The Claude app is installed and open. Before it’ll do anything useful, it needs to know who you are — so Anthropic can connect your usage to your account.
The app’s first screen is a Sign in button. Click it, confirm your Claude account in the browser, and you land back in the app, signed in. After that, it remembers you.
What you’ll see
When the app opens for the first time, it shows a welcome screen with one button: Sign in. Click it.
Two things happen:
- Your default browser opens to an Anthropic sign-in page.
- The app waits, showing a “waiting for you to sign in” message.
Sign in with your Claude account — the same one you’d use at claude.ai. Claude Code needs a paid plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or API access billed through the Anthropic Console — the free claude.ai tier doesn’t include it. Once you’re signed in, the browser shows a “you can close this tab” message, and the app switches to its main screen — a chat box, ready to go.
What if my organization gave me a login?
If your company bought Claude Code seats, you may have been handed a specific account or a single-sign-on link to use. Use that one — it’s tied to your organization’s plan, and it’s what makes your certificate count toward your team’s licenses. If you’re not sure, ask whoever set it up; the sign-in flow itself is identical.
How it remembers
After you sign in once, the app stores a small credential on your computer. Every time you open Claude after that, it skips the sign-in screen and goes straight to the chat.
If you install Claude on a new computer later, you’ll sign in again there. That’s normal — the credential lives on the machine, not floating with your account.
What’s next
Installed, signed in. Time to actually talk to it.