How to Install Claude Code on Mac, Windows, and Linux

macOS — Native Installer

Download the installer from Anthropic's official site or use Homebrew:

brew install anthropic/claude-code/claude-code

The Homebrew version stays updated automatically. The native installer gives you a .pkg file you double-click to install. Both end up with claude in your PATH.

Windows — Native Installer

Download the .exe installer from the Claude Code website. Run it — it installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%ProgramsClaude Code and adds itself to your PATH. Open a new PowerShell or CMD window and claude will be available.

If you use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2), install the Linux version inside WSL rather than the Windows installer — it works better with the Linux toolchain.

Linux — Native Installer

Download the Linux tarball from the Claude Code website:

tar -xzf claude-code-linux.tar.gz
sudo mv claude /usr/local/bin/

Or use the install script if Anthropic provides one. Verify it is accessible:

claude --version

npm Option

If you have Node.js installed, you can install via npm:

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

This works across all operating systems. Use this if you want Claude Code managed through your Node.js toolchain or if you are on an OS that does not have a native installer yet.

First Run

Run claude in any terminal. It will open a browser window for authentication if this is your first time. Log in with your Anthropic account. After authentication, the CLI is ready to use.

Once authenticated, you can run claude --model opus-4.7 to specify which model to use, or leave it off to use your account default.