Free Tutorial
Claude Code Tutorial: Complete Beginner's Guide
Go from zero to building real projects with Claude Code in under 2 hours. No coding experience required.
What Is Claude Code?
Claude Code is Anthropic's AI coding assistant that runs in your terminal, IDE, desktop app, or browser. Unlike chatbots that just answer questions, Claude Code reads your files, writes code, runs commands, and builds entire projects alongside you.
Think of it as a senior developer pair-programming with you 24/7 — one that knows every framework, every language, and never gets tired.
Install Claude Code
Installation takes about 60 seconds:
# Mac / Linux / WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
After installation, run claude in your terminal to start an interactive session.
Your First Prompt
The key to effective Claude Code usage is giving it context. Instead of vague prompts, be specific about what you want and why:
# Bad: vague prompt
make a website
# Good: specific prompt with context
Create a Next.js landing page for a dog walking service. Include a hero section with a headline, a pricing grid with 3 tiers, and a contact form that validates email addresses.
Build a Real Project
Let's build something real. Open your terminal in a new directory and start Claude Code:
mkdir my-first-app && cd my-first-app
claude
# Then tell Claude what to build:
Build a personal portfolio site with Next.js. Include an about section, a projects grid that reads from a JSON file, and dark mode support. Deploy it to Vercel.
Claude Code will create the project structure, write all the code, install dependencies, and even deploy it — all from that single prompt.
Essential Commands
/modelSwitch between Claude models (Fable 5, Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6)/compactSummarize the conversation to free up context/fastToggle fast mode for faster Opus outputCLAUDE.mdProject config file — tells Claude about your codebase/cdChange working directory without breaking the sessionKeep Learning
This tutorial covers the basics. The full 12-week course at Agent Code Academy goes much deeper — databases, authentication, testing, MCP servers, and building AI agent teams.
Weeks 1-4 are completely free: