Resources
Getting started guides, project ideas, and learning resources — organized by where you are in your journey.
If you're brand new
Start Here
New to all of this? Here's the recommended path — in order. Each one builds on the last.
Not sure if this is safe? Read how you stay in control the whole time.
Read: What is Claude Code?
Our Getting Started page explains what Claude Code is, what it does, and what you need — in plain English.
Getting Started Guide →Watch: See it in action
Watch someone build a real project from scratch — no coding knowledge needed to follow along.
Build a Movie App (17 min) →Try: Build your first project
Pick a starter challenge from the bottom of this page, open Claude Code, and describe what you want.
Jump to Challenges ↓Ways to Use Claude Code
There are several ways to work with Claude Code. Here are the main options, from easiest to most powerful.
Download the app, click the Code tab, and start building. No terminal needed — it looks and feels like a regular chat window.
Download the app →Go to claude.com in your browser and use the Code tab. No installation at all — works on any computer. Good for quick projects.
Open Claude.com →Type claude in your terminal. This is what our Getting Started Guide walks you through. Full control, full power.
Which should I pick? If you've never used a terminal before, start with the Desktop App or Claude.com — they're the friendliest. Our Getting Started guide teaches the terminal approach, which gives you the most flexibility as you grow.
Not building software?
Most people get more out of Cowork than Claude Code.
Cowork is the autonomous agent inside the Claude Desktop App (Mac & Windows). It connects to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Notion, and dozens more — and runs real work for you across those apps. Research, drafting, customer follow-ups, summaries, data tasks. No terminal, no code. If your goal is to get work done rather than build software, start there. Open the Cowork guide →
Starter Challenges
Pick one and try it this week. Each one includes a ready-to-use prompt — just copy it and paste it into Claude Code.
A place to save your favorite recipes with ingredients and instructions, organized by category.
Try this prompt
"Build me a recipe book app. I want to add recipes with a title, ingredients list, and instructions. Let me organize them by category like breakfast, dinner, and dessert. Add a search bar that filters by ingredient. Save everything in my browser so I don't lose it. Use a warm, clean design."
A simple journal where you write daily entries and browse your history.
Try this prompt
"Make me a daily journal app. I want to write entries with today's date and some text. Show all my past entries sorted by date, and let me click any entry to read it. Include a word count. Save in the browser. Use a calm, minimal design."
Track gift ideas for friends and family with prices and a budget overview.
Try this prompt
"Build a gift tracker. Let me add people, then add gift ideas under each person with a price and a 'bought it' checkbox. Show a running total of what I've spent. Save in the browser. Make it look festive but not cheesy."
Log exercises and track your progress over time with a simple chart.
Try this prompt
"Create a workout log. Let me log exercises with sets, reps, and weight. Show my workout history by date. Add a simple chart showing my progress over time. Include some preset exercises like squats and bench press, plus let me add custom ones. Save in browser."
Challenges by Interest
These challenges are tailored to specific roles. Find the one that sounds most like you — each includes a ready-to-use prompt.
Track your marketing campaigns with metrics, dates, and performance notes. See which campaigns are working and compare results at a glance.
Try this prompt
"Build me a campaign performance tracker. I want to add campaigns with a name, start date, platform (like Instagram, Email, Google Ads), budget spent, and results (clicks, conversions, revenue). Show all campaigns in a table I can sort by date or performance. Add a summary dashboard at the top showing total spend, total revenue, and best-performing campaign. Save everything in my browser. Use a professional, clean design."
Keep track of your clients and invoices in one place. See who's paid, who hasn't, and your total revenue at a glance.
Try this prompt
"Build me a client and invoice tracker. I want to add clients with a name, email, and phone number. Under each client, let me create invoices with a description, amount, date, and status (paid or unpaid). Show a dashboard with total revenue, outstanding balance, and number of clients. Let me filter invoices by status. Save in the browser. Use a clean, professional design with good readability."
Want someone to build this for your business? Talk to us.
Track books you want to read, are currently reading, and have finished. Add ratings and personal notes for each one.
Try this prompt
"Build me a reading list and book notes app. I want to add books with a title, author, and status (want to read, currently reading, finished). For finished books, let me add a rating out of 5 and personal notes about what I thought. Show books grouped by status. Add a simple count of how many books I've read this year. Save everything in the browser. Use a warm, bookish design with readable fonts."
Learning Resources
Guides, videos, and courses — organized by experience level so you know where to start.
Beginner Just getting started
Anthropic Courses
OfficialFree learning platform from Anthropic. Structured courses covering Claude and Claude Code — the best place to build a solid foundation.
Claude Code for the Rest of Us
15 min read — written specifically for non-technical people. Great first read.
Build a Movie App in 15 Minutes
17 min video by Peter Yang — watch someone build a real project from scratch.
Official Quickstart Guide
Anthropic's own quickstart — covers installation and your first project in a few minutes.
Anthropic Video Tutorials
Short official walkthrough videos from Anthropic's help center.
Claude Code for Everyone
Community guide focused on making Claude Code accessible to non-programmers.
Intermediate You've built a project or two
Claude Code in Action (Free Course)
Free course from Anthropic. More technical, but great when you're ready to go deeper.
Official Best Practices
Anthropic's guide to getting better results — tips straight from the team that built it.
Full Documentation
The complete official reference. Covers everything Claude Code can do — bookmark this one.
CLI Reference
All the special commands and shortcuts you can use — once you're comfortable with the basics.
Awesome Claude Code
Curated community collection of skills, hooks, slash commands, and workflows for Claude Code.
Awesome Claude Code Tools
Another community list — IDE integrations, frameworks, and developer resources.
Ongoing Stay current
Your Everyday AI
Podcast & newsletter on using AI practically — made for non-technical people.
How AI Language Models Work
26 min video by 3Blue1Brown — optional, for the curious. You don't need this to use Claude Code, but it's fascinating.
Anthropic Discord Community
Ask questions, share projects, and learn from other Claude users. Active #claude-code channel.
Helpful Links
Test Your Knowledge
Think you've got the basics? Try these questions. Click to reveal the answer.
Answer: Desktop App, Web Browser (claude.com), and Terminal. The Desktop App is recommended for beginners.
Answer: The core workflow for building with AI. You describe what you want, Claude builds it, you review the result, and then you redirect Claude to fix anything that isn't right. Repeat until it's how you want it.
Answer: It undoes Claude's recent changes — like a quick undo button. If Claude did something you didn't want, /rewind rolls it back.
Answer: A text file you put in your project folder that gives Claude persistent memory across sessions. It contains your project's rules, preferences, and context — so you don't have to repeat yourself every time you start a new conversation.
Answer: No. Claude Code only works inside the project folder you choose. It can't access other folders, your browser, or personal files.
Answer: Claude is the chatbot for asking questions. Claude Code is the builder that works with files on your computer to create real projects. Cowork is an agent for non-coding tasks like research and writing.
Answer: Claude Pro ($20/month) is the minimum. The free tier only gives you the regular chatbot, not Claude Code. Pro is enough for most beginners — you can upgrade to Max later if you need more usage.
Answer: /init — it analyzes your project and creates a starter CLAUDE.md with the basics filled in. You can also ask Claude to create one for you by describing your project.
Answer: Claude has a limited "context window" — it can only see a certain amount of text at once. In very long conversations, earlier instructions may get lost. The fix: use a CLAUDE.md file and start fresh sessions when conversations get too long.
Answer: Press Escape to stop Claude, then type /clear to start fresh. Re-describe what you want from the beginning. A clean slate often helps.
Key Concepts
Quick reference cards for the most important ideas. Tap any card to reveal the definition.