How to install and run Claude Code in VS Code

February 14, 2026 | 4 min read |

On November 24th one of my dev friends (hey Maciej!) told me I could run Claude Code in VS Code’s terminal. I had no idea. Shame on me I guess. Since then I’ve been building all the things I always wanted but never had a developer for.

Let me show you how to start using it. Install to first prompt in under 5 minutes.

Step 1: Open VS Code and the terminal

Open your project folder in VS Code. If you don’t have a project yet, create an empty folder somewhere and open that.

VS Code welcome screen with a list of keyboard shortcuts — VS Code after opening a project. Ignore the shortcuts for now.

Pull up the terminal. Top menu: Terminal > New Terminal. Or just hit Ctrl+`.

VS Code with terminal panel open at the bottom — This is where you’ll type commands and talk to Claude.

This terminal at the bottom is where everything happens. All the commands below go here.

Step 2: Install Claude Code

Same terminal. One command, nothing else to install first.

On Mac or Linux:

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

On Windows (PowerShell):

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

You’ll see a few lines of output. When it stops and you get your cursor back, you’re good. Close and reopen VS Code so the terminal picks up the new command.

Step 3: Launch it

Same terminal. Type claude and hit Enter.

claude

First time you run it, there’s a quick setup. Takes about a minute.

It asks you to pick a color theme:

Claude Code first launch showing theme selection with Dark mode highlighted — Theme selection on first launch. Dark mode is the only correct answer.

Next up: how you want to log in. You need a Claude Pro, Max, or API account.

Claude Code login method selection showing three options: subscription, API, and third-party — If you’re paying for Claude Pro or Max, pick option 1.

It opens a browser window where you authorize the connection:

Claude.ai authorization page in the browser asking to connect Claude Code to your account — Click Authorize and switch back to VS Code.

Back in VS Code, it confirms you’re logged in:

Claude Code terminal showing a login successful message — Login confirmed. Almost there.

Next it shows security notes. Read them or don’t, then press Enter.

Claude Code security notes about reviewing AI responses and code injection risks — Standard disclaimer. Press Enter to continue.

Now it wants to know about terminal settings.

Claude Code asking whether to use recommended terminal settings — Say yes. This makes Shift+Enter work for new lines, which you’ll use constantly.

Last step: it checks if you trust the project folder.

Claude Code workspace safety check asking if you trust this folder — Your own project? Trust it. Random folder from the internet? Maybe don’t.

That’s it. You’re in. The whole setup takes about a minute once you’ve done it before.

Claude Code fully set up and ready for input in VS Code terminal — Claude Code ready to go. Type what you want to build and hit Enter.

When things break

“command not found” - Close VS Code, reopen, try again. Works embarrassingly often.

Permission errors - Paste the error into any AI chat and ask for help. That’s what I do.

Login issues - The login opens in your browser. If it’s not working, clear browser cookies, try incognito, log in again.

Anything else - Screenshot the error and paste it into any AI chat. Ask it to help. No shame in that. I do the same thing every day. My entire debugging strategy is asking AI to fix the AI setup.

Summary

Install Claude Code. Type claude in your project folder. When something breaks, screenshot it and ask AI.

If I figured this out as a designer who’s never written a line of code, you’ll be fine. Once you’re up and running, read about what agents actually are - it’ll change how you use Claude Code.

Oh, and for those of us who appreciate readable font sizes: Cmd+= (or Ctrl+= on Windows) zooms in the whole VS Code window, terminal included. Killer feature.