Claude Code is an AI coding partner and conversational mentor designed for solo operators, consultants, and problem-solvers who may lack professional development experience.
Functioning as a "patient developer" sitting beside the user, the tool possesses four primary capabilities: it can see and navigate project folders, write and edit code, execute terminal commands, and learn the specific context of a project.
It is built for productivity, allowing users to automate tedious tasks and build practical tools—such as web apps or data-processing scripts—by following a simple workflow of asking questions, creating files, and testing builds.
To get started, users need a Node.js foundation and a Claude Pro subscription, and they can further enhance the AI's performance by using a CLAUDE.md file to store specific project preferences and instructions.