What you need
Before you start building with AI in Lesson 3, you need three things installed on your computer. All three are free to download. The only paid element is your Claude subscription, which you may already have.
You don't need a complex development environment. VS Code is just the container, Claude Code is the engine. Think of VS Code as a very smart notepad that can talk to AI. Git is the behind-the-scenes version control that Claude Code uses to track changes. That's it.
Select your operating system below. The steps are slightly different for Windows and Mac.
VS Code is a free code editor made by Microsoft. Don't let the word "code" scare you. You'll be writing natural language, not programming.
- Go to code.visualstudio.com and click Download for Windows
- Run the downloaded installer
- Accept the licence agreement, click Next through each screen
- On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, tick all the boxes (especially "Add to PATH" and "Add Open with Code")
- Click Install, then Finish
Open VS Code to make sure it launches. You should see a welcome tab. That's it for this step.
Git is a version control tool. You won't use it directly, but Claude Code needs it behind the scenes to run commands and track file changes. On Windows, Git also includes "Git Bash," which Claude Code uses as its shell.
- Go to git-scm.com/downloads/win and download the installer
- Run the installer. It asks a lot of questions. Accept all the defaults except one (see below)
- When you reach "Choosing the default editor used by Git", change it from Vim to Visual Studio Code
- Click Next through every remaining screen, then Install
Here's a summary of the installer screens. The key message: accept the defaults.
| Screen | What to pick |
|---|---|
| Select Components | Keep defaults. Make sure "Git Bash Here" is ticked |
| Default editor | Change to Visual Studio Code Change this |
| Initial branch name | Either option is fine. "Override with main" is the modern standard |
| PATH environment | Keep default: "Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software" |
| SSH executable | Keep default: "Use bundled OpenSSH" |
| HTTPS backend | Keep default: "Use the OpenSSL library" |
| Line ending conversions | Keep default: "Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style" |
| Terminal emulator | Keep default: "Use MinTTY" |
| Git pull behaviour | Keep default: "Fast-forward or merge" |
| Credential helper | Keep default: "Git Credential Manager" |
| Extra options | Keep defaults. Do not enable experimental features |
To verify, open Command Prompt or PowerShell and type git --version. You should see a version number.
Claude Code is a VS Code extension that gives you a conversational AI interface right inside your editor. It's published by Anthropic (the company behind Claude).
- Open VS Code
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+Xto open the Extensions panel - In the search bar, type "Claude Code"
- Find the one published by Anthropic (it has millions of installs)
- Click Install
That's it. No configuration screens, no options to choose. One click.
If you already have a Claude Pro or Max account:
- Open any file in VS Code (the Claude icon only appears when a file is open)
- Click the sparkle icon in the top-right of the editor, or look for "Claude Code" in the status bar at the bottom
- It will open your browser to sign in via Anthropic's login page
- Sign in, and you'll be redirected back to VS Code automatically
If you don't have an account yet:
- Go to claude.ai in your browser
- Click "Continue with Google" or enter your email and click "Continue with email"
- If using email, check your inbox for a magic link (no password needed)
- Once signed in, click your name in the bottom-left corner, go to Settings, then Billing
- Upgrade to Claude Pro (around $20/month). This is the minimum plan needed for Claude Code
- Return to VS Code and authenticate using the steps above
Claude Code requires a paid plan. The free tier of claude.ai does not include Claude Code access. Claude Pro is the lowest paid tier and is all you need for this course.
- Open a folder in VS Code (File > Open Folder, or
Ctrl+K, O). Pick any folder on your computer, or create a new empty one - Click the sparkle icon in the top-right of the editor
- The Claude Code panel should open. You may see a "Learn Claude Code" checklist on first launch
- Type "Hello, are you working?" and press Enter
- If Claude responds, you're ready. The real work starts in Lesson 3
Optional: open a terminal in VS Code (Ctrl+`) and type claude --version to confirm the CLI is available. You can also run claude doctor to check everything is configured correctly.
Why a folder, not a file? Claude Code works best when it can see your whole project. When you open a folder, Claude can read, edit, and create files anywhere inside it. If you only open a single file, Claude loses all that context.
VS Code is a free code editor made by Microsoft. Don't let the word "code" scare you. You'll be writing natural language, not programming.
- Go to code.visualstudio.com and click Download for Mac
- Double-click the downloaded .zip file to extract it
- Drag the VS Code icon into your Applications folder
- Open VS Code from Applications
No installer wizard, no options to configure. Just drag and drop.
Git is a version control tool. You won't use it directly, but Claude Code uses it behind the scenes to track changes and manage files. On Mac, Git often comes pre-installed or is easy to add.
Check if you already have it: Open Terminal (search for "Terminal" in Spotlight) and type git --version. If you see a version number, skip to Step 3.
If Git is not installed:
- When you run
git --versionfor the first time, macOS will show a popup asking to install Xcode Command Line Tools - Click Install in the popup dialog
- Wait for the download to finish (a few minutes)
- Run
git --versionagain to confirm it's installed
That's it. No installer screens, no options to choose. macOS handles everything for you.
Claude Code is a VS Code extension that gives you a conversational AI interface right inside your editor. It's published by Anthropic (the company behind Claude).
- Open VS Code
- Press
Cmd+Shift+Xto open the Extensions panel - In the search bar, type "Claude Code"
- Find the one published by Anthropic (it has millions of installs)
- Click Install
That's it. No configuration screens, no options to choose. One click.
If you already have a Claude Pro or Max account:
- Open any file in VS Code (the Claude icon only appears when a file is open)
- Click the sparkle icon in the top-right of the editor, or look for "Claude Code" in the status bar at the bottom
- It will open your browser to sign in via Anthropic's login page
- Sign in, and you'll be redirected back to VS Code automatically
If you don't have an account yet:
- Go to claude.ai in your browser
- Click "Continue with Google" or enter your email and click "Continue with email"
- If using email, check your inbox for a magic link (no password needed)
- Once signed in, click your name in the bottom-left corner, go to Settings, then Billing
- Upgrade to Claude Pro (around $20/month). This is the minimum plan needed for Claude Code
- Return to VS Code and authenticate using the steps above
Claude Code requires a paid plan. The free tier of claude.ai does not include Claude Code access. Claude Pro is the lowest paid tier and is all you need for this course.
- Open a folder in VS Code (File > Open Folder, or
Cmd+K, O). Pick any folder on your computer, or create a new empty one - Click the sparkle icon in the top-right of the editor
- The Claude Code panel should open. You may see a "Learn Claude Code" checklist on first launch
- Type "Hello, are you working?" and press Enter
- If Claude responds, you're ready. The real work starts in Lesson 3
Optional: open a terminal in VS Code (Cmd+`) and type claude --version to confirm the CLI is available. You can also run claude doctor to check everything is configured correctly.
Why a folder, not a file? Claude Code works best when it can see your whole project. When you open a folder, Claude can read, edit, and create files anywhere inside it. If you only open a single file, Claude loses all that context.
Troubleshooting
Most setup issues are straightforward to fix. Here are the most common ones.
If you run into any issue during setup, open claude.ai in your browser and paste the error message or describe what's happening. You can even paste a screenshot. Claude will walk you through a solution step by step.
This is genuinely the fastest way to resolve setup problems. The AI can read error messages, diagnose issues, and give you exact commands to run. Use it.
Common issues
- Make sure you have a file open (the icon only shows when a file is active in the editor)
- Check your VS Code version is 1.98.0 or later (Help > About)
- Try running "Developer: Reload Window" from the Command Palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P/Cmd+Shift+P) - Alternative: look for "Claude Code" in the status bar at the bottom of VS Code. This works even without a file open
This means Git for Windows isn't installed or Claude Code can't find it. Install Git from git-scm.com/downloads/win, then restart VS Code.
- Look for a prompt in the Claude Code panel. Press
cto copy the login URL manually, then paste it into your browser - Make sure your Claude Pro/Max subscription is active at claude.ai/settings
- The free Claude plan does not support Claude Code. You need a paid subscription
Your paid subscription may have lapsed or not activated yet. Check your billing status at claude.ai/settings under Billing.
If anything goes wrong, open claude.ai and ask Claude directly. Paste the error, describe the problem, and let the AI troubleshoot for you. It's remarkably good at this, and it's exactly the kind of problem-solving skill you'll use throughout this course.
You're ready
VS Code installed, Git installed, Claude Code extension connected. That's all you need. The next lesson is where the real work begins: you'll build a complete presentation document from scratch, using nothing but natural language.