4. Open Your Terminal — Learn Enough Claude To Be Dangerous

Intro & Context/Open Your Terminal

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Open your terminal

The terminal is where you type commands. A window with a blinking cursor. You type, press Enter, things happen.

macOS

1. Press Cmd + Space
2. Type "Terminal"
3. Press Enter

Or: Finder → Applications → Utilities → Terminal

Windows

1. Press Win + X
2. Select "PowerShell" or "Terminal"

CMD vs PowerShell: PowerShell shows PS C:\ at the start. CMD shows just C:\. You want PowerShell.

Windows users: Install Git for Windows first. Claude Code needs it. The installer has many screens, just click Next on each.

Terminal Guide for New Users

Anthropic wrote this guide specifically for people who have never used a terminal. Step-by-step for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

code.claude.com/docs/en/terminal-guide ↗

From the docs

•Opening a terminal on every platform

•Installing Git for Windows (step by step)

•The exact install and launch commands

•What to do after launching (Esc, exit, /help)

•Common errors and how to fix them

—"You don't need to know how to code"