Beginner9 min

Install and Open Your First Agent

Two beginner-friendly agents cover most needs. Claude Code lives in your terminal and is great for learning how an agent really works. Cursor is a full editor (a fork of VS Code) with an agent built into the sidebar. We will set up Claude Code here because the terminal makes every step visible, then point you to Cursor if you prefer a graphical editor.

Step 1: Install Node and Claude Code

Claude Code installs through npm, which comes with Node.js. Install Node from nodejs.org (the LTS version), then install the agent with one command.

zsh - setup
# check Node is installed (need v20 or newer)
$node --version
v22.11.0
# install the Claude Code agent globally
$npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
added 1 package in 6s
$

Step 2: Open a project and sign in

Make an empty folder, move into it, and launch the agent. The first time, it opens a browser window so you can sign in with your Anthropic account. A Claude Pro or Max subscription includes Claude Code usage, so you do not need to manage API keys to start.

zsh - my-first-project
$mkdir my-first-project && cd my-first-project
$claude
Opening browser to sign in ...
Signed in. Welcome. What should we build?
$

Step 3: Try the graphical option (Cursor)

If a terminal feels intimidating, download Cursor from cursor.com. It looks and feels like VS Code. Open a folder, press the agent shortcut, pick a model such as Claude Sonnet 4.6, and type your goal in the panel. Everything in this level works in either tool.

Cursor - agent panel
Explorer
src/App.tsx
src/main.tsx
package.json
index.html
src/App.tsx
1export default function App() {
2 return <h1>Hello from my first project</h1>;
3}
Cursor puts the same agent loop inside a familiar editor.
Pick a real project folder
Agents read and edit files in whatever folder you launch them in. Always open a dedicated project folder, never your home directory or Desktop, so the agent has a clean, scoped view of the work.

That is it. You now have a working agent. The next lesson is about talking to it so it does what you actually meant.

Hands-on tasks