Claude Guides

Last verified against the official docs: July 2, 2026.

Install Claude Code in your terminal

Claude Code is Anthropic's agent for the terminal — it reads your project, writes code, runs commands, and asks permission before changing anything. You need a Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account.

macOS, Linux, or WSL (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Homebrew (macOS)

brew install --cask claude-code

The native install auto-updates in the background; Homebrew and WinGet (winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode) don't — upgrade those manually.

First run

cd /path/to/your/project
claude

On first use you'll be prompted to log in — follow the browser flow. Credentials are stored, so it's a one-time thing. Then just talk to it:

what does this project do?

Essential commands

Skills — teach Claude your procedures

A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. Create one when you keep pasting the same instructions or checklist into chat. Claude loads it automatically when relevant, or you invoke it directly with /skill-name. The skill's body only enters context when it's used — so long reference material costs nothing until needed.

Where skills live

The directory name becomes the command you type (~/.claude/skills/deploy-staging/ → /deploy-staging). Custom commands (.claude/commands/*.md) still work — they've been merged into skills.

Create your first skill

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/summarize-changes

Then save this as ~/.claude/skills/summarize-changes/SKILL.md:

---
description: Summarize recent git changes in plain language. Use when asked
  what changed recently or for a changelog-style summary.
---

Look at the last 10 commits with `git log --oneline -10` and the current
diff with `git diff HEAD`. Summarize what changed in plain language,
grouped by feature area. Keep it under 10 bullet points.

That's it. New skills are picked up live within the session — type /summarize-changes or just ask "what changed recently?" and Claude finds it via the description.

Good to know

• $ARGUMENTS in the skill body captures whatever you type after the command (/my-skill some input).
• A skill directory can hold supporting files (templates, scripts, reference docs) — keep SKILL.md under ~500 lines and link out to the rest.
• Frontmatter can restrict who invokes it: disable-model-invocation: true makes it you-only; context: fork runs it isolated in a subagent.
• Same-named skills: personal overrides project, and any of them override a bundled skill of the same name.

Plugins — package and share your setup

A plugin is a self-contained directory of skills, agents, hooks, and MCP servers that you can version and share. Rule of thumb: start standalone in .claude/ for quick iteration; convert to a plugin when you want to share it across projects or with other people.

Install plugins

Inside a Claude Code session:

/plugin

That opens the plugin manager — browse, install, enable, disable. Anthropic maintains two public marketplaces: claude-plugins-official (curated, registered automatically) and the community one, which you add with:

/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community

Create a plugin (minimal)

my-first-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json        ← manifest: name, description, version
└── skills/
    └── hello/
        └── SKILL.md       ← becomes /my-first-plugin:hello

The manifest:

{
  "name": "my-first-plugin",
  "description": "A greeting plugin to learn the basics",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Test it without installing anything:

claude --plugin-dir ./my-first-plugin

Plugin skills are always namespaced (/plugin-name:skill-name) so they can't collide. After editing a plugin, run /reload-plugins to pick up changes without restarting. There's also a shortcut for personal plugins: claude plugin init my-tool scaffolds one in ~/.claude/skills/ that loads automatically.

What plugins can contain

Where to go deeper

• Quickstart — the official getting-started guide
• Skills — full frontmatter reference and advanced patterns
• Plugins — creating, testing, and distributing
• Best practices — prompting and project setup
• MCP — connecting Claude to external tools and data