Claude Code is Anthropic’s coding agent. It reads your repository, edits files, and runs commands in the terminal or inside VS Code and Cursor. It is not the Claude chat app, and it is not included on the free Claude plan.

How to use Claude Code: install Anthropic’s extension or CLI, sign in with a paid Claude account (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account, open a project folder, and ask for a small change you can review. Usage counts against the same limits as Claude chat.

This page answers the searches around that setup: install, download, VS Code, Cursor, pricing, GitHub, skills, and how Claude Code differs from Codex, Ollama, OpenRouter, and other tools people land on from the same query.

Quick Answer

Table of Contents

• Quick Answer
• What Claude Code Is
• How to Install Claude Code
• How to Use It in VS Code and Cursor
• A Session That Does Not Waste the Cap
• GitHub, Skills, and Project Memory
• Claude Code vs Cursor, Codex, and Other Tools
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion
• Sources

What Claude Code Is

Claude is Anthropic’s assistant. Claude Code is the product that applies Claude to a repository. You give it a task in plain language. It searches the project, proposes edits, and can run tests or lint if you allow the command.

That is different from:

• Claude.ai chat, where you paste a snippet and copy a reply back by hand.
• Claude Desktop, the desktop app for chat. Installing the desktop app does not install Claude Code.
• Tab autocomplete in an editor. Claude Code is a task agent. You still want your editor’s completions for the next line.

Anthropic’s current coding model on paid plans is Opus 5.5, with faster models such as Sonnet available on the same account. Model details are in Claude Opus 5.5 explained. The plan comparison with ChatGPT’s coding agent is in ChatGPT vs Claude.

One developer’s habit: live in the agent, review the diff, and clear the conversation when the task changes. The install path and plan rules below follow Anthropic’s VS Code docs, which are newer than that July 2025 write-up.

How to Install Claude Code

You need an Anthropic login that is allowed to use Claude Code.

1. Subscribe to Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise, or use a Claude Console account with usage credits. Free Claude is not enough. Upgrade from claude.ai.
2. Install a current Visual Studio Code. Anthropic’s docs require VS Code 1.94 or later. The Marketplace listing may require a newer build. This is VS Code, not the older Visual Studio IDE.
3. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows, Cmd+Shift+X on Mac). Search Claude Code. Install the extension published by Anthropic.
4. Open the Spark icon, the Command Palette command named Claude Code, or the status-bar entry. Sign in with the same Claude account in the browser.
5. Open the folder you want to change. Do not point it at your entire home directory.

Cursor uses the same extension. Anthropic’s docs include an install link for Cursor. In Cursor, open Extensions, search Claude Code, and sign in the same way. Cursor’s own agent is a separate sidebar. You can keep Cursor’s tab completion and use Claude Code for the larger edit.

For the terminal, Anthropic’s Claude Code download page and the docs installer are the source of the current command. The VS Code extension bundles a CLI for its own panel. Typing claude in VS Code’s integrated terminal still needs the standalone CLI install. If claude is not found, you only installed the extension.

JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm) are supported through Anthropic’s IDE docs. Log in with the same account. IDE time and terminal time share one usage pool.

If you searched “download Claude Code” or “Claude desktop”

Download the Claude Code CLI or add the VS Code extension. The Claude desktop app is the chat client. Both can be on the same machine. Only the Code install edits a repo.

How to Use It in VS Code and Cursor

After sign-in:

1. Open one repository.
2. State the change, the file if you know it, and how you will know it worked. Example: “In billing.ts, stop counting refunded orders in the monthly total. Add a test that a refunded order is excluded.”
3. Let it read the project. Mention a file with @ when you already know the right one. Selecting lines in the editor gives the extension that range.
4. Read the diff in the editor before you accept it. Run the test yourself if the change touches money, auth, or data deletion.
5. Start a fresh conversation when the next task is unrelated. Old instructions burn the usage cap and pull the agent toward the previous bug.

Permissions are the product working as designed. Claude Code asks before it edits or runs a command. Approving lint and file edits is normal. Approving a command you do not recognize is not. Anthropic ships a flag that skips those prompts. The name on the flag is a warning. Leave prompts on until you trust the repo and the task. A deleted branch is not an edit you can undo from the chat panel.

Escape stops the current turn in the terminal UI. Closing the terminal with an interrupt is a different action. The VS Code panel is the clearer place to review a plan before edits land.

A Session That Does Not Waste the Cap

Claude Code and Claude chat draw from the same Pro or Max allowance. A five-hour window plus weekly limits applies. Anthropic does not publish a fixed message count.

• One task per conversation.
• Ask for a plan on a large change, then tell it to implement only the first step.
• Prefer a smaller model for a rename or a comment. Keep Opus for the change you cannot specify line by line.
• If you hit the cap, wait for the reset or switch that session to Console usage credits. Do not open a second free account. Free does not include Claude Code.

Max, from $100 a month, is the plan for people who would otherwise stop mid-day. Pro at $20 is the plan that turns Claude Code on.

GitHub, Skills, and Project Memory

GitHub. Claude Code can work against a repo you have cloned. Anthropic documents GitHub integration in the Claude Code docs, including review workflows. Sewell’s write-up used a GitHub app so Claude commented on pull requests, and he narrowed the prompt to bugs and security issues so the review stayed short. Treat command names from 2025 as a clue, then follow the current page in Anthropic’s docs. The useful rule is stable either way: tell the reviewer to report bugs and vulnerabilities, and to stay concise.

CLAUDE.md. A markdown file in the repo can hold the build command, the test command, and rules you always want (which UI library, which folders not to touch). Claude Code reads it instead of rediscovering the scripts every session. Nested files can cover a single package. Keep it short. A novel of style preferences crowds out the task.

Skills and slash commands. A skill is a reusable instruction, often a markdown file the agent can load. Project slash commands are prompts you name, such as “write tests for this component,” with the argument filled in from what you type. Anthropic’s docs are the current file layout. Ask Claude Code to add a command only after you can read the file it writes.

Hooks. You can run a formatter or a typecheck when a file changes. Start with one command you already trust, such as your project’s formatter. Do not add a hook that deploys or pushes.

Claude Code vs Cursor, Codex, and Other Tools

People reach this page from a lot of adjacent names. Here is the split.

If the job is not code, Claude chat is enough. How to use ChatGPT effectively covers writing, study, and resumes. Those tasks do not need a repository agent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is Anthropic’s coding agent. It reads a project, edits files, and runs commands in the terminal or in VS Code, Cursor, and JetBrains. It is separate from the Claude chat app and the Claude desktop app.

How do I use Claude Code?

Install Anthropic’s extension or CLI, sign in with a paid Claude plan or a Console account, open one repo, describe a specific change, and review the diff before you keep it.

How do I install Claude Code?

In VS Code or Cursor, install the Claude Code extension from Anthropic, then sign in. For the claude terminal command, use the installer on Anthropic’s Claude Code docs. You need Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or Console credits.

Is Claude Code free?

No. The extension download is free. Anthropic’s pricing page marks Claude Code as off on the Free plan and on for Pro and above.

How much does Claude Code cost?

It is included with Claude Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month on the annual plan ($200 up front). Max starts at $100 a month and raises the usage cap. Terminal and chat share that cap.

How do I use Claude Code in VS Code?

Install the official extension, open a file, and use the Spark icon or the Command Palette. Sign in in the browser. Accept edits from the diff view.

Can I use Claude Code in Cursor?

Yes. Cursor can install the same extension. Cursor’s built-in agent remains a different product. You can use Cursor for editing and Claude Code for the agent task.

Claude Code vs Codex: which should I use?

Use Claude Code if you already pay for Claude and want Opus in the repo. Use Codex if you already pay for ChatGPT, or you want the limited free Codex trial. The longer comparison is ChatGPT vs Claude.

Does Claude Code work with GitHub?

Yes, on a repo you clone, and through the GitHub integration Anthropic documents. Narrow review instructions to bugs and security issues if automatic comments get noisy.

Can I run Claude Code with Ollama or OpenRouter?

Not as the official product. Claude Code authenticates to Anthropic, or to Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud using Anthropic’s provider setup. Ollama and OpenRouter are different tools.

What is the difference between Claude and Claude Code?

Claude is the assistant in the browser, desktop, and mobile apps. Claude Code is the coding agent for repositories. A free Claude account covers chat only.

How do I get Claude Code on Windows?

Install VS Code, add Anthropic’s Claude Code extension, and sign in. The CLI has its own Windows install steps in Anthropic’s docs. You do not need the Claude desktop app for that.

Conclusion

How to use Claude Code is a short loop: paid Anthropic account, official extension or CLI, one repo, one task, a diff you actually read. It is not a free download that replaces ChatGPT, Cursor, Ollama, or the Claude desktop app. Those are different products. Pro is the plan that turns it on. Max is the plan that keeps it on all day.

Install from Anthropic’s VS Code guide and confirm the plan on Claude pricing.

Sources

• Anthropic — Claude Code in VS Code
• Anthropic — Claude Code product page
• Anthropic — Use Claude Code with Pro or Max
• Anthropic — Pricing