Installation by platform

Select your platform

Claude Code installs natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Windows Subsystem for Linux. Choose a tab below — your selection is remembered across the other pages in this playbook.

Once installed, return to Installation to verify your setup.

Windows, Git Bash

Recommended enterprise setup

1. Confirm that Git for Windows and Git Bash are available
2. Open Windows PowerShell for installation
3. Run the native Windows installer

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

4. Close and reopen Git Bash
5. Verify the installation

claude --version

6. Open the required project folder

cd /c/path/to/your/project

7. Start Claude Code

claude

Git Bash support

Claude Code supports native Windows. Git for Windows is recommended because Git for Windows enables the Bash tool.

Without Git for Windows, Claude Code uses PowerShell instead.

Windows, PowerShell

Open PowerShell and run:

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Open the required project:

cd "C:\path\to\your\project"

Start Claude Code:

claude

Use the correct terminal command

The PowerShell installer uses irm and iex.

Do not run the Windows Command Prompt installation command inside PowerShell.

Windows, CMD

Open Windows Command Prompt and run:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Open the required project:

cd C:\path\to\your\project

Start Claude Code:

claude

macOS

Open Terminal and run the native installer:

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Open the required project:

cd /path/to/your/project

Start Claude Code:

claude

Linux

Open the terminal and run:

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Open the required project:

cd /path/to/your/project

Start Claude Code:

claude

Supported environments include:

• Ubuntu 20.04 or newer
• Debian 10 or newer
• Alpine Linux 3.19 or newer

Windows, WSL

Open the Windows Subsystem for Linux terminal and run:

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Open the required project:

cd /path/to/your/project

Start Claude Code:

claude

WSL setup

Windows Subsystem for Linux does not require Git for Windows for Claude Code Bash functionality.

Desktop app

Use Claude Desktop when you prefer a graphical interface instead of a terminal-first experience.

The Claude Code desktop experience provides:

• Parallel working sessions
• Integrated terminal and file editing
• Visual code-difference review
• Live application preview
• GitHub pull-request monitoring
• Local project access

Get started

1. Install the approved Claude Desktop application
2. Launch Claude Desktop
3. Sign in using the enterprise-provided account
4. Open the Code area
5. Select a familiar project folder
6. Begin with a small, well-defined task

Terminal usage

Claude Desktop includes the graphical Code experience.

Using the claude command from a separate terminal still requires the Claude Code command-line installation.