Your First Session
A hands-on walkthrough: open a project, explore it with Claude, and complete a practical task in under five minutes.
Opening your first project
Claude Code works within the context of a folder on your computer. When you launch it from a specific directory, it can see and work with all the files inside that directory. Let us start by opening a project.
Navigate to a folder in your terminal
Pick any folder you want to explore. It could be a project you are working on, your Documents folder, or even your Desktop. In your terminal, use the cd command to navigate there:
# Example: navigate to your Documents folder cd ~/Documents # Or to a specific project cd ~/Projects/my-website
If you are not sure what folders are available, type ls to list the contents of your current directory.
Launch Claude Code
Once you are in the folder you want to work with, type:
claude
Claude Code will start up and display an interactive prompt. You will see something like this:
╭──────────────────────────────────────╮ │ ✻ Welcome to Claude Code! │ │ │ │ /help for commands │ │ Type your message to get started │ ╰──────────────────────────────────────╯ >
That > symbol is your prompt. This is where you type your messages to Claude.
Exploring your project
Now that Claude Code is running, let us ask it to look around. Type the following at the prompt and press Enter:
What files are in this project? Give me a high-level overview.
Claude will use its built-in tools to list the files and directories, read key files, and then give you a summary. You will see it thinking and working in real time — it might run ls, read a few files, and then report back. This is one of the core strengths of Claude Code: it does not just guess — it actually looks at your files.
Try a few more exploratory prompts to get a feel for the conversation:
What is the biggest file in this folder?Are there any images here? What formats are they?Summarize the README file for me.How is this project organized?
Understanding the interface
The Claude Code interface has a few parts worth understanding:
The prompt
The > line at the bottom is where you type. Just like texting — type your message and press Enter.
Claude's responses
Claude's answers appear above your prompt. They include explanations, code snippets, and summaries of actions taken.
Tool calls
When Claude reads a file or runs a command, you will see a tool call block showing exactly what it did. This transparency lets you verify every action.
Permission prompts
Before Claude edits a file or runs a potentially destructive command, it will ask you to approve. You can type y to allow or n to deny. You stay in control at all times.
A practical task: organize your Downloads folder
Let us try something useful. Most people have a cluttered Downloads folder. Let us ask Claude Code to help us understand and organize it. First, open a new Claude Code session pointed at your Downloads folder:
cd ~/Downloads claude
Now follow along with these steps:
Ask Claude to survey the mess
Type this at the prompt:
How many files are in this folder? Break them down by file type (PDFs, images, documents, etc.) and tell me how much space each category takes up.
Claude will scan the folder, count and categorize every file, and give you a breakdown. This alone is a task that would take several minutes to do manually.
Ask for an organization plan
Next, ask Claude to suggest a structure:
Suggest a way to organize these files into subfolders. Don't move anything yet — just show me the plan.
Claude will propose a folder structure based on the actual contents it found. Because it has seen your files, the suggestions will be tailored to your specific Downloads folder, not generic advice.
Execute the plan (optional)
If you like the plan, tell Claude to go ahead:
Go ahead and organize the files into those folders.
Claude will create the subfolders and move files into them. Before each action, it will ask for your permission. You can approve individual moves or allow all at once.
Essential commands to know
Before we wrap up this lesson, here are a few slash commands that are useful from day one. You can type these at the Claude Code prompt:
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /help | Show all available commands and options |
| /clear | Clear the conversation history and start fresh |
| /compact | Summarize the conversation to free up context space |
| /cost | Show how much of your usage quota the session has consumed |
| Ctrl+C | Cancel the current operation or exit Claude Code |
We will cover many more commands and keyboard shortcuts in Commands & Shortcuts later in the guide.
Tips for effective prompting
You will get better results from Claude Code by following a few simple guidelines:
- Be specific about what you want. Instead of “fix this,” try “the header text on the homepage is too small — increase it to 24px.”
- Give context when it helps. “I am building a personal blog using Next.js” helps Claude make better decisions than just “add a new page.”
- Ask Claude to explain before acting. Phrases like “show me the plan first” or “explain what you would change before making edits” let you stay in control.
- Iterate naturally. If the first result is not quite right, just say so. “That is close, but make the colors warmer” works perfectly — Claude remembers the full conversation.
- Do not be afraid to ask questions. “What does this file do?” or “Why is this error happening?” are great uses of Claude Code. It is not just for doing — it is also for understanding.
What's next
You have now installed Claude Code, run your first session, explored a project, and even completed a hands-on task. That is the entire Getting Started module.
In the next module — Core Skills — we will go deeper into navigating your workspace, working with files, mastering commands and shortcuts, and setting up project memory so Claude remembers your preferences across sessions. This is where Claude Code goes from “neat demo” to “daily essential.”