Lesson 2 of 8
Before you start
What you need before opening Terminal.
This course requires three things. That's it.
| Item | Notes | |------|-------| | A Mac | Running macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Apple Silicon (M1–M4) recommended. Intel Macs supported. | | An Anthropic account | Sign up at claude.ai. You'll need Claude Pro ($20/mo) or Max ($100/mo) to use Claude Code. | | About an hour | Most of that is waiting for things to download. |
You do not need to understand any of the tools you're about to install. The AI will use them on your behalf.
Why a paid Anthropic plan?
Claude Code runs on Claude's API, which requires a subscription. The Pro plan at $20/month is more than enough to start. If you're already paying for Claude Pro through the web interface, you're covered.
Check your macOS version
Click the Apple menu (top-left corner of your screen) → About This Mac. You'll see your macOS version listed. If it says Ventura, Sonoma, or Sequoia — you're good.
If you're on an older version, update via System Settings → General → Software Update before continuing.
That's all you need
No prior terminal experience. No installed developer tools. No existing accounts with GitHub, Homebrew, or anything else.
The next lesson is Lesson 0: opening Terminal for the first time.