Free guide · One-time setup

Set up Claude Code on your computer

This is the one-time setup behind every Claude Code guide on this site, like our AI video editing walkthrough. You install three free things, no terminal and no commands. About 15 minutes and you never have to do it again.

What you're installing, and why

Claude Desktop is the app you talk to. It has three tabs across the top: Chat, Cowork and Code. The Code tab is where the guides happen.
Node.js and Git are two small free tools the Code tab needs to run and to save your work. You install them once and forget them.

What is GitHub, and do I need an account? No. Free tools like the video-use editor are open source and live on GitHub, a public library for code. When a guide says “set up this GitHub link”, Claude downloads the tool for you in the Code tab. You never sign up for anything or touch GitHub yourself.

1Get a paid Claude plan

The Code tab needs a paid plan. Pro ($20/month USD) works to get started. Max 5x is strongly recommended for real work: no usage limits and stronger models. You can subscribe for one month and cancel anytime.

View Claude pricing

2Install Claude Desktop

Download Claude Desktop (Windows and macOS), run the installer, and sign in. Once it's open, you'll see the three tabs across the top: Chat, Cowork and Code.

Download Claude Desktop

3Install Node.js

Go to nodejs.org and download the LTS version (the big green button). Run the installer and click Next through everything. Nothing else to do.

Download Node.js (LTS)

4Install Git so the Code tab opens

The Code tab uses Git to save your work, and it won't open without it. This is the step most people miss, so do it now. There is no terminal and no commands.

Windows: click the link below, download Git for Windows, run the installer, click Next through all the defaults, then restart Claude.

Mac: the first time you open the Code tab, if a small window pops up asking to install developer tools, click Install and you're done.

Download Git for Windows

You do not need to type anything into a terminal. Download, run the installer, restart Claude, and you're ready.

5Open the Code tab and check it works

In Claude Desktop, click the Code tab. Set the environment selector at the top of the prompt box to Local. If it asks Trust this workspace? for a folder you opened, click Trust Workspace. If the Code tab opens, you're set up.

Code tab won't open on Windows? It's almost always missing Git (Step 4). Install it, restart Claude, and try again.

Windows on ARM (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): Cowork doesn't currently run on ARM. The Code tab still works, so the guides are fine.

You're set up. What now?

That's the hard part done once. Now pick a guide and build something. Each one tells Claude what to do in plain English.

Edit social videos with AI. Turn a raw phone clip into a polished, captioned social video.
Browse all our free guides. More Claude Code walkthroughs and playbooks.

Last updated 22 June 2026 · by Leonardo Garcia-Curtis