How to install Claude Code on Mac, Windows and Linux

Claude Code is one native program, claude, that runs in a terminal. The installer puts it in your home folder, so it needs no administrator rights, and it keeps itself up to date. Everything else on this page is a variation on that: a package manager instead of the script, an editor instead of a terminal, a cloud account instead of a plan.

What the installer does

On macOS and Linux the native installer puts the program under ~/.local/share/claude/versions/ and a launcher at ~/.local/bin/claude; on Windows the launcher is %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\claude.exe. That folder has to be on your PATH. If claude is not found after the install, open a new terminal first: the one you installed from still has the old PATH.

Claude Code checks for updates when it starts and while it runs, downloads them in the background and switches to them the next time you start it. It keeps the two newest versions and deletes older ones. claude update installs an update now; claude doctor shows the result of the last attempt.

Latest or stable

There are two release channels. latest, the default, gets each release as it ships. stable is typically about a week old and skips releases with major regressions. Choose one in /config, or set autoUpdatesChannel in settings.json. Homebrew picks the channel by cask name instead: claude-code follows stable, claude-code@latest follows latest. A newly launched model can need a version newer than stable serves.

To install on the stable channel from the start, in a terminal on macOS, Linux or WSL, then in Windows PowerShell:

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

PS> & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1))) stable

Windows: which shell Claude Code uses

Claude Code runs on Windows without WSL. Without Git for Windows it runs shell commands through PowerShell. With Git for Windows installed it uses Git Bash for its Bash tool, and PowerShell stays available alongside. If Git is installed but Claude Code cannot find it, set CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH in the env block of settings.json to the full path of bash.exe. Claude Code needs a 64-bit Windows.

Inside WSL it is the Linux program: install and start it in the WSL terminal. Keep projects on the Linux file system (/home/), not under /mnt/c/: search across the two file systems is slower and can return fewer matches.

Linux package repositories

Anthropic publishes signed apt, dnf and apk repositories for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL and Alpine, each with a stable and a latest channel. They update through your normal system upgrade, not through Claude Code. The commands, which add a signing key and a repository file, are on Anthropic's setup page. Distribution by distribution, with Arch, PATH fixes and a desktop app, see Claude Code on Linux.

Updating and removing it

Uninstalling leaves your settings, MCP servers and session history in ~/.claude and ~/.claude.json. Delete those too only if you want them gone: it cannot be undone. The VS Code extension, the JetBrains plugin and the Desktop app also write there, so remove them first or the folder comes back.

Where your sessions go

Claude Code writes every session to ~/.claude/projects/ as JSON lines, with the tokens of every call, and deletes them after 30 days by default. That record is what Caprock and other usage tools read: see how to check Claude Code usage for the ways to see it, and Claude Code pricing for what each plan includes.