Getting started with Claude Code in Australia: a no-fluff install guide

Claude Code is Anthropic’s command-line tool for working with Claude inside your actual project, it can read your files, edit code, run shell commands, and reason about your repo as a whole. It’s the same model as Claude.ai, but with hands.

This guide gets you from zero to your first useful session in about 15 minutes. Written from Melbourne, using Australian-relevant defaults.

What you need before you start

• A laptop running Windows 10/11, macOS 13+, or a recent Linux distro
• A terminal you’re comfortable with (PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on macOS, your shell of choice on Linux)
• An email address (for Anthropic Console signup)
• A credit card (for billing once your free trial runs out)
• Optional but recommended: VS Code or another IDE Claude Code integrates with

You do not need: a degree in computer science, a GitHub account, or any prior CLI experience beyond knowing how to open a terminal.

Step 1, install Node.js (Australia mirror is fine)

Claude Code is distributed via npm, which means you need Node.js installed first. Get the LTS build (currently Node 22) from nodejs.org. The Australian-hosted mirror at the same URL is plenty fast, no need to fuss with a CDN.

Windows: download the .msi, run it, accept defaults. Tick the box for “automatically install necessary tools” if asked, it pulls Chocolatey + build tools, harmless and useful.

macOS: download the .pkg or use Homebrew (brew install node).

Linux: use your distro’s package manager or nvm.

Verify it worked:

node --version
npm --version

Both should print version numbers. If they don’t, restart your terminal (Windows) or your shell session (macOS/Linux). On Windows specifically, you sometimes need a fresh PowerShell window for the PATH to update.

Step 2, install Claude Code

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

On Windows you may get a warning about needing administrator permissions for global installs. The cleanest fix is to set up an npm prefix in your user profile rather than running PowerShell as admin every time:

mkdir "$env:USERPROFILE\.npm-global"
npm config set prefix "$env:USERPROFILE\.npm-global"

Then add $env:USERPROFILE\.npm-global to your PATH (search “Environment Variables” in the Start menu). New PowerShell windows will pick it up.

Verify:

claude --version

Step 3, sign up for Anthropic Console

Head to console.anthropic.com and create an account using your Australian email address. There’s no Australian organisation tier yet, billing is in USD and goes through the same Stripe pipeline as everyone else.

You’ll get a small free trial credit (the amount changes; check the console). After that, you’re prepaid: add credits to your account (we recommend starting with $20 USD which is about $31 AUD), and Claude Code burns through that as you use it.

Set a budget alert before you do anything else. Console → Settings → Billing → Usage alerts. Pick a number you’d be annoyed to spend in a week and stick an alert at 50% of it. Anthropic emails you when you cross. This saves you from leaving an agent running overnight on Opus and waking up to a $40 USD invoice.

Step 4, authenticate Claude Code

claude

First run, it’ll open your browser to authorise. Sign in with the same Anthropic Console account, approve, and you’ll be dropped back at your terminal with a fresh claude session ready.

If the browser flow doesn’t work (corporate firewall, headless server, etc), you can authenticate via API key:

$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "sk-ant-..."
claude

Get the key from Console → API Keys. Set it as a persistent environment variable on your machine if you don’t want to set it every session.

Step 5, your first useful session

Open a terminal in a folder you actually care about, your business spreadsheets, your inventory CSVs, your website source, anything. Then:

claude

And ask it something concrete. Avoid abstract “help me understand my data” prompts; start with verbs. Some Australian-flavoured first prompts to try:

• “Read every CSV in this folder and summarise the columns and row counts.”
• “There’s a Xero export here. Pull out the top 10 expense categories by total.”
• “Look at this product spreadsheet and tell me which SKUs have no images linked.”

Claude Code will ask for permission to read each file the first time. Approve. Watch what it does. This first session is more about getting a feel for the interaction model than producing a finished artifact.

Step 6, pick a sensible default model

By default, Claude Code uses Sonnet 4.6 (mid-tier, fast, cheap). For most work this is the right choice. The model tiers as of May 2026:

In AUD, Sonnet runs you about $4.65 / $23.25 per million tokens. A typical hour-long coding session with prompt caching engaged costs $0.50 - $3 AUD on Sonnet.

Switch models mid-session with /model opus or /model haiku. Use Opus when you want to think; use Haiku when you want to crunch.

What to do next

You’re installed and authenticated. The next thing worth investing in:

1. A CLAUDE.md file in every project folder, it’s a persistent instructions file Claude Code reads on every session start. Document your project, your preferences (Australian English, etc), your workflow. We have a starter template in our Claude Code starter pack lead magnet.

2. Learn the slash commands, they shortcut repeat workflows. Built-ins like /clear, /help, /model are universal. You can also write your own. See our mastering Claude Code slash commands guide.

3. Hook up an MCP server or two, these give Claude Code access to external tools (Xero, Shopify, your inbox). See Claude Code MCP servers for the Australian business stack.

If you get stuck, the official docs at docs.claude.com/claude-code are excellent. We also answer setup questions via the audit form below, happy to help even if you never hire us.