How to Install Claude Code in Your Terminal (2026 Guide)

Heads-up: this guide links to Anthropic’s official pages. If I ever add affiliate or sponsored links to a post, I mark them clearly and tag them as sponsored — there are none in this article.

Claude Code is an agentic coding tool from Anthropic that runs in your terminal. Instead of copying snippets back and forth from a chat window, it reads your project, edits files, runs commands, and handles git — all from natural-language instructions. I use it daily across web and mobile builds, so here’s the exact setup I’d give a developer starting from zero.

What you need first

• A terminal (Terminal on macOS, any shell on Linux, PowerShell or WSL on Windows).
• An internet connection — Claude Code talks to Anthropic’s models over the network.
• A paid Claude plan (Pro or Max) or pay-as-you-go API credits. Installing is free, but using it is not — the free Claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code. Check current plans on the official pricing page.

The recommended native installer needs no Node.js. You only need Node (version 18 or higher) if you choose the npm method.

Method 1: Native installer (recommended)

This is the method Anthropic tests and supports. It installs a self-contained binary and updates itself in the background.

macOS, Linux, or WSL

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

Windows (PowerShell)

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

On Windows you can run the native installer directly, or work inside WSL 2 if you want full Unix tooling (recommended if your projects use bash scripts or a Makefile).

Prefer Homebrew? (macOS / Linux)

brew install --cask claude-code

After installing, open a new terminal window so your shell picks up the updated PATH.

Method 2: npm (if Node is already your workflow)

If you live in Node and prefer to manage Claude Code alongside your other global packages, install it with npm. This path requires Node.js 18 or higher.

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

Do not use sudo. Running the install as root creates permission problems that break every future global install. If you hit an EACCES error, fix npm’s permissions or use nvm (which installs Node in your home directory) instead of reaching for sudo.

Verify the install

claude --version

If you see a version number, you’re set. For a deeper check — install type, auth status, PATH, and config — run:

claude doctor

First run and sign-in

Move into a project folder and launch it:

cd your-project
claude

The first launch opens your browser to sign in with your Anthropic account (or your Claude Pro/Max subscription). Once authenticated, you’re dropped into an interactive session inside your project.

Try your first task

Start small on a real project so you can see what it does before trusting it with anything big. For example, just type a request in plain English:

Explain what this project does and list the main files.

From there, ask it to write a function, fix a failing test, or draft a commit message. It works with your codebase, not in a vacuum — that’s the difference from a chat box.

Common setup issues

• “command not found” after install: open a new terminal window so PATH refreshes, then try again.
• npm EACCES permission errors: don’t use sudo — set a user-owned npm prefix or use nvm.
• Something feels off: run claude doctor; it diagnoses most auth, PATH, and config problems and suggests fixes.

Is it worth it?

For me, yes — it removed a huge amount of the manual, repetitive work in day-to-day development and lets me stay in the terminal instead of switching contexts. If you spend your day shipping code, the native installer plus a Pro or Max plan is the fastest way to feel the difference on your own projects.

Next in this series: the commands and workflow I actually use in a Claude Code session, and how to connect it to your tools with MCP.