Claude Code: The Complete Guide to Anthropic's AI Coding Assistant (2026)

What Is Claude Code?

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that operates directly in your terminal. Unlike browser-based AI assistants or IDE plugins that suggest one line at a time, Claude Code is a full autonomous agent that can read your codebase, execute commands, edit files, run tests, and commit changes — all through natural language conversation.

Released as a research preview in early 2025 and reaching general availability by mid-2025, Claude Code has become one of the most capable AI development tools available. It scored 80.9% on SWE-bench Verified, a benchmark that tests an AI's ability to solve real GitHub issues from popular open-source projects — the highest score achieved by any AI coding tool at the time of its release.

What makes Claude Code fundamentally different from tools like GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT is its agentic loop. Rather than responding to a single prompt with a single answer, Claude Code plans multi-step solutions, executes them, observes results, and iterates until the task is complete. A single user request can trigger dozens of tool calls — reading files, searching code, editing multiple modules, running tests, and fixing failures — all without additional human input.

Installation and Setup

Prerequisites

Claude Code requires Node.js 18 or later. It runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows via WSL.

Installing Claude Code

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

After installation, navigate to your project directory and run:

claude

On first launch, Claude Code authenticates through the Anthropic Console. You can use it with either a direct API key or through a Max subscription plan.

Verifying Your Installation

claude --version
claude /doctor

The /doctor command checks your environment for common configuration issues, verifies authentication, and reports your current model and billing status.

The Core Architecture: How Claude Code Works

Claude Code operates through an agentic loop with five built-in tools:

Tool	Function	Description
Read	File reading	Reads any file, including images and PDFs
Write	File creation	Creates new files or completely overwrites existing ones
Edit	Targeted edits	Makes precise string replacements in existing files
Bash	Shell execution	Runs any terminal command with configurable timeouts
Glob	File search	Fast pattern matching across the entire codebase
Grep	Content search	Regex-powered search built on ripgrep

When you give Claude Code an instruction, it enters a loop:

1. Analyze the request and plan an approach
2. Select a tool to gather information or make changes
3. Execute the tool and observe the output
4. Decide whether to continue (more tools needed) or respond to the user
5. Repeat until the task is complete or a maximum turn limit is reached

This loop can run for hundreds of iterations on complex tasks. During SWE-bench evaluation, sessions averaged 30-50 tool calls per issue, with some requiring over 200.

Configuration: CLAUDE.md Memory Files

One of Claude Code's most powerful features is its memory system. CLAUDE.md files are Markdown documents placed in your repository that Claude Code reads automatically at the start of every session.

Memory File Hierarchy

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md              # Global: applies to all projects
~/myproject/CLAUDE.md            # Project root: applies to this project
~/myproject/src/CLAUDE.md        # Directory: applies when working in src/
~/myproject/.claude/settings.json # Permission and tool configuration

What to Put in CLAUDE.md

# Project: MyApp Backend

## Tech Stack
- Python 3.12, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy 2.0, PostgreSQL 16
- Testing: pytest with async support
- Linting: ruff (replaces flake8 + isort + black)

## Conventions
- Use snake_case for all Python identifiers
- All API endpoints return Pydantic models
- Database sessions use async context managers
- Never use SELECT * — always specify columns

## Architecture
- app/api/ — Route handlers (thin controllers)
- app/services/ — Business logic layer
- app/models/ — SQLAlchemy models
- app/schemas/ — Pydantic request/response schemas

## Testing
- Run tests: pytest -x --tb=short
- All new endpoints need integration tests
- Mock external APIs, never mock the database

Claude Code reads this file and adapts its behavior accordingly. If your CLAUDE.md says to use ruff, it will not suggest black. If it says to never use SELECT *, it will always specify columns explicitly.

Slash Commands Reference

Claude Code includes built-in slash commands for common operations:

Command	Purpose
/help	Show available commands
/compact	Compress conversation context to free up token space
/clear	Reset the conversation completely
/cost	Show current session cost and token usage
/doctor	Diagnose configuration and environment issues
/init	Generate a starter CLAUDE.md for your project
/model	Switch between Claude models mid-session
/permissions	View and modify tool permissions
/review	Request a code review of recent changes
/terminal-setup	Configure terminal integration features

MCP Server Integration

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows Claude Code to connect to external tools and data sources. You configure MCP servers in your project's .claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://localhost/mydb"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic-ai/mcp-server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_xxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

With MCP servers, Claude Code can query databases, interact with GitHub issues and PRs, read from Notion, search Confluence, and connect to virtually any API or data source.

Extended Thinking Mode

For complex architectural decisions or multi-file refactoring, Claude Code supports extended thinking. This allocates additional compute to reasoning before Claude begins acting, resulting in more thorough plans and fewer false starts.

Extended thinking is especially valuable for:

• Architecture decisions — evaluating tradeoffs between approaches
• Complex debugging — tracing issues across multiple modules
• Large refactors — planning changes that touch dozens of files
• Security reviews — methodically examining code for vulnerabilities

Permission Model

Claude Code operates with a tiered permission system:

• Read-only tools (Read, Glob, Grep) — allowed by default, no confirmation needed
• Write tools (Write, Edit) — require approval unless auto-accepted in settings
• Bash commands — require approval for each new command pattern

You can configure auto-approval rules in .claude/settings.json:

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "Bash(npm test*)",
      "Bash(npx prisma*)",
      "Bash(git status)",
      "Bash(git diff*)"
    ]
  }
}

This lets Claude Code run tests and check git status without prompting, while still requiring approval for more impactful commands.

Cost Management

Claude Code uses Claude's API pricing. Typical session costs:

Task Complexity	Tool Calls	Approx. Cost
Simple question	2-5	$0.02-0.05
Bug fix	10-30	$0.10-0.50
Feature implementation	30-100	$0.50-2.00
Large refactor	100-500	$2.00-10.00

Use /cost to monitor spending during a session. The /compact command compresses conversation history, reducing token usage for long sessions.

Best Practices for Getting the Most from Claude Code

1. Write a thorough CLAUDE.md — The more context Claude has about your project, the better its output matches your conventions.

2. Start sessions in the right directory — Claude Code uses your working directory as the project root.

3. Be specific in your requests — "Add pagination to the users endpoint using cursor-based pagination with a default page size of 20" produces better results than "add pagination."

4. Use /compact proactively — Do not wait until you hit context limits. Compact after completing each major task.

5. Review before accepting — Claude Code shows you exactly what it plans to do. Read the diffs before approving write operations.

6. Leverage git integration — Claude Code understands git. Ask it to "commit these changes with a descriptive message" or "create a PR for this feature."

7. Chain tasks naturally — After Claude implements a feature, follow up with "now write tests for what you just built" or "review the code you wrote for security issues."

When to Use Claude Code vs. Other Tools

Scenario	Best Tool
Quick inline completions while typing	GitHub Copilot or Cursor Tab
Complex multi-file feature implementation	Claude Code
Debugging from a stack trace	Claude Code
Explaining unfamiliar code	Claude Code or Cursor Chat
CI/CD automation and PR review	Claude Code (headless mode)
Simple autocomplete of boilerplate	Any inline assistant

Claude Code excels at tasks that require understanding the full codebase, making coordinated changes across multiple files, and iterating through build-test-fix cycles. For quick single-line suggestions while typing, inline assistants remain faster.

Conclusion

Claude Code represents a shift from AI code suggestion to AI code agency. It does not just tell you what to write — it reads your project, plans a solution, implements it, tests it, and iterates until the work is done. Whether you are building a new feature, debugging a production issue, or modernizing a legacy codebase, Claude Code brings the reasoning capability of Claude directly into your development workflow.

The key to getting maximum value is treating Claude Code as a junior developer who needs clear instructions, good project documentation (CLAUDE.md), and appropriate guardrails (permissions). With those in place, it becomes one of the most productive tools in a modern developer's toolkit.