Node.js from nodejs.org.

"command not found: npm" — You need Node.js. Download the LTS version from nodejs.org.

Claude starts but can't create files — Make sure you're in a directory where you have write permissions. ~/Desktop or ~/Documents work fine.

Xcode won't install — Check that your macOS is up to date. Xcode requires the latest or second-latest macOS version.

You're Ready

Your environment is set up. Next, you'll learn the actual workflow for building with Claude.

Exercises

  1. Install Claude Code and run claude --version to confirm you see a version number.
  2. Run the "Just Ask" test — create a test folder, start Claude, and have it create hello.txt. Confirm the file appears in your editor's file browser.
  3. Decide which first project you want to build (web, macOS, or iOS) and install the platform tool it needs.