Chapter 02 · Start here
Your first session
Two minutes to your first working prompt. Claude Code is already installed and signed in on your machine, and it never changes anything without showing you first, so you can't break anything by trying.
Start it and say something
Open your project folder's terminal (Ctrl+`), type claude, press Enter. Then just write what you want, in your own words:
That's the whole loop: you describe → Claude reads your files and works → you review → repeat. You never need to know the "right" technical words; describe the result you want.
The permission prompt
Before Claude runs a command or changes a file, it asks. This is the prompt you'll see most, so meet it here first. It's clickable — try both answers:
Saying no is safe and normal. "No" doesn't end anything; Claude simply stops and asks what you'd prefer. When unsure, pick no and ask Claude to explain the command first.
Prefer buttons over terminal?
The Claude Code panel in VS Code (the ✻ icon in the sidebar) is the same tool with nicer diffs and clickable everything. Terminal or panel, whichever feels friendlier; this guide's examples work in both.
Good first prompts
Ask about anything
"What's in this folder, and what does each file do?" — great when someone hands you a project.
Work with your data
"Here's a CSV of my portfolio. Which three positions moved the most this month? Chart them."
Build from nothing
"Make me a clean one-page dashboard for the stocks I follow."
Fix and explain
"This spreadsheet formula gives the wrong average. Find out why, fix it, explain what changed."
claudeThen ask for something small and real. Watch it ask permission before every change. When you want inspiration, the idea gallery is full of prompts to steal.