Your First Project with Claude Code: From Setup to First Commit

Pick Something Real

Do not start with a toy project. The value of Claude Code is in working on code that matters. Pick something you have been meaning to refactor, a bug you have been avoiding, or a feature you have been putting off. The workflow is the same either way — you might as well get something useful out of it.

If you have nothing ready, a good first task is writing tests for an existing module you understand well. You will learn how Claude Code reads and writes code in your project context, and you will get real tests out of it.

Start a Session

Navigate to your project directory in your terminal:

cd ~/projects/your-project
claude

Claude Code will initialize and show you the project structure. Give it a clear task:

Write tests for the auth module. Focus on the token validation logic and the refresh token flow. Do not modify the source files.

Be specific about constraints — what should not be changed, what the output should look like, any testing framework preferences.

Watch It Work

Claude Code will read the relevant files, understand the structure, and propose a plan. It will ask to proceed. You watch what it does before it does it, which means you can catch mistakes early. Approve or redirect — it does not touch your files until you say go.

Review and Commit

When it finishes, review the changes. Claude Code shows you what it wrote and why. Use your normal git workflow to review, tweak, and commit.

git diff
git add -p  # review changes selectively
git commit -m "Add auth module tests"

That first session teaches you more about how Claude Code works than any documentation. You will have a feel for what to be specific about, where it needs constraints, and how it thinks about your codebase.