Getting Started

The best starting point is a chat-based AI interface: ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. I list these three because they are the ones I have used extensively — but I imagine any comparable tool would work just as well. You do not need a code agent right away; getting comfortable with conversational AI first goes a long way.

That said, there are three things I would not use AI without:

VS Code or Cursor — a proper code editor makes it much easier to review what the agent is actually doing to your files.
Basic familiarity with GitHub — version control is not optional; learn the basics here. It is your safety net.
A local folder that is fully Git-backed — only ever point the agent at a folder that is tracked by a repository. Never give it access to anything you have not committed.

AI can and will make mistakes. To fully maximize its capacity, sometimes we need to allow it to make a lot of changes. 99% of these changes are desirable — but 1% can be disastrous. If you are not willing to back up your work with GitHub, I would not use a code agent at all.

Setting up Claude Code on Mac (terminal)

Prerequisites: Homebrew and Node.js. If you do not have Node.js yet:

brew install node

Step 1 — Install Claude Code:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Step 2 — Navigate to your project folder:

cd /path/to/your/project

Step 3 — Start the agent:

claude

On first run it will open a browser window to authenticate with your Anthropic account. Once done, you are in an interactive session inside your project folder. Type your instruction in plain English and press Enter.

Understanding the basics in under three minutes

Coming soon.