Lesson 1Basics

Introduction to Claude Code

AI-powered coding assistant

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is an AI agent from Anthropic that works directly in your terminal. Unlike regular chatbots, it has full access to your code, file system, and can execute commands.

$ claude
> Analyze this project and fix the failing tests
Claude reads files, finds the issue, edits code, runs tests...

Key Features

Terminal Interface

Works in your terminal — where you already code

Context Aware

Reads your code, understands project structure

Git Integration

Creates commits, PRs, works with branches

Executes Commands

Runs tests, builds, any shell commands

Sub-agents

Delegates complex tasks to specialized agents

MCP Integrations

Connects to databases, APIs, external services

Differences from ChatGPT / Claude Chat
FeatureClaude CodeChatGPT / Web Chat
File system access
Command execution
Git operations
Project understanding
External integrations (MCP)
Autonomous operation

Use Cases

Simple Tasks
  • Fix a bug
  • Refactor a function
  • Write tests
  • Add documentation
Medium Tasks
  • Add a feature
  • Optimize queries
  • Migrate API
  • Code review
Complex Tasks
  • Architectural changes
  • Service integration
  • CI/CD automation
  • Codebase exploration

Key Insight

Claude Code is not just a chatbot. It's a full AI agent that can independently explore code, make decisions, take actions, and verify results. It works in an iterative loop until the task is complete.