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Claude for Coding: Claude Code Basics

Step 5 of 7 in AI Lab

Next in your path: 1.1.3 AI Workflows: repeatable systems for yourself or a team

What you'll be able to do
  • Explain what Claude Code is and where you can use it.
  • Install Claude Code and start your first session in a project folder.
  • Write coding requests that get good results the first time.
  • Control what Claude Code is allowed to do, and undo changes safely.
  • Set up a CLAUDE.md file so Claude remembers your project's rules.
  • Give Claude Code a check to run (like tests) and use it with Git.

Comfort with a computer is enough. You don't need to be an expert programmer, but you should be willing to open a terminal. Claude Code's docs include a terminal guide for first-timers.

Words in this course 37
AI (artificial intelligence)APIBarClaude CodeCLAUDE.mdCloud computingContext windowDefinition of doneDiscountFile pathForceFunctionHTTPSJavaScriptLarge language model (LLM)LetLoopMemory (Claude)ModeModesPathPlain formPlan modeProjectProject (Claude)PromptPythonReady positionRisk responseScopeSDKShow, tell, trySong structureTabTerminalWHEREWork
Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

What is Claude Code?

In simple words

Claude Code is like a helper who can sit at your computer, read your project, write code, and try running it, while you watch and say yes or no.

Key facts
  • Anthropic describes Claude Code as an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and works with your development tools.
  • It runs in several places ("surfaces"): the terminal (command line), VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, a desktop app, and the web at claude.ai/code. All surfaces use the same engine, so your project settings work across them.
  • To log in you need a Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise), a Claude Console (API) account, or access through a supported cloud provider.
  • Common uses from the docs: building features, fixing bugs, writing tests, resolving merge conflicts, writing commit messages and opening pull requests.
Step by step
  1. Open the official Overview page at code.claude.com/docs/en/overview and read the list of surfaces (terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, desktop app, web).
  2. Decide which surface you will use first. If you are new, the desktop app or VS Code can feel friendlier than the terminal.
  3. Open claude.ai and check your plan under your account settings. Look for Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise, or a Claude Console (API) account.
  4. Write down which surface and which account type you will use.
  5. Check: you can say in one sentence where you will run Claude Code and how you will log in.
Watch on YouTube
What Claude Code is, in a beginner tutorialAyyazTech · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01What is Claude Code?
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "Imagine a coding partner who can actually open your files and run your code."
[Screen: Claude Code running in a terminal] "That's Claude Code. It reads your project, edits files and runs commands."
[Screen: same session in VS Code, then the desktop app] "Use it in the terminal, in your code editor, in the desktop app, or on the web."
[Host] "You stay the boss. It proposes, you approve. Let's set it up."
Try it now

Pick the surface that fits you best (terminal, VS Code, desktop app or web) and check that your Claude account type is one of the supported ones.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Claude for Coding: Claude Code Basics" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What is Claude Code?".

What the lesson teaches:
- Anthropic describes Claude Code as an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and works with your development tools.
- It runs in several places ("surfaces"): the terminal (command line), VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, a desktop app, and the web at claude.ai/code. All surfaces use the same engine, so your project settings work across them.
- To log in you need a Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise), a Claude Console (API) account, or access through a supported cloud provider.
- Common uses from the docs: building features, fixing bugs, writing tests, resolving merge conflicts, writing commit messages and opening pull requests.

The exercise I'm working on:
Pick the surface that fits you best (terminal, VS Code, desktop app or web) and check that your Claude account type is one of the supported ones.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What is Claude Code?" from the course "Claude for Coding: Claude Code Basics".

Here's what the lesson says:
Claude Code is like a helper who can sit at your computer, read your project, write code, and try running it, while you watch and say yes or no.

The activity:
Pick the surface that fits you best (terminal, VS Code, desktop app or web) and check that your Claude account type is one of the supported ones.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Open Claude
Sources
My notes
02

Install and say hello

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

Ask like a pro (and plan first)

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Permissions, stopping and undo

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

CLAUDE.md, your project's rulebook

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

Give it a check to run, and ship with Git

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

++

Final project

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

??

Quiz

  1. Name three places you can use Claude Code.

  2. What command checks that Claude Code installed correctly?

  3. What does plan mode do?

  4. Which key cycles permission modes?

  5. How do you undo Claude's file edits to an earlier point?

  6. Do checkpoints replace Git?

  7. What does /init do?

  8. Why give Claude tests to run?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.