Installation

Installing Claude Code

Let’s get Claude Code installed on your machine. This takes about 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have:

• A Mac, Windows, or Linux computer
• An internet connection
• An Anthropic account with a Claude Code licence
• Course materials downloaded or cloned

Step 1: Install Node.js (if you don’t have it)

Claude Code runs on Node.js. Don’t worry - you don’t need to know what that means, just install it.

On Mac:

# Open Terminal (press Cmd + Space, type "Terminal", hit Enter)
# Then paste this and hit Enter:
brew install node

Don’t have Homebrew? Get it first:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

On Windows:

1. Download the installer from nodejs.org
2. Run it and click “Next” through all the steps
3. Restart your computer

On Linux:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install nodejs npm

Step 2: Install Claude Code

Open your terminal and run:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

This installs Claude Code globally so you can use it from anywhere.

Step 3: Authenticate

Run this command:

claude auth

This opens your browser. Sign in to your Anthropic account (or create one if you haven’t).

Step 4: Verify It Works

claude

You should see Claude Code start up. Type “Hello” and hit Enter. If Claude responds, you’re all set.

Type /exit to quit.

Step 5: Install Obsidian (Recommended)

Most labs in this course use Obsidian for knowledge management. It’s free and works beautifully with the workflows we’ll build.

1. Go to obsidian.md
2. Download the installer for your platform
3. Install and open Obsidian
4. Create a new vault called “CoEngineers Workspace” (or any name you like)
5. Note the folder location - you’ll need this in Lab 1

You can skip this for now and come back later, but Themes 1 and 2 will make a lot more sense with Obsidian installed.

Troubleshooting

“command not found: claude”

• Try closing and reopening your terminal
• On Mac/Linux, you might need to add npm to your PATH
• Run npm config get prefix to see where npm installs global packages

“Authentication failed”

• Make sure you’re signed in to the correct Anthropic account
• Try running claude auth again
• Check your internet connection

“npm: command not found”

• Node.js didn’t install properly
• Try reinstalling Node.js from nodejs.org
• Restart your terminal after installation

Claude Code starts but won’t respond

• Check your internet connection
• Verify authentication with claude auth
• Make sure you have API credits available (check your Anthropic dashboard)

Still stuck?

• Check the Claude Code documentation
• Visit the Troubleshooting Guide
• Review the FAQ

Next Steps

Now that you’ve got Claude Code installed, check the Prerequisites for the optional tools we’ll use throughout the course.

Or jump straight to Module 1: Knowledge Vaults to start building your productivity system.