How to Use Claude Code in Terminal — Windows, macOS, and Linux
How to Use Claude Code in Terminal — Windows, macOS, and Linux
https://www.how2shout.com/how-to/how-to-use-claude-code-in-terminal.html
Publish Date: 2026-03-08 00:45:00
Source Domain: www.how2shout.com
Claude Code is Anthropic’s AI coding assistant that runs directly inside your terminal. Unlike browser-based AI tools, where you copy-paste code back and forth, Claude Code lives right where you already work — your command line. It reads your entire project, understands how files connect to each other, edits code across multiple files, runs commands, handles Git operations, and writes tests — all through plain English instructions.
Think of it as having a senior developer sitting next to you in the terminal. You describe what you want, and it figures out which files to open, what changes to make, and in what order.
Although we have already covered an article on installing Claude Code on Windows using Winget, this guide is dedicated to installing and using Claude Code on all three major operating systems: Windows, macOS, and Linux. Whether you are a developer switching from GitHub Copilot or someone trying AI-assisted coding for the first time, you will be up and running in under ten minutes.
What You Need Before Starting
Claude Code has a few requirements regardless of which operating system you are on.
- An Anthropic account — You need either a Claude Pro or Max subscription (starting at $20/month) or an Anthropic Console account with API credits. Claude Code is not available on the free Claude plan.
- Internet connection — Claude Code processes your requests through Anthropic’s servers, so it needs to be online to work.
- 4GB of RAM or more — The tool itself is lightweight, but it needs enough memory to run alongside your other development tools.
- A code project to work with — Claude Code shines when it has a codebase to analyze. You can use it in an empty directory, but you will get much more value from it when pointed at an existing project.
Here is what differs by platform:
macOS — macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later. No additional software needed for the native installer.
Linux — Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 10+….
