Little Learnings #5

A primer on Claude Code

Welcome to Little Learnings, a series of educational posts I release every Friday. The intention behind these is to break down some new interesting topic or development happening in the crypto space. God knows there’s enough happening in crypto, and it’s often complicated — so I’m here to try and simplify it a bit.

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A primer on Claude Code

If you’ve been following me on X at all, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been getting a little bit obsessed with Claude Code. I’ve been using it a lot lately, and heaps of people have asked me about it, so I figured I’d do a little breakdown.

This learning isn’t directly crypto related, but I think it’s relevant to anyone who spends time on a computer (aka everyone), and I think having a better understanding of AI can only help you in your crypto journey.

What is Claude?

First, some quick background. Claude is an AI model made by a company called Anthropic. Think of it like ChatGPT, just made by a different company. You talk to it, ask it questions, have it help you write things, analyze data, brainstorm ideas, etc. You access it at claude.ai, and it works in your browser or as a mobile/desktop app.

Claude is very good. It’s what I use for most of my AI needs these days.

So what is Claude Code?

Claude Code is Claude, but instead of living in your browser, it lives in your computer’s terminal.

If you don’t know what a terminal is (and I barely did before all of this), don’t worry, it’s easy enough to understand and use.

A terminal (also called a command line) is a text-based interface on your computer. Most of us are familiar with a GUI (graphic-user-interface) where you click on things using a mouse. With a terminal, instead of clicking buttons and icons, you type commands. It honestly looks like something out of a 90s hacker movie. Black screen, blinking cursor, green text (okay, the text is usually white these days, but you get the gist).

The key difference between regular Claude and Claude Code is that Claude Code can actually do things on your computer. Regular Claude can talk to you and give you information. Claude Code can read your files, edit them, create new ones, run programs, and take action. It’s the difference between asking someone for advice and having them sit down at your desk and do the work.

Why should you care?

Even if you’re not a developer, Claude Code is useful. You can use it to:

• Organize and rename files in bulk

• Analyze data in spreadsheets

• Write and edit documents

• Automate repetitive tasks on your computer

• Build simple tools and websites (even if you don’t know how to code ← this is what i’ve been doing mostly)

For sophisticated devs, it’s a different level entirely. It can read your entire codebase, make changes across multiple files, run tests, handle Git operations, and more. It’s genuinely impressive and is taking the dev and AI world by storm atm.

How much does it cost?

You need a paid Claude subscription to use Claude Code.

• Claude Pro is $20/month (or $17/month if you pay annually). This gives you access to Claude Code and works well for learning and lighter use.

• Claude Max is $100/month or $200/month. This is for heavier usage. If you’re using Claude Code for hours every day, you’ll want this, but I recommend starting with the regular Pro plan and going from there.

You can also use it via the Anthropic API (pay-per-use), but for most people, a subscription is simpler and more cost-effective.

This is the same subscription you’d use to access the rest of Claude’s tools, it’s not just for Claude Code.

How do you get started?

So, here’s the thing. I could write my own guide for you. But to prove a point, I decided to ask Claude to write one instead, and am sharing that below. I obviously went through and checked it, and I tweaked it slightly, but it’s basically the exact process I took to get things set up myself.

One thing I added was the suggestion to use Cursor. Cursor is a code editor. You can kinda think of it like Microsoft Word, except instead of editing text documents, it’s designed for editing code and project files.

Cursor has a Claude Code extension built in, so instead of typing commands into a scary black terminal window, you get a nice visual interface inside Cursor. You see your files on the left, your code (or content) in the middle, and Claude Code in a panel on the right. Makes for a much more user friendly experience imo.

Okay, on to the getting started guide:

Step 1: Download Cursor

Go to cursor.com and download the app for your operating system (Mac or Windows). Install it like you would any other application. Click through the setup screens with the default settings.

Step 2: Install Claude Code

Windows note: You’ll want to install Git for Windows if you don’t have it. Go to https://git-scm.com/downloads/win, download, and install it with the default settings.

Even when using Cursor, you’ll still need to install Claude Code on your computer. Open Cursor, and then open the terminal inside Cursor by going to Terminal → New Terminal in the settings bar. This opens a small terminal panel where you can type or paste text.

On Mac, paste this and press Enter:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

On Windows, paste this and press Enter:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

It should just install and work. If it doesn’t and/or you get some sort of error message, just take a screenshot of it and ask Claude how to fix it at claude.ai. You can literally use Claude to help you set up Claude Code.

Assuming it’s all working..

Step 3: Run Claude Code

In the same terminal panel, simply type “claude” and hit enter. The first time, it will ask you whether you want dark mode or light mode, and to log in to your Claude account in your browser. Complete the login, and you’re set.

Step 4: Start using it

You now have Claude Code running inside Cursor. You can type natural language requests in the Claude Code panel, and it will read and modify files in whatever folder you have open.

Try opening a folder with some files in it (any folder on your computer), and ask Claude Code something simple like “list all the files in this folder and tell me what they are”.

Claude Code will ask for your permission before making changes to files. There’s an advanced mode where it can run a lot more autonomously, but you shouldn’t enable that until you’re confident you know what you’re doing. I’m not even going to tell you how, but if you’re interested, just ask Claude!

Seriously, ask Claude for anything you need help with. You don’t even really need this guide (i’m talking myself out of a job here). AI has gotten that good, that you can just ask it to fix whatever issue you’re facing, and nine times out of ten it’ll one-shot the solution for you.

Closing thoughts

I think AI tools like Claude Code are going to become a normal part of how we all use computers over the next few years. It’s not just for coders; it’ll be for everyone. Pairing Claude Code with Cursor makes the experience accessible to people who have never written a line of code, and I think the user experience and interface is only going to improve as time goes on.

If you’ve been curious but haven’t taken the plunge, this is a good time to start. The setup takes about 10 minutes, and once you’re in, you can start small and build from there.

Try some fun stuff like:

• I want to build a personal website, can you help me plan and build that?

• I want to create an app to track our family budget

• I’m interested in learning about creating predictive models, can you do some deep research for me and share the results

• I have these 30,000 photos on my computer that I always take and never organize, can you come up with an organizational system for them, and then take care of all the work to organize them?

The possibilities are endless.

Have fun, and let me know what you end up doing!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me — but seriously, try asking Claude too. I’m making myself obsolete here, but it’s only a matter of time anyway 😭.

Thanks for reading, see you next week with another little learning!

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Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. I’m not a financial adviser. These are only my own opinions and ideas. You should always consult with a professional/licensed financial adviser before trading or investing in any cryptocurrency related product. Some of the links shared may be referral links.