Installing and launching Claude Code, on Mac and on Windows
This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.
Follow this lesson with Claude Code
With the course companion installed, open Claude Code in your working folder and type:
/formation-ia:suivre m04-l02 enIt reads the up-to-date lesson on this site and guides you step by step, without changing anything without your consent. Install the companion. Claude Code is not included in the free plan: an eligible Claude subscription, or a Console account billed by usage for the terminal.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to
- install the Claude app on your computer and find Claude Code in it;
- create a dedicated working folder and open it in Claude Code;
- choose Manual mode, where the agent asks before acting;
- have your first exchange with Claude Code, then find your session again.
Why it matters to you
This is the only slightly technical part of the module, and you only do it once. After that, every session starts the same way: you open the app, your folder, and you write.
Before you start
| You need | A computer running macOS 13 or later, or Windows 10 or later, and an internet connection. For the terminal option: Windows 10 version 1809 or later, and at least 4 GB of memory |
| Subscription | Claude Pro at the minimum: €18 per month excl. VAT, or €15 per month when paying for the year (claude.com/pricing, prices shown in France on 24/10/2026). These prices do not include applicable taxes, which are added. The free plan does not give access to Claude Code |
| Duration | 45 minutes |
| Don’t | Open a folder that contains confidential documents, or your employer’s documents, in Claude Code |
Understand it in 3 minutes
Two ways to use Claude Code:
| The Claude desktop app, Code tab | The terminal | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Getting started: everything is done with the mouse | Later, if you are comfortable with commands |
| Installation | Download the app at claude.com/download | One command to copy (see the end of the lesson) |
| Mode at the start | To be chosen in the selector, under the text box | Auto, since version 2.1.283 (to be changed when you are starting out) |
The working folder: it is an ordinary folder on your computer, which you open in Claude Code. The agent reads and writes there. In Manual mode, to read or change anything elsewhere, it has to ask you.
The modes decide what the agent does without asking you. In Manual mode, it can read and list the files in your folder, but it asks you before creating or changing a file, or running a command that does more than read. This is the right mode for learning. Lesson 3 presents the others.
Do it together
1Step 1: Install the Claude app
On Mac
- Go to claude.com/download and download the app for Mac.
- Open the downloaded file and follow the instructions on the screen.
- Launch the Claude app from your Applications folder, and sign in with the account that has your subscription.
On Windows
- Go to claude.com/download and download the app for Windows: choose Windows, or Windows (arm 64) if your PC has an ARM processor.
- Open the downloaded file and follow the instructions on the screen.
- Launch the Claude app from the Start menu, and sign in with the account that has your subscription.
2Step 2: Create your working folder
On Mac
- Open the Finder, then your Documents folder.
- Menu File, then New Folder.
- Name it mon-espace-ia (no accent and no space: it is simpler for what follows).
On Windows
- Open File Explorer, then your Documents folder.
- Right-click in an empty space, then New, then Folder (exact labels not confirmed).
- Name it mon-espace-ia (no accent and no space: it is simpler for what follows).
3Step 3: Open the folder in Claude Code
- In the Claude app, click the Code tab.
- Under the text box, open the first menu (the environment one) and choose the first entry of the Local group: you are working on your own computer. Next to it, open the folder menu, choose Open folder…, then select mon-espace-ia.
- Under the text box, in the mode selector, choose Manual. The app remembers this choice for that folder.
On Mac, a system window may ask whether “Claude” (or the Terminal, with the terminal option) can access files in your Documents folder: that is where mon-espace-ia is, so accept. If you refused by mistake, restore access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files & Folders.
4Step 4: Your first exchange
Copy this request:
Hello. Tell me in three lines what you see in this folder, and what you could do in it with me. Do not create or change any file for now.
The folder is empty: Claude Code should tell you so, and suggest some ideas. Check in the Finder or File Explorer: the folder is still empty.
5Step 5: Close and find your session again
- Quit the app completely (on Mac: Claude menu, then Quit; on Windows: close the window and, if the Claude icon stays near the clock, right-click it then Quit).
- Reopen it and go to the Code tab: your session appears in the list. To start from scratch, choose New session (the + New button at the top of the sidebar, or Cmd + N on Mac, Ctrl + N on Windows), then reopen your folder.
Option: install Claude Code in the terminal
For later, or if you are already comfortable with commands.
On Mac
Open the Terminal application (Cmd + Space, type Terminal, then Enter), then paste:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
Nothing is displayed for a few moments during the installation: leave the window open and wait for the message “Claude Code successfully installed!”.
Check the installation: close the Terminal window, open a new one, then type:
claude --version
A version number should appear. If the Terminal answers “command not found: claude”, paste the line the installer displayed at the end (it starts with echo 'export PATH=), then open a new window and try again. On a new Mac, this is the most common case.
Then, to launch Claude Code in Manual mode in your folder (cd means “go to the folder”):
cd ~/Documents/mon-espace-ia
claude --permission-mode manual
On Windows
Open PowerShell (Windows’ command application: type “PowerShell” in the Start menu), then paste:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Nothing is displayed for a few moments during the installation: leave the window open and wait for the message “Claude Code successfully installed!”.
Check the installation: close PowerShell, reopen it, then type claude --version. A version number should appear. If not, follow the instructions displayed at the end of the installation, then reopen PowerShell. If claude opens the Claude app instead of Claude Code, your app is probably old: update it (lesson 6), then try again.
Then, to launch Claude Code in Manual mode in your folder (this line finds your real Documents folder, even when OneDrive has moved it):
cd "$([Environment]::GetFolderPath('MyDocuments'))\mon-espace-ia"
claude --permission-mode manual
The documentation also recommends installing Git for Windows (optional: without it, Claude Code uses PowerShell).
On Mac as on Windows, the first time, Claude Code asks you to sign in to your account, then to confirm that you trust the folder. Read the question: for mon-espace-ia, which you created yourself, you can answer yes. Then check that the status bar, under the input area, shows “manual mode on”.
Your turn
Redo, on your own, without looking at the lesson, the path of a session:
- open the app, Code tab, New session;
- open mon-espace-ia and check the Manual mode;
- ask it: “Explain to me in 5 lines what you can do in this folder, and what you will never do without my approval.”
Compare its answer with lesson 1: is it consistent?
Check your work
It worked if:
- the Code tab opens on the mon-espace-ia folder, in Manual mode;
- Claude Code answered you without creating or changing any file;
- you closed the app, then found your session again or opened a new session.
Common mistakes:
- opening the whole Documents folder, or the desktop: close it, then reopen only mon-espace-ia;
- not seeing the word Code: if the tabs are shown as icons only, hover over them to see their names; if the app offers you to switch to a paid plan, check that you are signed in with the account that has the subscription;
- in the terminal, staying in Auto mode without knowing it: relaunch with
--permission-mode manual, or change mode during a session with the Shift and Tab keys; - in the terminal, “command not found: claude” right after the installation: open a new window, then follow the instruction displayed by the installer (see above).
Keep it and pick it up later
- Add a line in the “My tool” section of your ID sheet (module 1): the working folder (mon-espace-ia) and the mode chosen (Manual).
- Next time, a session always starts like this: the app, the Code tab, your folder, Manual mode.
Going further
optional
- This course’s Claude Code companion: once Claude Code is installed, it guides you through the lessons directly from your folder. See the “Continue in Claude Code” page.
- The official documentation, in English: code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop (the app) and code.claude.com/docs/en/setup (the terminal).
New words
6 words explained
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Code tab | The part of the Claude app where you use Claude Code on your folders |
| Session | A working conversation with Claude Code, tied to a folder |
| Manual mode | The agent reads without asking, but asks before creating or changing a file, or running a command that does more than read |
| Command | A line of text that gives an order to the computer, typed in the terminal |
| PowerShell | Windows’ command application |
| PATH | The list of folders where the terminal looks for commands: if claude is not in it, the terminal cannot find it |
Check your understanding
3 questions, no grade. An explanation appears after each answer.
What's next?
Lesson 3 · Permissions and Manual mode: accepting, refusing, and understanding what the agent asks you.
Module 4:
✏️ Do the exercisesMy space: your progress, your exercises and your last lesson.
Still to verify: real screenshots on Mac and on Windows, the exact steps of the Windows installer and of the cd command on Windows, the choice of the local environment in the Code tab.
Sources and checks
6 sources
Date, version, sources Written on 24/10/2026. Checks:
- downloading the app: claude.com/download, on 24/10/2026;
- Code tab, local environment, mode selector remembered per folder: code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop and code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes, on 24/10/2026;
- system requirements of the app: support.claude.com (article “Install Claude Desktop”), on 24/10/2026;
- system requirements of the terminal, installation commands, check after installation, Git for Windows: code.claude.com/docs/en/setup, on 24/10/2026;
- installation in the Terminal tested on Mac on 24/10/2026 (version 2.1.310); Windows commands checked against the documentation, without a real test;
- Documents folder moved by OneDrive: learn.microsoft.com (page in French, “Rediriger et déplacer les dossiers connus de Windows vers OneDrive”, in substance: “Redirect and move Windows known folders to OneDrive”), on 24/10/2026;
- Auto mode by default in the terminal since version 2.1.283: code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes, on 24/10/2026;
- labels “Manual”, “Open folder…” and “New session”: read in the Claude app for Mac, version 3.6556.2, on 24/10/2026.
Sources checked: