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Level 1: Meet Claude on Desktop · Lesson 2 · DESKTOP TRACK

Install Claude Code

short read ✓

Time to put Claude Code on your computer. The good news: it installs exactly like any other app you’ve ever downloaded. No terminal, no setup, no developer anything.

Claude Code ships as a normal desktop app for Mac and Windows. You download it, open the installer, and it lands in your Applications like everything else.

Step 1 — download the app

Go to the download page and grab the version for your computer:

https://claude.ai/download

The page detects whether you’re on a Mac or Windows and offers the right file. Click the button. A file lands in your Downloads folder — the same place every download goes.

On Linux? The desktop app is Mac and Windows only, so Linux runs Claude Code through the terminal instead. That’s the Power Track (Level 11) — it’s not “advanced,” it’s just your install path. Skim the rest of this level for the concepts, then pick it up there.

Step 2 — run the installer

Open the file you just downloaded. From here it’s the install flow you already know:

  • Mac: the installer opens a window. Drag the Claude icon onto the Applications folder. Done.
  • Windows: double-click the installer and click through it the way you would for any program. It adds Claude to your Start menu.

Now open it like any app — Spotlight on Mac (Cmd + Space, type “Claude”), or the Start menu on Windows. The Claude window opens.

Already a developer who lives in the terminal? There’s a command-line install too — curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash, or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code. It installs the same engine, runnable as claude in any terminal. That’s the Power Track; the desktop app is the main path and the one this course follows. Use the CLI only if you already have a reason to.

Step 3 — confirm it opened

You’ll know it worked when the Claude window is sitting in front of you, asking you to sign in. That sign-in screen is the proof: the app is installed and running.

If nothing opens, check your Downloads folder for the installer and run it again. On Mac, if it refuses to open the first time, right-click the app and choose Open — that’s macOS being cautious about a freshly downloaded app, not a problem with Claude.

What’s next

It’s installed and the window is open. It still doesn’t know who you are. The next lesson signs you in.