How to Start Your First Project with Claude Code

Open Claude Code in a real folder, ask it to make a small change, and review and accept the edit safely.

8 minBeginner

Visit Claude Code

Once Claude Code is installed, the fastest way to learn it is to run a tiny task on a real project. This guide walks through opening the CLI inside a project, giving it a clear request, watching it propose edits, and accepting only what you want.

What you need

Claude Code installed and signed in
Any small code project, or an empty folder to start fresh
Git initialized in the folder (recommended so you can undo)
About 10 minutes

Step 1: Open the project in your terminal

Claude Code works on the directory you launch it from. Change into your project, make sure git is tracking it, then start the agent.

zsh - my-app

$cd ~/projects/my-app

$git init # skip if already a repo

$claude

Claude Code ready. What would you like to do?

Step 2: Ask for one concrete change

Vague requests get vague results. Describe a single, specific outcome. For a first run, pick something low-risk like adding a README or a small function.

Claude Code - request

You

Add a README.md with a one-paragraph project description, an install section, and a usage example.

Agent

I'll create README.md with those three sections. Here is the proposed file.

A clear, scoped first request.

Step 3: Review the proposed edit

Claude Code shows a diff before writing anything to disk and asks for permission. Read it like a pull request. You can accept it, reject it, or tell the agent what to change.

Claude Code - diff prompt

Create file: README.md

+ # my-app

+ A small CLI that formats invoices.

+ ## Install

+ npm install

Approve this edit? (y) yes (n) no (e) edit instructions

Edits are shown as a diff and gated behind your approval.

Step 4: Accept and verify

Approve the change, then confirm the file landed and looks right. Because git is tracking the folder, you can always revert.

terminal

git status        # see README.md as a new file
git diff          # review the exact change
git checkout .    # undo everything if you change your mind

Commit before big tasks

Make a commit before asking for a large refactor. A clean checkpoint means git restore or git reset gets you back instantly if a change goes sideways.

Result: you have run a full Claude Code loop, request, diff, approval, and verification. Every larger task is just this same loop repeated at greater scope.