Getting Started: Claude Code

A coworker asked me last week what they would actually need to install before trying Claude Code on something real. I started listing what is on my machine and stopped myself halfway through. Half of it is there for other work and has nothing to do with Claude Code itself.

So here is the shorter answer.

What Claude Code itself needs

One thing: Node.js. Claude Code is a command-line tool distributed through npm, the package manager bundled with Node.js, so once Node is installed, the rest is one line in a terminal (what a terminal actually is gets its own episode later in this series):

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

You will also need a paid Anthropic plan. There is no free tier that includes Claude Code, a Claude subscription or pay-as-you-go API access both work. Check Anthropic's pricing page for the current options and numbers. Once that is set up, open a terminal in any folder and start.

What your work adds

Git comes next, no matter what you build. Claude Code edits real files in a real folder, and Git is what lets you see the diff (the exact lines that changed), undo a bad change, and keep an actual history. That holds even if you never open a terminal for anything else.

Past that, it depends which work you are bringing to it (the language). If the intent is Civil 3D plugins, you will want the .NET SDK. C# plugins compile against it, and the version matters: 2025 was the release where Civil 3D moved off .NET Framework onto .NET Core for good, so a plugin built for 2024 or earlier needs porting before it will load in 2025 or later. As of this writing, 2026 targets .NET 8 and 2027 targets .NET 10, and that number tends to move again with each release, so check yours rather than assume either one. If your work touches Forma or ACC data management instead, you will want Python. Neither SDK is required to start. Both are required the first time you ask Claude Code to build for that product with the associated language.

What I left off

My own machine also has a Java JDK and VS Code on it. Neither is required for this. The JDK is there for something unrelated to Civil 3D or Forma work, and VS Code is a good editor to have open next to a terminal, not something Claude Code depends on. I am naming them so this does not read as a full inventory of my setup. It is not. It is the four things that actually matter to start.

This is one door, not the only one

Everything above is written for Claude Code because that is what I actually use every day, not because it is the only way in. OpenAI's Codex CLI is the closest equivalent, a terminal agent built on OpenAI's own models. GitHub Copilot's CLI reached general release this year and can run on top of several vendors' models, not just one. Google's entry has already changed names once this year, Gemini CLI became Antigravity CLI in June, which is its own small proof of why this series avoids pinning specifics. Whichever one your team already pays for is a fine place to start. The four things above barely change between them: something to run the CLI itself, Git, a paid account, and whichever language SDK your own work needs.

Be Better - Install what your work needs.